Donut holes are glorious because you can scarf down several donuts and not feel guilty. Whereas, when I scarf down several regular-sized donuts, I feel really, really bad. Also, donut holes can be light-hearted, totally imperfect, completely irreverent in flavor, and a great project in which to involve the kiddos. On a lazy Saturday morning, I like to make donut holes out of store-bought biscuit dough but this morning, I actually had some leftover donut dough from these amazing Sweet Potato Pie Stuffed Donuts I made the other day. Make it fresh, make it from scratch, or make it from store-bought dough- just make these babies, trust me.
The filling is simple and straight-forward Nutella so no need for fussy stuffings. The glaze is just two, yes TWO, ingredients and takes less than a minute to whip up. The dough, if made from scratch, is brilliantly easy and delicious. But, hey, no judgement here if you want to swap in a pinch hitter in the form of biscuit dough.
Bowl #1
One packet of active dry yeast
1/3 cup [80 grams] whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup [80 grams] buttermilk, room temperature
Bowl #2
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Bowl #3
3 1/2 cups [495 grams] all-purpose flour
1/3 cup [85 grams] granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons milk powder, optional
Bowl #4
1 stick [113 grams] butter, room temperature
On the sidelines:
Nutella, for stuffing
Eggnog Glaze, recipe as follows
1
In the bowl of your standing mixer, pour in the buttermilk and milk and sprinkle the yeast on top. Lightly whisk together and let stand for a few minutes.
2
With the dough hook attached to your mixer, turn on low and slowly add in your second bowl.
3
Add in the third bowl and continue to mix for a few minutes until the dough comes together.
4
Slowly add in your butter, a little pat at a time, taking care not to add more butter until the previous butter is completely incorporated. Let the dough continue to knead for five minutes.
5
Scrap the dough into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Park it in your fridge overnight.
6
The next morning, lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin. Roll out your dough to about a 3/4 inch thickness. Using a tiny round cookie cutter, cut out little circles of dough and place on a lightly floured sheet pan. Let rise for three hours.
7
Fill a large, deep pot with a few inches of oil and place over medium-high heat. Clip on a frying thermometer and heat until 350 degrees.
8
Using a spider, drop several holes into the oil. I like to turn them frequently until golden brown all over, about two minutes. Using a spider, remove and let drain on a paper towel.
9
Continue with the rest of the dough. Let cool.
10
Fill a piping bag, fitted with a small tip, with Nutella. Alternatively, poke a small hole in each donut. Fill a Ziploc bag with Nutella, snip off one bottom corner and voila, you have a makeshift piping bag. Squeeze a tiny bit of Nutella into each hole. Drizzle with glaze and let set.
Eggnog Glaze
Bowl #1
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons eggnog
Dash of ground nutmeg, optional but really drives home the eggnog flavor
1
Whisk everything together until smooth and creamy.
