Two of our sisters, Camille and Kristen, both worked at a doughnut shop in high school. Our close family friends owned a Daylight Donuts so Camille and Kristen went to work.
I was too young to have a job, but remember thinking how they had one of the greatest jobs of all time. They got to bring home some doughnuts at the end of the day.
Our family finally got to the point where we started getting a little sick of having doughnuts so frequently, so we would hand them out to our neighbors.
I still love a good doughnut every now and then, especially if it smothered in chocolate. I don’t know if there is anything better than a fresh, hot spudnut.
We made a glaze as well as chocolate frosting for our spudnuts, but you could try just about any topping you like.
How to make homemade spudnuts and glaze
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix the sugar, shortening, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, warm potato water (water that potatoes have been boiled in), and mashed potatoes.
In a smaller separate bowl, combine the yeast with hot milk (I microwaved mine for about 2 minutes), then stir in the yeast. Stir until foamy.
Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Add it to the larger bowl, that has been mixed and well combined.
Step 2: Mix until well combined. I used a wooden spoon to mix it all together.
Step 3: Let the mixture set for about 30 minutes or until it’s a little foamy with bubbles all around the edges.
Step 4: Once foamy, add the beaten eggs, salt, and flour.
To beat my eggs, I used a whisk, but you could also use a hand mixer, or other electronic mixer.
Step 5: Knead the dough with your hands until well combined.
Step 6: Once kneaded, let rise until double in size (about an hour).
Step 7: Roll out about 3/4″ thick, cut as for doughnuts (we used two different sizes of circle cookie cutters).
Step 8: Let rise until double in size.
Step 9: Cook in hot vegetable oil, flipping when one side is golden.
Step 10: While still hot dip in glaze.
How to make the glaze:
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
Step 2: Slowly stir in milk and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Whisk until silky and smooth. If you need a touch more milk to make this a dippable glaze, add a bit more.
Step 4: Dip doughnuts in chocolate glaze and let rest to harden slightly.
All ingredients and their measurements are found in the recipe, below.
How to make donut holes
This recipe makes a lot of donuts. As you can see, you add 12 cups of flour to it, among many other ingredients.
We experimented and cut some of the dough into circles, using a large circular cookie cutter. You could also use a cup with sharper edges, or even cut a circular shape.
Once we had a circle cut out, we would get a smaller cookie cutter, and cut out the middle, to create a ring. With that little circle from the middle, we’d make donut holes.
They are so soft, sweet, and just the right amount of donut for me (after I eat about 8 of them because they are just that good).
Looking for an easy, homemade donut recipe? Try our Puff Pastry Glazed Donuts!
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Homemade Spudnuts and Glaze Recipe
Ingredients
Spudnuts
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 2 packages yeast
- 1 cup water, potato water after boiling the potatoes
- 1 cup mashed potatoes
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 12 cups flour
Glaze
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoons cocoa
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar, shortening, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, warm potato water (water that potatoes have been boiled in), and mashed potatoes.In a smaller separate bowl, combine the yeast with hot milk (I microwaved mine for about 2 minutes), then stir in the yeast. Stir until foamy.Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Add it to the larger bowl, that has been mixed and well combined.
- Mix until well combined. I used a wooden spoon to mix it all together.
- Let the dough set for about 30 minutes or until it's a little foamy with bubbles all around the edges.
- Once foamy, add the beaten eggs, salt, and flour.
- Knead with your hands until well combined.
- Once kneaded, let rise until double in size (about an hour).
- Roll out about 3/4" thick, cut as for doughnuts (we used two different sizes of circle cookie cutters).
- Let rise until double in size.
- Cook in hot vegetable oil, flipping when one side is golden.
- While still hot dip in glaze.
- How to make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
- Slowly stir in milk and vanilla extract.
- Whisk until silky and smooth. If you need a touch more milk to make this a dippable glaze, add a bit more.
- Dip doughnuts in chocolate glaze and let rest to harden slightly.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
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Oh wow this looks so delicious! My boyfriend and I always wanted to make homemade donuts and making it with mashed potatoes sound awesome!
Good gracious, that makes a lot!
That does make a lot of spudnuts:-) But they look and sound awesome so maybe it isn’t too many!!! How sweet that your hubby got up early to make them for you.
Those look amazing!! yumm 🙂
What is potato water? These look great!
Oh my word! my girls would jump through hoops for these!!
Mary x
Wow. You do have a fantastic husband! And those look divine!
And I also am wondering what potato water is…?
I’m also wondering what potato water is. And can you use the cheap potato flakes for the mashed potatoes, or is the real thing better?
This comment has been removed by the author.
this is dangerous
Hi Emily!
Potato water is just the leftover water you boiled your potatoes in. Thanks!
Hi!
Potato water is just the leftover water you boiled your potatoes in. Thanks!
Hi Diana!
Potato water is just the leftover water you boiled your potatoes in. Thanks!
Do you use regular yeast or rapid-rise yeast?
Holy yum!! I am a donut FIEND and have yet to make “authentic” spudnuts or donuts… I just use cake mix 🙂 but I will give this a try since it looks so fluffy and perfect and yummy. Thank you!
I remember spud nuts being sold door to door when I was a kid (ages ago). So happy to see a recipe for them! I’ll have to try it out with my daughter! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you! These remind me of e when I was a little girl living in Utah. My brother worked for spudnuts, he rode his bike around the neighborhoods selling them. I have missed not having them, they are THE very best EVER!
Hi,
I just use regular yeast!
And I haven’t tried it with the potato flakes but I am sure they would work fine!
They look fantastic! I am going to try theses this week end. Thank you
After you mix the first set of ingredients and wait 30 mins (or until foamy), you add the eggs, salt and flour. From this point on, approx. how long does it take (to let dough double in size and then once cut, double in size again)?
Has anyone tried these baked?
Can you make the dough the night before and make them in the morning?
Hi BranDee!
I think that would work great. Just leave the dough in the fridge overnight!
It depends on the temperature of where they are rising. It took about an hour and a half for ours. Thanks!
You say two packages of yeast. Do you have an exact measurement? If not is just two of the little packages from the strips of yeast?
Yes, 2 little packages from the strips of yeast. Not sure what it measures out to with the larger jar. It may say on the yeast jar.
These look amazing. I am a little confused on the recipe. Is the shortening melted?
The shortening is not melted.
I have a question…..when you mix the first ingredients together, you just dump them together in that order? you dont have to dissolve the yeast first? I am making them now, but it never did get foamy on me…..Of course, since the shortening wasnt melted, there was clumps in there, but I mixed it just a bit with a mixer to mix it as best as possible, and it never did get foamy…..it seemed like everything was too cold to make the yeast work……is that normal?
I see these are made with potatoes…are they gluten free?
Back in the 50’s and 60’s we had a Spudnut shop here in Pampa, Tx. These dughnuts were to die for. To this day people still talk about and still crave them!
Help! Sharon’s comment was not responded to and I have these in the mixer now awaiting the yeast to activate which I’m thinking it won’t do since the milk is cold (the smaller amount of warm potato water is not enough to warm up the milk). I’d rather give up now if they aren’t going to rise…
(The recipe just said to mix the ingredients together).
Sharon, did yours work out?
Anyone, what do you think?
I want to make these but don’t even want to try until I know if the yeast was activated when putting all ingredients together. Sharon, Carrie did it end up working for you?
The yeast was not activated before putting all the ingredients together.
This recipe is a bust! Ugh… what a waste and disappointment. Should have read the reviews before trying it.
I’m pretty sure you are supposed to heat the milk… Most other spud it recipes say to heat or scald the milk. That would really help with the yeast foaming.
always “proof” your yeast. 1/4c warm (120* water), teaspoon sugar mixed well and left to proof for 10 min. should be thoroughly foamy. if not the yeast is “dead”. won’t rise.
I imagine so..potato flour is gluten free for sure..you could use that as well.
Matt
Also why are there so much leavening agents in the recipe??
Is there a typo? It says 12 cups of flour
It’s 12 cups of flour. This recipe makes a ton of donuts!
I have a couple of questions about the recipe. Do you put everything in a mixer? How long do you beat it? Do you melt the shortening? The dough is very loose. Does it tighen up when it rises? Recipe needs a bit of clarification.
In the article it mentions donut holes…do you just roll them into balls instead of cutting with a circle?
The donut holes are made from cutting with the circle cookie cutters! They will be what’s leftover after you cut all the donuts so you don’t need to worry about rolling them.
All spudnut ingredients will be mixed in a mixer. You only need to beat it until everything is combined. Shortening is not melted and the dough does tighten when it rises. There always things to account for like elevation differences. If you feel the dough is too dry, add more milk until the dough is sticky. If you feel the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Hopefully that helps! Dough can be tricky!
El Dorado Arkansas still has one of the last remaining Spudnut Shops around. We get them every time we go back to visit family and they are better than any doughnut you have ever had!
Wish I would have read the blog post and these comments. We had the same problem. The recipe is misleading and should be fixed.
Same problem over here. Super disappointing. I should have just done what I knew was right.
We went ahead and mixed up some more yeast in a 1/4 cup water and added it to the dough. Kneeded it well and it rose.
I used your recipe (along with my favorite gluten free bread recipe) as inspiration for a gluten free Spudnuts recipe. They turned out beautifully. I linked back to your original recipe when I blogged about my recipe.
Do you scald the milk?
We just microwaved the milk for about 2 minutes before adding in the yeast.
I’ve made this recipe several times. My family and friends really like them with some minor tweaks. 1. Start with warming the milk to about 110 degrees F, add 2 packets or 8 tsp of active dry yeast with 1 TBS of sugar. 2. You can use 1 C prepared potato pearls and 1 C of hot water mixed with the sugar, shortening, etc. 3. The flour seems off, if the dough is too sticky add flour until it’s still a little sticky but manageable. I added 2 extra cups. It’s nice when weights are used for ingredients as how the cups are measured can make a difference. 4. I add 1 TBS of cinnamon to the dough