Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts With Cinnamon Sugar
This classic, old-fashioned cake donut recipe will take you right back to your grandma's kitchen. They are sweet, soft, and absolutely delicious!
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Servings: 2 Dozen
Equipment
- Donut Cutter you can also sub this for a mason jar rim or a large glass.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cinnamon
Donut Ingredients:
- 8 oz. butter (cold)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 vanilla bean (sub 2 tsp. vanilla extract)
- 3/4 cup. sourdough discard (unfed)
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 16 oz. unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
- Begin by whisking together 1.5 cups of sugar and 2 Tbsp. of cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.
- Next, melt and brown 1 stick of butter in a pan. Be careful not to burn the butter.
- Once melted, add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and add in 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix together on medium low until combined.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, sourdough discard, and milk and mix until combined.
- Next, add in flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined. Do not over-mix.
- Allow the dough to rest for 2-3 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, add 16 oz. of coconut oil to a cast iron skillet. Heat the oil to 375° F.
- Flour the workspace and scrape the dough onto the floured workspace. Add a little bit of flour over the dough and a rolling pin, and begin rolling out the dough until it is 3/4 of an inch thick.
- Using a donut cutter, cut out your donuts.
- Fry the donuts for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Once the donuts are done frying, add them to the boil of cinnamon sugar and coat them in the sugar. Be careful, not to burn your hands doing this.
- Set them on a wire cooling wrack and allow them to cool slightly before eating.
Notes
- Do Not Overwork: Make sure to not overwork the dough when mixing everything together. This is super important in baking, especially for donuts. They more you work the dough, the more the glutens are activated and the tougher the dough can become. I recommend to stop mixing the dough once all of the dry ingredients are combined. This will help keep the donuts soft and fluffy.
- Do Not Burn: The donuts fry up very quickly, so keep an eye on them. They only need about 1-2 minutes in the fryer per side.
- Vanilla Bean: I love using fresh vanilla bean in the dough of the donuts. The fresh vanilla gives the donut a really strong vanilla flavor; however, if you do not have fresh vanilla on hand, you can always sub it out for vanilla extract. Both are great!
- Donut Cutter: If you do not have a donut cutter, no worries! You can always use the ring from a 32oz. Mason Jar or a wide mouth glass and cut out a circle in the center with a knife or use a water bottle cap. I have been guilty of doing this many a time!
- Browned Butter: Adding browned butter to donuts is a great way to add additional flavor. The browned butter has a nice nutty, buttery flavor which compliments the light sweetness of the donuts.