It seems that the hottest gastronomic trend is the air fryer. Who doesn’t have an air fryer nowadays? It’s literally a healthier and quicker way to make food! Pre air-fryer days, one of my favorite things to indulge on were donuts. I had to get my donut fix somehow, so I decided to try out these air fryer donuts with yeast dough!

These Air Fryer Donuts taste like the real deal but have less fat than the deep-fried version. Thus combining both ~health~ and deliciousness into one treat. If you’re more of a cake donut person, go check out my Avocado Donuts for a baked cake donut version.

These donuts are so pillowy, soft, and perfect for sharing! They’re also fun to make with friends and family as everyone can get involved in the decoration process.

A few tips for this recipe:

1. Make sure your yeast is activated! It should be bubbly and have a distinct, almost sour, smell after 10 minutes rest.
2. Add the salt last in step 3 so it doesn’t touch the yeast.
3. Don’t overmix the dough!
4. If you don’t have cutters, use the rim of a cup or a bowl to press out your donuts. The diameter of the rim should be about 3-in. The inner hole can be formed with a straw.
5. Keep an eye on your donuts in the air fryer as cooking results may vary!

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• Taste: ★★★★
• Difficulty: ★★
• Ingredients: ★★
• Time: ~2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients (makes ~12 donuts)

DONUTS

• 1 cup milk, warm
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, or instant yeast
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Oil spray

GLAZE

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp hot water

Directions

1. Warm the milk in the microwave for about 40 seconds, until warm.
2. Gently stir together lukewarm milk, 1 tsp of sugar, and yeast in your stand mixer bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy and bubbly.
3. Add sugar, egg, melted butter, 2 cups of flour, and salt (add this last) to the milk mixture. Mix on low speed until combined.
4. With the mixer running add the remaining cup of flour slowly, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Increase speed to medium-low and knead for 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth.
5. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled. Dough is ready if you make a dent with your finger and the indention remains.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, punch it down and gently roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out 10-12 donuts using a 3-inch round cutter and a 1-inch round cutter to remove center.
7. Transfer donuts and donut holes to lightly floured parchment paper and cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Let donuts rise for another 30 minutes until doubled in size. Preheat Air Fryer to 350 degrees F.
8. Spray Air Fryer basket with oil spray, carefully transfer donuts to Air Fryer in a single layer. Spray donuts with oil spray and cook at 350F until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Repeat with remaining donuts and holes.
9. While the donuts are in the Air Fryer, make the glaze by stirring hot water in powdered sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. The icing should be somewhat thin, drippy, but not too watery (an alternate glaze is melted white chocolate!).
10. Dip hot donuts and donut holes in the glaze using your hands or forks. Top with sprinkles or any toppings you’d like!
11. Place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to allow excess glaze to drip off. Let sit until glaze hardens, about 10 minutes. Enjoy!!