Old-fashioned gingerbread donuts are the perfect holiday breakfast recipe! They are so easy to throw together and who doesn’t love fresh donuts? Gingerbread donuts have all the gingerbread flavors with a crispy exterior and super soft cakey interior. You don’t need yeast to make these donuts which means they’re done in just about an hour, including chilling time!
If you haven’t ever had an old-fashioned donut, you’re missing out! They’re the easiest donut to make. An old-fashioned donut has the texture of cake while a yeasted donut is super light and fluffy, like bread. Both are often glazed, but the difference is the texture. I love both equally, but old-fashioned donuts are definitely easier to make and take less time.
full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
Dry Ingredients. You’ll need some all-purpose flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk all your dry ingredients together.
Spices. Ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg create the best gingerbread flavor.
Sour Cream. Sour cream is a key ingredient to old-fashioned donuts and gives the donuts the best flavor and texture.
Eggs. Make sure your eggs are room temp for easy mixing.
Molasses. Opt for unsulphured high-quality molasses. My favorite brand is Wholesome and you can find it at Whole Foods.
Butter. Melted butter gives the donuts the perfect touch of richness so they don’t dry out.
Oil. I use canola oil for frying, but you can swap in any high-heat neutral oil like vegetable or peanut.
How to Make Gingerbread Cake Donuts
Whisk the dry ingredients. Make sure you give this a good whisk in the mixing bowl so that the spices and leavening agents are evenly distributed!
Whisk together the wet ingredients. Make sure your butter has cooled slightly and that all your wet ingredients are room temperature. If you add cold liquid to melted butter, it will seize up.
Mix and chill the donut dough. After you add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix until just combined so that you don’t end up with tough donuts. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling it out.
Roll out the dough and cut the donuts. Make sure to lightly dust your work area with flour. Roll the dough out to just under an inch in thickness and then use metal circle cutters to cut the donuts out and their inner hole. Chill them again and then lightly score a circle into the top–this helps the donuts cook more evenly.
Fry and glaze the donuts. The trick here is to use an instant read thermometer when heating up your oil so you can maintain the temperature. Fry the donuts for about 90 seconds per side, until they’re browned then transfer them to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Once the donuts are only slightly warm to the touch, dip them in the eggnog glaze and then let the glaze harden. Serve them right away as they are best fresh!
Tips on Frying Gingerbread Donuts
If you’re the kind of person who worries about frying things here are the most important tips I can give you for doing it easily and safely.
Use the right vessel. I use my 4 qt dutch oven for frying because it maintains heat and has high sides which minimize oil splatter. Don’t use something too small, you want to have at least 3 inches between the surface of the oil and the top of the pot.
Ease the donuts into the oil. Even if you’re scared of getting burnt, dropping the donuts in from up-high will definitely cause a ton of splatter and potential burns. Get the donuts close to the surface and just gently ease them in.
Use a thermometer. Maintaining the oil temperature is a huge key to frying successfully. Too hot and the donuts burn, but too cool and the donuts absorb oil and become soggy. Use a probe thermometer to make sure you’re frying at the right temperature.
Exercise patience. Between batches, let the oil heat back up. The donuts are cold and will bring the temperature down so have your heat at medium-high and give the oil time to heat up between batches.
Don’t crowd the pot. Depending on the size of the pot, you can only fry about 3 donuts at a time. Fry in batches for best results.
If you follow these steps, you’ll be frying donuts like a pro!
Make Ahead Instructions
If you’re serving these during the holidays, you might want to break up the work to make things easier on yourself. Follow the until it’s time to fry.
You can roll out the dough, cut and score the donuts, cover them with plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge overnight. Then you can just fry them up first thing in the morning and everyone has fresh donuts!
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Brunch
Old-Fashioned Spiced Gingerbread Donuts
5 from 8 votes
If you love all the flavors of gingerbread, but really want a donut then this is the perfect recipe!
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugars, and spices and whisk to combine.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, molasses, and sour cream until smooth. Add all wet ingredients to the bowl and mix on low until the dough comes together. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead a couple of times just to bring the dough together. Press the dough roughly into a circle and flour the top. Roll the dough out to about 3/4" thickness. Using a 3-3.5" circle cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible and place them on the baking sheet. Gather the scraps of dough back up and smush them together. Roll the dough out again, cutting as many rounds of dough as possible.
Using a 1.5″ circle cutter, cut holes in the center of each donut round. Save the holes as we will also fry up some small donut holes. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, heat up your oil. I used about 6 cups of oil in a 4qt dutch oven. Heat the oil to 350 F. Remove the donuts from the fridge and gently score a circle into the top with another circle cutter. Make sure to only cut about a 1/4″ into the donuts–the scoring helps them cook all the way through before burning.
Line another baking sheet with a wire rack to help the oil drain off the freshly fried donuts. Gently lower donuts (I did 3 at a time) into the hot oil and fry for 90 seconds – 2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove the donuts from the oil and transfer them to the wire rack.
Wait until the oil reaches 350 F again before repeating the process. Repeat until all donuts have been fried. Add the donut holes to the oil and fry for 2 minutes, moving the holes around every 10 seconds so that they fry evenly. Remove from the oil and transfer to the wire rack.
To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Dip the donuts in the glaze when they are just barely still warm. Donuts are best eaten the same day!
Storage Instructions
Donuts are best stored, once cool, in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Fall 
Baking & Breads 
Dessert
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