Description
These Vampire Donuts are a fun and spooky Halloween treat that combines soft, fluffy fried donuts dipped in a rich chocolate glaze and decorated with festive candies. Perfect for celebrating the season, these donuts feature a homemade dough that is risen twice for the ideal texture and fried to golden perfection before being adorned with candy eyes, sprinkles, and vampire fangs for an eye-catching party snack.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Dough:
- 2 cups whole milk, divided
- ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups warm water (warm tap water is fine)
- 2 packages (0.25 ounce each, 0.5 ounce total) dry active yeast
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 9 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
For Frying:
- Vegetable oil for frying (enough for 2-inch depth in pot)
For the Glaze and Decoration:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup milk or water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Candy eyes
- Fall leaf sprinkles
- Funfetti assorted bead-shaped sprinkles
- Red sanding sugar
- Plastic vampire fangs
Instructions
- Heat Milk Mixture: In a medium saucepan, warm 1 ½ cups of whole milk over medium heat just until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup granulated sugar, salt, and butter until fully melted and combined. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Activate Yeast: In a small bowl, combine warm water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and dry active yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy and bubbly, indicating the yeast is activated.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast mixture and the warm milk/butter mixture. Beat in the eggs using the paddle attachment or an electric mixer until smooth and well combined.
- Add Flour: Add 1 cup of flour to the wet ingredients and mix with a dough hook attachment. Gradually add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, mixing lightly just until incorporated. The dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead Dough: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes until smooth. Add extra flour as needed to prevent sticking but keep the dough soft.
- First Rise: Place the dough into a large, greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 60 to 90 minutes.
- Second Rise: Punch down the dough to release air, cover again, and let it rise a second time for 60 minutes until puffed and doubled.
- Roll and Cut: Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and roll to approximately 1-inch thickness. Use a donut cutter or biscuit cutter to cut out circles, then remove the centers with a smaller cutter to create donut shapes. Place donuts and centers on cookie sheets.
- Heat Oil: In a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, pour vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C) and maintain temperature throughout frying.
- Fry Donuts: Using a metal spatula, carefully lower one or two donuts at a time into the hot oil. Fry each side for about 1 minute or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
- Prepare Glaze: Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in milk (or water) and vanilla a little at a time until you create a smooth, pourable glaze.
- Glaze Donuts: Dip the top side of each cooled donut into the chocolate glaze and place on a wire rack to let the glaze set and harden.
- Decorate: While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle funfetti sprinkles, red sanding sugar, and fall leaf sprinkles onto the donuts as desired for a festive look.
- Assemble Vampire Face: Fold plastic vampire fangs in half and insert one set into the center hole of each donut to resemble a mouth. Place two candy eyes above the mouth on the donut. Serve and enjoy your spooky Vampire Donuts!
Notes
- This recipe creates about 24 donuts, perfect for a party or Halloween gathering.
- Be sure the yeast mixture foams well to ensure proper rising of the dough.
- Maintain oil temperature at 350°F for even frying to avoid greasy or undercooked donuts.
- The glaze can be adjusted in thickness by adding more powdered sugar or milk as needed.
- Decorations are flexible—feel free to substitute any Halloween-themed sprinkles or candies for a personalized touch.
- Allow donuts to cool slightly before glazing to prevent the glaze from melting off.
- Use fresh ingredients, especially yeast, for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 17 grams
- Sodium: 97 milligrams
- Fat: 6 grams
- Saturated Fat: 3 grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 grams
- Trans Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 54 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 7 grams
- Cholesterol: 28 milligrams
