Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts

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My boys love these canned biscuit donuts (and, full disclosure, I’ve been known to make them a bit more often than birthdays or summer parties demand). As a plus, it’s an easy recipe and simple to customize; it’ll only take a few minutes to make! A small price for dizzyingly good donuts, right?

Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts.

Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts

We even think they are better than Dunkin Donuts. Krispy Kreme…well. not quite, but they are close!

Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts

Easy Biscuit Donuts Ingredients

  • 1 ten count can Grands biscuits (or your preference)
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1½ Tablespoon cinnamon
  • Peanut (or Vegetable) Oil For Frying

How to Make Canned Biscuit Donuts

  • Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later.
  • Use a small round cookie cutter to make holes in the center of your frozen biscuit dough. Pro-tip: If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can substitute this with a jar lid. It’ll look the same and no one will be the wiser!
Cutting the Dough

  • Pour a little less than ½-inch of oil into your skillet.
  • Heat your oil on either medium to medium-high for 5 minutes, so it’s hot enough to instantly sear your biscuit donuts upon hitting the skillet. This prevents them from soaking up too much oil and becoming soggy.
Heating Your Oil
  • Fry your donuts in batches of 2-3 at a time. Each side will only take 1 minute before you need to turn them over.
  • Place them on paper towels when done. After cooling, dip both sides of the donut in your cinnamon-sugar mixture. You can also dip them in melted butter before adding this mixture, if you want, but my family likes them just fine without it!
My Son Loves Making These

  • My 6 year old LOVES making these! He loves eating them ever better…SO good!!
  • Don’t forget to fry up the donut holes you cut out as well. Feel free to coat them in cinnamon-sugar, chocolate, or frosting, or whatever you prefer!
Your Whole Family Will Enjoy These Donuts

Sugar, Sugar

My family loves dipping these easy-to-make donuts in cinnamon and white sugar, but you can easily swap out white sugar for brown sugar if you prefer!

Keep in mind that both white and brown sugar come from the same crops — sugarcane or the sugar beet plant respectively. So, there isn’t much difference between them as far as nutrition and processing goes.

What are the main differences between the two? Their flavor and color. In fact, most brown sugar brands are just a mixture of white sugar and molasses – a delicious, sugar-derived syrup. This syrup is what makes brown sugar brown in the first place, and it even increases the sugar’s nutritional value a little bit.

Brown sugar has slightly more calcium, iron, and potassium than normal white sugar does – but the amounts are so minuscule, they don’t really count.
The molasses gives your brown sugar an additional deep caramel or toffee-like flavor that you might prefer over white sugar.

If you find using white sugar makes the dough too sweet, try upping the ratio of cinnamon. It’s a powerful flavor that can help dilute the sugary punch, and even add a festive vibe to the donuts!

Pillsbury Grands! Flakey Biscuit Donuts

What’s the Best Oil to Fry Donuts With?

I use vegetable oil to fry these donuts! It’s a great cooking fat that heats up super quickly and gives the donuts a delicious, extra-crispy outside. Many other oils take longer to heat and will give your donuts a different taste, depending on which kind you use.

  • Canola oil has a more neutral flavor and higher smoke point (or temperature where the fat breaks down and burns in the skillet). It’s great for making cake, yeast, and extruded-type donuts like crullers, if you want to be fancy.
  • Peanut oil will turn your donuts a much darker color and create a slightly nuttier taste than other types of oil. It is made from peanuts, after all. You might find that this oil complements the sweetness of your donut far better than vegetable oil.
  • Using safflower oil will give you the cleanest-tasting donuts, since it doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own and won’t impact the donuts’ stand-alone taste. However, you will need to heat the oil longer to get it to the proper cooking temperature.
My Son Loves Eating This Treat!

Deep Frying Versus Air Frying Your Biscuit Donuts

What’s the Difference?

Though my family loves the taste of deep-fried donuts, you can also air-fry these tasty creations for a much healthier alternative.

  1. First, cut some parchment paper to fit inside your air fryer.
  2. Spray the paper with non-stick cooking spray. This ensures your dough doesn’t stick and can easily flip over when you need it to.
  3. Place 2 donuts and 2 donuts holes in a single layer on top of the parchment paper.
  4. Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 5 minutes, flipping them every 2 or 2 ½ minutes.
  5. You’ll know they’re done when each side has an even, golden-brown color. Pro-tip: If you find they haven’t reached this color by flipping them every 2 minutes, then your air fryer may not have pre-heated properly. Leave this first batch in longer, flipping every 1 minute, until it’s the correct color. The next batch should be more accurate, since the air fryer will have had time to heat properly.
  6. Repeat this with the rest of your donuts and donut holes.

Can You Use Other Frozen Biscuit Doughs for These Donuts?

Of course! My family likes dough with flaky layers, but any kind of canned biscuit dough will work great for this recipe. Here are a few suggestions:

Mary B’s Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits

This biscuit will create a far lighter donut than Pillsbury Grands. BUT, the super soft, airy inside and crispy-skinned outside definitely makes up for it – in spades! It also comes with the added bonus of not being too buttery or artificial-tasting, so deep-fry (or air-fry) away!

Annie’s Organic Flaky Biscuits

These biscuits tend to rise much taller than other biscuit doughs, so expect some really puffy donuts! The firm crust provides a delicious contrast to the soft, warm insides that easily pull apart in your hands, so give this biscuit dough a try.

Publix Big and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

If you love flaky layers as much as I do, then these biscuits should do the trick! Not only do they have a stronger butter flavor than the Annie’s Organic Flaky Biscuits, but both the outside and inside turn out super soft and tender.

If you can’t pick a favorite, you can always mix and match the biscuit type according to what your grocery store has available or your budget allows. A tasty treat doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive!

Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts

How to Store Biscuit Donuts for Later

Donuts taste best fresh! However, if you’re making these sweet treats in advance, then here are a few tips on how to store them:

Room Temperature

First, seal your donuts in airtight storage bags or containers. Make sure the storage bag or container is tightly sealed or your donuts will become stale.
If you store these bags or containers in a cool, dry area, they should last for at least 1 to 2 days – tops. Leaving them in direct sunlight (even in a bag or container) can cause them to get stale faster.

When you’re ready to eat them, simply place the donuts on a plate and pop it in your microwave for around 15 seconds. This will soften them up again, so they will taste just as good as a freshly-baked donut.

If you added your own icing or glaze to these donuts, instead of my cinnamon-sugar mixture, this short timeframe will also prevent that icing or glaze from melting off your donuts.

In the Fridge

You can also store your donuts in your fridge! Just make sure you put them in an airtight container or bag first. They should last up to 1 week in your fridge before they start to become stale.

Whenever you’re ready to eat or serve them again, let them thaw to room temperature and then heat them up in your microwave for about 15 seconds.

Other Donuts Recipes

5 from 49 votes

Easy Canned Biscuit Donuts

Melt in your mouth Donuts that take minutes to make!
Servings: 10 donuts
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ten count can Texas style biscuits or your preference
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • Tablespoon cinnamon
  • Vegetable Oil For Frying

Instructions

  • Pour oil into skillet to the depth of a little less than ½ an inch and heat on medium to medium high for about five minutes. In a bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
  • Using a small round cookie cutter, cut the center out of each biscuit. Drop dough into hot oil, watching carefully and turning when golden. Once doughnuts are golden on both sides, remove to paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all dough is cooked, including doughnut holes.
  • Press both sides into cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 361mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 405IU | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

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