Mom's Buttermilk Donuts are a deep fried old-fashioned cake donut recipe, also known as fry cakes. They have a dense, cake-like texture and can be served plain, coated in sugar, or dipped in a glaze.
My mom has always been an amazing maker of all things bread-like. I remember as a young girl watching her make these doughnuts and waiting anxiously for them to come out of the hot grease.
Quick Summary:
- A vintage recipe from Mom's handwritten recipe card, over 60 years old.
- Makes about 3 dozen fry cakes, fried in Crisco for the best results.
- Glaze ideas, substitutions, and storage tips below.
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Key Ingredients
- Buttermilk: Don't have any? See Substitutions below to make your own.
- Ground nutmeg: Adds a warm, sweet nutty flavor.
- Crisco shortening: For frying, Crisco gives the best results, and I use almost a whole can (about 5 cups).
How to Make Mom's Buttermilk Donuts
Blend the liquids: Blend the wet ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
Hand mixer: Use a hand mixer to combine the wet ingredients with half of the dry ingredients until a sticky dough forms.
Mix with a spoon: Work in the rest of the flour by hand using a wooden spoon until the dough is stiff, then chill it for up to 30 minutes.
Shaping the dough: Pat the dough out to about 1 inch thick. That's my mom's hand shaping it!
Cut out circles: Use a doughnut cutter to the dough into a doughnut shapes.
Frying: Fry them in Crisco at 375°F for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown, then drain on paper towels.
Substitutions
- Cinnamon: Use it in place of the nutmeg.
- Dough fat: Use vegetable oil or melted butter in place of the melted shortening.
Variations
- Glaze: Mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a medium bowl. Dip warm donuts in the glaze, then set them on a parchment-lined cooling rack to catch any drips.
- Sugar coated: Place granulated sugar or confectioner's sugar in a paper bag. Add warm donuts and shake to coat. Cool on a wire rack.
- Frosted: Make your favorite flavored frosting and frost cooled donuts. Sprinkle with colored jimmies to decorate.
Top Tips
- If you do not have a donut cutter, use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter and then use the base of a large pastry tip to cut out the donut hole.
- Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup measure, then fill the cup with milk. Set aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes to allow the milk to curdle.
Storing Buttermilk Donuts
Room temperature: store buttermilk donuts in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Freeze: store in a freezer safe airtight container up to 3 months.
Reheat: if desired, reheat thawed doughnut in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Serve with...
Enjoy warm, plain or dipped in pure maple syrup. These go great with a cup of coffee, tea, or milk.
The Last Word
Three things my mom made regularly besides these buttermilk donuts were baking powder biscuits, homemade bread, and yeast doughnuts. If you have never eaten a freshly made fry cake, you are missing out. There is nothing else like it. I felt this method of making an old-fashioned doughnut should not disappear, so I decided to document my Mom's method of making homemade buttermilk doughnuts.
You May Be Wondering
An old fashioned doughnut is a cake like ring of fried dough that has been leavened with baking powder. It has a tender interior with a crispy exterior.
No, a yeast donut is a doughnut made with active yeast. The interior will be more like a sweet yeast bread and exterior is smooth and golden brown.
Deep fried donuts will have a crispy exterior with a soft interior. A baked donut will have more of a cake like texture all around.
More Donut Recipes to Try
Here are a few more donut recipes from my kitchen, including some baked ones if you'd rather skip the frying.
When you make this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and comment below to let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
📖 Recipe
Buttermilk Doughnuts
Equipment
- Large pot or deep fryer
- Deep fry thermometer to guage the oil temperature
- Slotted Spoon , for removing donuts from hot grease
- Paper towels , or paper bag
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Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted Crisco , or vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 cups Crisco , for frying
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the granulated sugar, eggs, melted Crisco or oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift 2 cups of flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
- Using a hand mixer, pout the wet into the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until a sticky dough forms.
- Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in the remaining 2 cups of flour until it becomes stiff and pliable.
- Cover donut dough and place in refrigerator to chill up to 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and pat down and out with floured hands until round and approximately 1" thick.
- Cut out doughnuts with cutter and set aside on floured board.
- Once doughnuts are cut, add the Crisco to a large pot or fryer and bring to 375℉.
- Gently place doughnuts in hot grease. Once they go into the grease, they will sink, then float up to the top, with the hot oil bubbling around them.
- Cook for approximately 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Repeat with cut dough until all donuts are fried.
- Be sure oil does not get too cool or too hot. Oil will cool down slightly when dough is added, just bring it back to temperature after cooked donuts are removed and before more donuts are added.
- Remove fried doughnuts from hot grease and transfer to a paper towel or paper bag lined cookie sheet.
- Let any excess oil drain from doughnut and cool at least 5 minutes before handling.
Darlene in Nova Scotia (again) says
Hello Shelby,
I just made a double batch of your mom's doughnuts (again). My hubby's favorate. Your mom's recipe is a no fail recipe and the only one I make. I am so pleased to have it.
We only buy Oat milk in our home unless fat cows milk is needed for a special treat. I used the Oat milk and tossed a handful of buttermilk powder into my dry ingredients. This saves me from stirring forever to dissolve the powder. The combo works perfectly. Canola is my choice of cooking oil.
They freeze beautifully. My hubby takes a couple out each morning tosses them in the microwave and has them with coffee.
Shelby I think of you and your mom every time I make these tasty morsels. They remind me so much of my mom's recipe she made for us when we were kids, unfortunately I don't have it. Along with the neighbour kids, we would go skating in a near by field and all come back to doughnuts and homemade hot chocolate. It is such a joy to make these and have all these fun memories come flooding back.
Hope your 2026 is your best year yet Shelby.
Bonnie Lacey says
Hi Shelby. Bonnie here. Do you think I could put these in my donut pan and bake them as I do my other donuts? Thank you.
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Hi Bonnie, you could try! They are rolled and cut, so not pipe-able like regular baked donuts are but I don't see why you couldn't bake them. I might spritz them with some oil spray and bake at a high temperature (maybe 400 degrees) until golden. If you do this, let me know how it worked out! I usually just fry them because I make them as an occasional treat. If they turn out good baked, I'd love to add your experience to my post! Thanks for asking! Shelby
Kerry says
Do you think these doughnuts could be glazed and still work well?
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Absolutely! You could make a glaze or when they are hot, shake them in a little cinnamon sugar or confectioner sugar. Enjoy!
Darlene in Nova Scotia says
Hello Shelby, made your doughnuts today and they are absolutely delicious. I added 1 tsp of nutmeg, next time I will add 2 tsp. Mine made 24 doughnuts plus the holes. I love that there are 2 eggs and the buttermilk of course, makes for a lovely soft texture. Such an easy recipe too. My hubby is nuts for these tasty morsels. Next time I will double the recipe, I know that won't be too far in the future. Thank you for sharing your recipe Shelby.
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Hi Darlene, thanks for your review. I'm so happy these turned out well for you. I made them at Christmas when I visited my brother and I am going to make them for my family at Easter this year. I agree with everything you said above and am so happy my mom's recipe is being made and enjoyed in other homes!
Ellen says
Mom's handwritten recipes are the best! It looks well loved with all the stains and creases on the card! The doughnuts look delicious!
Shelby says
Ellen, my mom and dad used to go to the Farmer's Market with garden and baked goods, and people looked for them and her doughnuts! Believe me, every time I go home, I'm happy if she has some in her freezer too. They are great thawed and warmed in the microwave a few seconds too!