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valentine donuts in air fryer sprinkled with red glaze and heart sprinkles

Valentine Air Fryer Donuts

Learn how to make donuts in the air fryer! Make a batch of valentine donuts for your family, with wholesome ingredients, less fat, but just as delicious! Recipe slightly adapted from the Joy of Cooking yeast doughnuts.
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Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 53 minutes
Servings: 16
Author:Andrea

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients

For the Donuts

  • 1 cup whole milk heated to 100-110 degrees
  • 1 packet active dry yeast or 2 ¼ tsp
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar plus 1 tsp
  • 4 ½ cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting and rolling
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoon melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze

  • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-4 tablespoon warm water as needed
  • food coloring optional

Instructions

  • In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, add the warm milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar and the yeast. Gently stir together and let sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Mixture should get foamy and fragrant. If it doesn't activate, the milk was either too cold or too hot.
  • Add remaining sugar, salt, eggs, melted butter and 2 cups of the flour, and mix on low speed until combined, scraping down any excess. Add in the remaining flour, a cup at a time and knead at medium low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should look shiny and stick together nicely, into a solid round ball.
  • Place the dough in a oiled down mixing bowl (the dough will be sticky to the touch, but should remain held together in a ball). Cover with a light dish towel or plastic wrap, and set in a warm dry place to proof for an hour. The dough should just about double in size at the end of the proofing.
  • On a well floured surface, turn the dough and punch it down a couple of times. Roll into a ½" thick disc, and cut out your first set of donuts and donut holes. You should get about 10-12 donuts out of the first set. Knead remaining dough scraps together and roll back out into a flat disc, cutting out the remaining donuts. You should end up with 16 donuts.
  • Place donuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees, and spray a light coating of cooking spray on your air fryer basket. Place donuts in the basket, allowing enough room for them to expand a bit. Air fry for 5-8 minutes. The donuts are done when the internal temperature is about 350 degrees and are lightly browned on top.
  • While your donuts are cooking, make the glaze by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. The mix will be very thick. Whisk in warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. The glaze should be thin like maple syrup, and not overly runny, like water.
  • When the donuts are done cooking in the air fryer, immediately start the glazing process by dipping the tops of the donuts in the glaze, then setting on a wire cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to cool and dry. If using sprinkles, immediately place them on the glazed donut, before the glaze sets and hardens. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

If your glaze starts to form a coating, simply whisk until smooth again.
If the glaze thickens up too much, especially in between batches, return the saucepan to the stove and reheat on low heat till smooth. Add in a teaspoon or two of water until desired consistency is achieved once again.

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg
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