Lemon Doughnuts Recipe

Lemon donuts stacked on a white plate with a black and white cloth.

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5 from 3 votes

Amazing blueberry doughnuts with a light lemon glaze.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Breakfast or snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 226kcal

Author: Kelly Stilwell

Equipment

1 Donut pan
1 Wire rack/cooling rack
Baking Sheet
Separate bowl: large and small
Piping bag
paper towels, plastic wrap, and parchment paper For easy cleanup and storage

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Donuts:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1½ teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
⅓ cup milk room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
yellow food coloring optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease two doughnut pans with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and milk until well combined.
Add the butter, and stir to combine.
Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Gently fold the poppy seeds into the donut batter.
Pour the batter to a piping bag using it to pipe the batter into the donut pans.
Bake the donuts until tops spring back, around 18 to 20 minutes.
Allow the donuts to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the donuts are cool, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Optional: Add the yellow food coloring and gently stir until combined.
Lightly dip each donut in the glaze, placing it on the wire cooling rack until the glaze hardens.
Serve.

Notes

As oven temperatures vary, be sure to check the donuts at about 18 minutes, sooner if your oven runs hot.

Mix the dough until just combined. Don’t overmix cake doughnuts as they will get gummy and be too chewy.

If you ever make donuts and fill the pan so much that the hole disappears, simply use a coring tool like you would use for apples. Especially if you are going to ice them, no one will ever know!

Be careful when mixing your glaze ingredients. Add just a little bit of liquid at a time to the powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar. This will ensure the glaze won’t be too runny. If it's not thin enough for your preference, feel free to add a little more lemon juice or a splash of milk.

Glaze can be tricky to work with. You will want to make sure the glaze is room temperature and the donuts are slightly warm, but not too warm. Also, I know it’s tempting, but it’s best to wait to serve them until the glaze has set which can take up to an hour.

Nutrition