There are recipes you make once and think, Well, that was fun.
And then there are recipes that require you to boil potatoes, make dough, wait for it to rise, cut out donuts, heat up a vat of oil, fry them, glaze them—and somehow you finish the whole process thinking:
Yep. I’d absolutely do that again.
These donuts are THAT recipe.
For another round of our After School Snack Series, I decided to finally make the famous Windmill Village Bakery Glazed Donut Copycat Recipe from my good friend Brooke of Female Foodie.
And let me just get this out of the way:
MAKE. THE. DONUTS.
Wait…There Are Potatoes in These Donuts?!
Yes.
Potatoes.
These are technically spudnuts, and Brooke’s recipe was created to recreate the famous glazed donuts from Windmill Village Bakery in Ravalli, Montana. The mashed potatoes and potato water are part of what gives the donuts that amazing soft, pillowy-but-substantial texture.
I’m not going to lie—when a donut recipe starts with “boil some potatoes,” you start questioning what you’ve gotten yourself into.
But if boiling potatoes is the worst thing we have to do to get homemade donuts this good?
So be it.
The actual process wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I thought it might be. You’re making dough, letting it rise, cutting your donuts, frying them and dunking those warm beauties into glaze.
Is it more work than opening a box of donuts?
Obviously.
Is it worth it?
I Made One Slight Miscalculation…
Here’s where things got interesting.
I read that the recipe made about 10 donuts.
Four kids. After-school snack. Homemade donuts disappearing approximately three seconds after hitting the cooling rack…
Ten didn’t sound like enough.
So naturally, I doubled it.
Friends.
I DID NOT NEED TO DOUBLE IT.
Turns out, Brooke’s recipe makes 10–12 GIANT donuts similar to the ones served at Windmill Village Bakery. If you’re making more traditional-sized donuts, one batch can make around 20–24.
So when I doubled the recipe…
Well.
Let’s just say we will be eating donuts, delivering donuts, gifting donuts, making new friends with donuts and potentially paying people in donuts for the foreseeable future.
There were A LOT.
And honestly?
I’m not mad about it.
But Were They Actually Good?
SO. GOOD.
Warm homemade donuts are just on another level.
They’re soft and pillowy with enough substance to them that they don’t feel like you’re eating sweetened air. And then you take that warm donut and coat it in that simple vanilla glaze…
Come on.
These didn’t last long once the kids realized what was happening in the kitchen.
And even with the extra steps involved in making a yeast donut from scratch, this is absolutely a recipe I would make again.
Maybe just one batch next time. 😂
A Few Things I Learned
First: Don’t panic about the potatoes. It sounds strange until you taste the finished donut. Trust the process.
Second: Pay attention to the oil temperature. Brooke specifically calls this out in her instructions. If the oil gets too hot, the outside can cook before the inside is finished; too cool and you’re not going to get the result you’re looking for.
Third: Decide how big you actually want your donuts before doubling anything.
Learn from me.
Please.
And finally: eat one warm.
Actually, eat two.
You’ve already boiled potatoes for donuts. You’ve earned it.
The Verdict
This one gets a BIG thumbs-up from The Modern Dad house.
It takes some time. It makes a mess. You’re going to have flour on the counter and oil on the stove.
But sometimes that’s exactly what makes an after-school snack memorable.
The kids aren’t going to remember every granola bar I handed them on the way to lacrosse.
They’ll probably remember the afternoon Dad decided to fry an absolutely unreasonable number of homemade donuts.
And I’ll take that.
WANT TO MAKE THEM?
I’m not putting Brooke’s recipe here because it’s her recipe and she deserves the click!
Head over to Female Foodie for Brooke’s full Windmill Village Bakery Glazed Donut Copycat Recipe, including all of her instructions, measurements and tips.
And when the recipe says it makes 10–12 donuts…
Remember:
Those are BIG donuts.
You’ve been warned. 😂
