Mardi Gras Colored Donuts (Printable View)

Fluffy fried donuts adorned with vibrant Mardi Gras colored sugars for a festive touch.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Dough

01 - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
04 - ½ tsp salt
05 - ¾ cup whole milk, lukewarm
06 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
07 - 1 large egg

→ Frying

08 - 4 cups vegetable oil for frying

→ Glaze

09 - 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
10 - 3 tbsp milk
11 - ½ tsp vanilla extract

→ Decoration

12 - 2 tbsp purple colored sugar
13 - 2 tbsp green colored sugar
14 - 2 tbsp yellow colored sugar

# Cooking Steps:

01 - Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, yeast, and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly blended.
02 - Combine lukewarm milk, melted butter, and egg in a separate bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until soft dough forms.
03 - Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
04 - Roll dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut rounds using donut cutter or two round cutters (3-inch for donuts, 1-inch for holes).
05 - Place cut donuts and holes on parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes until slightly puffy.
06 - Heat vegetable oil in heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Fry donuts in batches 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
07 - Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in bowl until smooth consistency is achieved.
08 - Dip warm donuts in glaze, allowing excess to drip off. Immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow colored sugars in sections to create Mardi Gras effect. Let set on wire rack.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The dough comes together faster than you would expect and rises beautifully without any fancy techniques
  • Frying your own donuts sounds intimidating but these are incredibly forgiving and practically foolproof
  • The glaze sets just right so the colored sugar stays put instead of making a rainbow mess everywhere
02 -
  • The oil temperature will drop when you add donuts so let it come back up between batches or they will absorb too much grease
  • Doughnut holes fry faster than full-sized donuts so keep a close eye on them or they will turn dark before you notice
  • Let the glazed donuts set for at least fifteen minutes before stacking them or the colors will run together
03 -
  • Let the donuts cool just until you can handle them before glazing because warm donuts absorb the glaze better
  • Work quickly once you start glazing because the sugar only sticks while the glaze is wet

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