Reese's Peanut Butter Filled Donuts

If you are a fan of Reese's peanut butter cups then you are going to fall in love with these donuts. They have that perfect balance of sweet and salty, as well as a delicious smooth peanut butter filling with a little crunch on top from the crushed peanuts.

It's Always a Good Day For a Donut

In my opinion, any day is a good day for a donut (or doughnut if we're spelling it correctly!). Whether it's a simple glazed donut or something a little extra like these Reese's peanut butter filled donuts, they always go down well in my house.

Homemade Donuts are Fun to Make With Kids

And while it's nice to just grab a box from the local donut shop, being able to say that you made your own is really quite special. My kids love to help cut them out and drizzle the toppings on. The deep frying, of course, is left up to me - for safety reasons.

Ingredients

Donuts were intimating the first time I attempted to make them. The yeast and the deep frying seemed a bit overwhelming and I wasn't sure if they would be a success. But they are actually very simple to make, with ingredients that you probably already have at home.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Make Them Nut Free: You can make this recipe nut free by switching out the peanut butter for WOW butter, which is a soy-based peanut butter substitute, available in most supermarkets. It actually tastes pretty decent (my son loves it!). You would then obviously also omit the peanut butter chips and crushed peanuts, too.
• Make Your Own Proving Drawer: If you don't have a warm spot for the dough to rise, set your oven to "reheat" or "keep warm" while you're making the dough. When it's ready to proof, cover the dough and place it in the oven. It's the perfect warm spot for beautifully risen dough!
• Storage: These donuts are best eaten fresh but can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

How to Make The Donuts

Make The Dough

The first step is to activate the yeast. Combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Whisk to dissolve the yeast, then leave for 5-10 minutes or until it looks foamy.

The optimum temperature for the milk is about 110 degrees F, but if you don't have a thermometer, use the touch test: the milk should be warm to the touch, but not hot. Too hot and it will kill the yeast. Too cold and the yeast won't activate.

Next, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and the remaining sugar. Then add in the egg and egg yolk, (cooled) melted butter, yeast mixture and vanilla.

It's important that melted butter is always allowed to cool before adding it to any mixture that contains eggs, so that you don't scramble the eggs.

Knead

If you have a stand mixer, attach the kneading hook and knead on low-medium speed for about 5 minutes. If you need to do it by hand, knead for approximately 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth.

Proof The Dough

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. See my tips above for my favorite warm proofing spot on a cold day!

To make it easier to handle and transfer the cut donuts, cut out 10 squares of parchment paper and place on to a baking sheet. Punch the dough down, to knock out some of the air. Then, on a floured work surface, roll the dough out to a ½-inch thickness. 

Cut Out The Donuts

Using a circle cutter, cut out the donuts and place on the prepared squares of parchment paper. At this point, the dough will need to be covered in plastic wrap and allowed proof again for another 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Fry

Then the fun really begins! Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot (cast iron is preferable) to 330-350°F. Drop 2-3 donuts into the oil at a time. Fry for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden.

Not overcrowding the pot is important so that the temperature doesn't drop too much and so that there's enough space to flip the donuts over.

Remove donuts from the oil with a spider tool and place on a tray lined with paper towels, so that the excess oil can be soaked up.

Add The Glaze and Toppings

Mix the chocolate glaze, peanut butter filling and peanut butter drizzle. Fill each donut with the peanut butter filling until just overflowing. Dip the tops of the donuts into the chocolate glaze and allow it to set up for about 5 minutes. Finally, sprinkle with crushed peanuts and Reese's peanut butter chips, then finish with peanut butter and chocolate drizzles.

Then all that's left to do is enjoy!