Doughnut Holes

Doughnut Holes filled with molten chocolate are crispy outside, and soft inside. Make them in just 30 minutes in the air fryer, oven, or stovetop for a delicious everyday snack or holiday treat. They require no yeast!

How to Make Doughnut Holes

• Prepare the chocolate filling.
• Then make the dough without yeast by mixing the wet and dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
• Scoop the dough, fill it with the filling, and drop it into hot oil!

• Cook the doughnuts, turning occasionally after one minute or so, or until they are golden brown on all sides.

• Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, and place briefly on a baking sheet lined with double sheets of paper towel.

• Coat them with a cinnamon-sugar mixture while still hot.
• Serve them warm by themselves, with a cup of coffee, or drizzled/dipped in chocolate ganache. 

NOTE: Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card though! 

Baked Doughnut Holes

1. Follow all the steps above for the deep-frying method.
2. However, place the batter into greased mini muffin tins and bake them in a preheated oven at 400° F (200° C) for 6-10 minutes, or until baked donut holes are golden brown and set outside. 

Air Fryer Doughnut Holes

1. Preheat your air fryer to 400º F ( 200º C). Line the bottom of the fryer basket with a piece of aluminum foil and grease it with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Then, follow the steps above (for the deep-frying method) to make the filling and the dough.
3. Using two spoons, pour the filled dough/batter into the air fryer basket, leaving space between them so they don't stick.
4. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy outside. Repeat the process until you run out of dough. Follow the steps above to coat them with cinnamon and sugar. 

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make this easy donut holes recipe, you'll need:

Chocolate filling

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk or dark chocolate if you prefer)
• Heavy whipping cream (or coconut cream, not milk)

Donut holes

• Granulated sugar, divided
• Ground cinnamon (or use apple or pumpkin pie spice)
• All-purpose flour (for making them gluten-free, use gluten-free all-purpose flour and add 1teaspoon xanthan gum for every cup of flour)
• Table salt
• Baking powder
• Eggs
• Whole milk (or half-and-half)
• Pure vanilla extract, optional (or another extract of choice such as almond extract)
• Vegetable oil for frying

Donut Hole Recipe

Brazilian Chocolate Filled Donut Holes (Bolinho de Chuva com Chocolate) are some of the easiest and most versatile sweet bites you can ever prepare... That's right!

You can have them for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or a holiday dessert.

These doughnut holes have a dense texture inside like a cake donut and are golden and crispy outside. Although the filling is optional, who could resist biting into a melted chocolate truffle, right?

All you need to make this doughnut hole recipe is to quickly mix flour, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then, spoon the batter, fill with a little chocolate truffle in the center, fry them in hot oil for up to two minutes, and roll in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. The result? Addictive sweet bites that will satisfy your donut craving!

In Brazil, these are called 'bolinho de chuva' (literal translation: rain cakes) because of their raindrop shape, acquired when effortlessly dropping the spooned batter into the oil, forming little peaks.

Despite the name, you can enjoy them any time of year, regardless of the weather conditions. They are also known as Quero Quero, Mata a Fome, and Bolinho de Negra in my home country.

They became famous thanks to the writer Monteiro Lobato and his fictional character, Aunt Anastasia, who lived in a countryside ranch called Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Ranch). Aunt Anastasia, the cook of the ranch, captured the heart of many generations of Brazilians and is now considered a staple of national culture.

The traditional recipe for 'bolinho de chuva' has no filling but it is not uncommon nowadays to see them filled with chocolate truffle, Nutella, guava paste, or dulce de leche. What to say? Brazilians love to put a twist on traditional recipes.

When and how to serve them is completely up to you!

Whether you pile them up like a Christmas tree and drizzle them with chocolate ganache, like we did, to serve as a holiday sweet bite...or serve them in a basket or bag accompanied by a cup of coffee for breakfast or afternoon snack...or put them in a holiday box to give as a gift... the fact is, they will be a hit.

Pro Tips

• When preparing the filling, melt the chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth.
• Make sure the chocolate ball (filling) is well covered with batter to prevent leakage of melted chocolate when frying.
• When dropping the dough balls into the oil, make sure the spoon is down close to the surface of the oil to avoid splashes and resultant burns.
• Heat the oil well before deep-frying doughnut holes. 
• Use enough oil in the fryer or the pan to submerge the donut holes. 
• Use 1 Tablespoon (or a small cookie scoop) as a measurement to scoop the same amount of dough. 
• Cook the doughnut holes in batches, turning occasionally, until they are golden brown on all sides. Do not overcrowd the fryer or pan!
• Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the hot oil and place them briefly on a baking sheet lined with double sheets of paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Variations

• Filling: You can fill your donut holes with whatever you want such as chocolate truffle, a piece of chocolate, frozen raspberry jam or peanut butter, or a frozen berry coated with sugar.  
• Flavor: You can make these homemade doughnut holes in many different flavors such as pumpkin and chocolate by adding either pumpkin puree or unsweetened cocoa powder to the dough.
• Topping: You can make glazed donut holes by coating them with a simple vanilla glaze, or coat them with powdered sugar. Melted dulce de leche, guava paste, or chocolate ganache are other options! 
• Dough: If you are in a hurry, you can make this donut holes recipe with biscuits instead of making the dough from scratch like we did. 
• Cooking method: Although we make deep-fried doughnut holes, you can cook them in the air fryer or bake them in the oven. Just make sure to cook them in batches in your air-fryer so the basket has enough space for the hot air to circulate.  

Donut vs. Doughnut

Donut is an alternate spelling of doughnut. The latter is the most common spelling form outside the United States. Thus, the same applies to donut holes and doughnut holes!

However, they refer to the same sweet treat. This means both terms can be used interchangeably!

Storage

These homemade donut holes are best served fresh and hot. After a couple of hours, they start to harden and wilt.

• Fridge: You can make the dough and store it in a sealed bag or airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days before frying.
• Reheat: They can be reheated or kept warm in the oven. Do not cover them; otherwise, they will become mushy! 
• Freezer: Or, you can freeze the raw dough for up to 3 months. Fry or bake them just before serving them!

Other Donut Recipes

• Pancake donuts
• Pumpkin donuts
• Protein donuts
• Apple cider baked donuts
• Chinese doughnut sticks

PIN AND ENJOY!

This post was first published on December 21, 2015.