This s’mores donut is a soft, slightly chewy donut dipped in chocolate glaze, dusted with graham crackers, and topped with toasted meringue. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds.
Let’s get this out of the way. I love donuts. Any kind of donut. It doesn’t have to be a special day. I just love a donut. I grew up in a small town and it had a great little bakery. It was called “The Cake Box Bakery.” It had this wonderful window full of all kinds of donuts, apple fritters, Florentines, meringue cookies and so much more. It was my favorite place to go as a child. I loved looking at all the different kinds of donuts and European bakery treats.
I know the idea of deep frying is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind in the heat of the summer, but when you take a bite of this delicious donut, it will change your mind.
The best ingredients for homemade donuts
For this recipe, we will be making a basic donut recipe and you will only need a few ingredients to start.
- Milk: You can use lower-fat or non-dairy milk, but you won’t have as tender of dough as when you use whole milk or full-fat milk.
- Yeast: Active dry yeast or instant yeast works for this recipe. It just changes your rise time. When using instant yeast, you don’t need to wait as long.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar helps feed the yeast and increases its activity. The sugar also tenderizes the dough.
- Eggs: Eggs provide structure and flavor; I use farm-fresh eggs because they are always available and I personally believe they are better.
- Butter: Butter enhances the flavor. I have also used shortening in a pinch.
- Vanilla Extract: It adds great vanilla flavor. Try using homemade vanilla extract.
- Cinnamon: I like to sprinkle a little nutmeg in my donuts or chocolate chip muffins to add a subtle pop of flavor.
- Flour: The basis of this recipe is all-purpose flour. This dough is slightly sticky and you want it this way so that you end up with soft and pillowy donuts.
How to make homemade donuts
- Prepare the dough: The dough comes together with a stand-up mixer. Or you can also make the dough by hand. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, knead it for 2 minutes.
- Rise: The dough needs to rise for around 90 minutes in a fairly warm environment. If your environment is cold, a trick I like to do is turn on my oven to 200 F and then shut it off and place your heat-safe bowl in the oven. helps it rise.
- Release the air: By punching the dough down, you release the air, so it is easier to roll out in the next step.
- Roll and Cut: To begin, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch, which will require some arm strength. Cut the doughnuts using a 3-3.5-inch doughnut cutter or use circle cutters to cut out the doughnuts and cut out the holes and place them on a silicone mat. Allow them to rest as you prepare the oil.
- Prepare the oil: You can use a heavy-duty pot and an oil thermometer, or you can use a deep fryer. I use a deep fryer, but any of these options will work great.
Finishing the donuts
This is the fun and kind of messy part, finishing the donuts with chocolate ganache, graham cracker crumbs, and Swiss meringue. This combination is incredible.
- Chocolate Glaze: The chocolate glaze is equal parts chocolate and butter melted together using a double boiler. Once melted and combined, remove it from the heat.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: Place 8-10 graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor, you can place the crackers in a gallon-sized plastic bag and beat them with a rolling pin until they are crumbs. A few big pieces are fine for this too. Place crumbs in a bowl with a little melted butter. Then stir in the butter until the crumbs begin to clump together.
- Dip: One at time, dip the donuts in the chocolate glaze one at a time, and then sprinkle the graham crackers over the glaze. Top the donuts with Swiss meringue and toast them with a kitchen torch until the meringue is lightly toasted.
The Best S’mores Donut
This s’mores donut is a soft, slightly chewy donut dipped in chocolate glaze, dusted with graham crackers, and topped with toasted meringue.
Equipment
- 1 Stand Up Mixer or large mixing bowl
- kitchen torch or under the broiler in the oven
Ingredients
Donut dough
- 1 cup milk warmed to 110°F (43°C)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 6 tbsp butter melted or shortening
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- ¼ tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1-2 quarts vegetable oil
Smores Topping
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup bitter sweet chocolate 70 grams
- ½ cup butter
Graham Cracker Crumb
- 9 graham crackers
- 7 tbsp butter melted
Swiss Meringue
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150 grams
Instructions
Donut Dough
- Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be a little frothy on top after 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and 2 cups (245g) flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much flour, though. You want a slightly sticky dough.
- Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5-2 hours or until double in size.
- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. If needed, punch down again to release any more air bubbles. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3-3.5 inch doughnut cutter, cut into 12 doughnuts
- Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. let rest for 30 minutes
- Pour oil into a large heavy-duty pot set over medium heat. Heat oil to 375°F (191°C). Add 2-3 doughnuts at a time and cook for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove with a metal spatula or metal slotted spoon. Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Place fried doughnuts onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts, then turn off heat
Chocolate Glaze
- Combine 4 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and 1/2 cup of unsalted butter in a small. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until it is melted.
Graham Cracker Crumb
- Place the graham crackers in a gallon-sized plastic bag and beat them with a rolling pin until the crackers are crumbs. Place them in a small bowl, add the melted butter and mix together until crumbs start to clump together.
Swiss Meringue
- Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk continuously until it reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Once it reaches 160 degrees F transfer the bowl to the standing mixer and beat at high speed until cool and the meringue is light and fluffy.
Assemble
- When the doughnuts are cooled. Dip the top of the doughnuts in the chocolate, place on a baking tray and sprinkle with the graham crackle crumble.
- Scrape the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the meringue in the center of the doughnut. Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue.
Wow, this looks like a fun treat to make for a night in. Thank you for this!
This looks beyond yummy! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you!
Will try this recipe.
Thank you!
Wow! These look like an amazing treat. Who doesn’t love s’more but then you turn it into a donut and it just gets better! Thank you so much for posting. I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you, glad you liked this one.
Wow, these donuts look delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank you, glad you liked this one.
This looks really delicious, can’t wait to try!
Thank you, glad you liked this one.
These look SO good! I have everything except the graham crackers, which I will now be picking up from the store on my next trip. I’m definitely going to give this recipe a try.
Thank you, glad you liked this one.
They look so YUMMY! And I love chocolate. I know my grandkids will love these. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, glad you liked this one.