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Air Fryer donut balls

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Air Fryer Doughnut Holes with Chocolate Sauce are a quick and easy breakfast recipe with a delicious coating of cinnamon-sugar on the outside that will have the whole family coming back for more.

Ingredients

Scale

Doughnuts

  • ½ cup milk- warmed to 100-110F
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
  • 3 tbsp butter melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • oil for spraying

Donut Holes – with canned biscuits

  • 1 can flaky buttermilk biscuits
  • oil for spraying

Donut Holes – using a 2-ingredient dough

  • 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup self-rising flour + more for dusting
  • oil for spraying

Coating

  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp butter melted (optional, see notes)

Chocolate Sauce

  • 2 ounces chocolate chopped
  • 3 ounces heavy cream 6 tbsp

Instructions

Doughnut Holes – From Scratch

  • Combine the milk, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, or until the yeast becomes foamy on top. If your yeast doesn’t foam, it’s likely dead. Toss it and try again with a fresh packet.
  • Add the melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
  • Add the flour and cinnamon and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead gently until a smooth dough forms– about 2-3 minutes.
  • Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size– about 2 hours.
  • Once the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface (don’t punch it down) and cut it into 20 small pieces. Shape the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet to rise for another 45 minutes.
  • Once the dough has risen slightly, place a few doughnut holes in the air fryer, give them a light mist/spray of oil and cook at 375F for 6-8 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on the outside.
  • Repeat with the remaining doughnut holes.
  • **See below for coating

Donut Holes with biscuit dough

  • Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees.
  • Separate the biscuits and cut them into 4 pieces each.
  • Lightly roll between your hands to reshape them into holes instead of triangles.
  • Place them in the preheated air fryer basket and spray lightly with oil.
  • Cook 4-5 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
  • While the dough is cooking, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper lunch sack. You can use a plastic zip-top bag if you don’t have one. Shake to combine the cinnamon and sugar.
  • Once the donut holes are done cooking, give them another light spritz of oil and then immediately transfer them to the bag with the cinnamon mixture.
  • Fold over the bag & give it a good shake to coat the donuts in the mixture.
  • Remove from the bag and serve immediately. Do not store them in the bag as they will become soggy.

Donut Holes – using a 2-ingredient dough

  • Combine the yogurt and self-rising flour in a large bowl and work it together until it forms a ball.
  • Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes to get the gluten forming so they are extra springy.
  • Cut off 1″ pieces and roll into balls.
  • Place them in the preheated air fryer basket and spray lightly with oil.
  • Cook 4-5 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
  • While the dough is cooking, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper lunch sack. You can use a plastic zip-top bag if you don’t have one. Shake to combine the cinnamon and sugar.
  • Once the donut holes are done cooking, give them another light spritz of oil and then immediately transfer them to the bag with the cinnamon mixture.
  • Fold over the bag & give it a good shake to coat the donuts in the mixture.
  • Remove from the bag and serve immediately. Do not store them in the bag as they will become soggy.

Coating – with oil method directly out of the air fryer

  • While the dough is cooking, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper lunch sack. You can use a plastic zip-top bag if you don’t have one. Shake to combine the cinnamon and sugar.
  • Once the donut holes are done cooking, give them another light spritz of oil and then immediately transfer them to the bag with the cinnamon mixture.
  • Fold over the bag & give it a good shake to coat the donuts in the mixture.
  • Remove from the bag and serve immediately. Do not store them in the bag as they will become soggy.

Coating – with butter method

  • Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. If you like a thin coating of cinnamon sugar, roll the hot doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar immediately when they come out of the air fryer.
  • If you like a thick coating of cinnamon sugar, roll the doughnut holes in melted butter before adding them to the cinnamon sugar.

Chocolate Sauce

  • To make the chocolate sauce, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan (or the microwave) until it starts to steam.
  • Add it to a small bowl with the chopped chocolate.
  • Whisk until the sauce is smooth and well combined.
  • Serve with warm doughnuts.

Notes

*Create a donut glaze dipping sauce by mixing ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar with a splash of milk. Whisk to combine.

*Or thin out ¼ cup of jam with a splash of water and then heat in the microwave for 15 seconds to make a fruity sauce to dip these in.

**If using instant rise yeast, there’s no need to let it rest for 5 minutes before mixing in the remaining wet ingredients.

***Rolling the doughnuts in melted butter is optional but will help give a thick, delicious coating of cinnamon-sugar on the outside. I highly recommend it!

****You can keep any leftover ganache in the fridge for up to 1 week and use it to dip strawberries or top ice cream sundaes!

Find it online: https://allguiderecipes.info/air-fryer-donut-balls/