How to Make Heart Shaped Donuts Recipe

November 20, 2023January 8, 2013 by Ashley

Introducing a heart shaped donuts recipe, perfect for Valentine’s Day or honestly, any day! They’re cute bite-sized treats with a fun glaze.

We can’t imagine a good day that doesn’t include donuts.

This might be a chubby thing to say, but honestly, can you think of a day that wouldn’t be a good day for donuts?

We couldn’t either.

As a result, we took it upon myself to update the everyday deliciousness that is donuts.

And we turned them into cute bite-sized treats perfect for this upcoming Valentine’s day (or any other day).

We made them usingthe best homemade donuts you’ll ever haverecipefrom A Cup of Jo.

And then, we created a really simple colored glaze for dipping.

Plus, this heart shaped donuts recipe pairs deliciously with our Strawberry and Rose Sorbet Champagne co*cktail!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Table of Contents

How to Make Heart Shaped Donuts

1 — To make the heart shapes, chill the donut dough in the fridge for about an hour.

2 — Once it’s chilled firm, roll and cut heart shapes from the dough using a cookie cutter on a lightly floured cutting board.

We had the best success with the hearts keeping their shape during the frying process byexaggerating the heart shape dough a bit with our hands.

And then popping the cut-outs in the fridge for a few more minutes before cooking them.

Ingredients for the Donut Glaze

Whole milk

Vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar

Pink food coloring

Sprinkles

This is basic donut glaze that works for all donuts.

If you’re feeling adventurous, we have more fancy glaze ideas and recipes for a chocolate ganache or cinnamon glaze.

How to Make Donut Glaze

1 — Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm.

2 — Sift confectioners’ sugar into milk mixture.

3 — Whisk slowly, until well combined.

4 — Remove the glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water.

5 — Dip doughnuts into the glaze, one at a time, and then place them on wax paper to set.

What Would Go Well With Homemade Donuts?

Before you can begin making donuts, you first need to decide what to serve with them.

Any number of things will go great with your fresh-baked donuts!

You could serve them with coffee or tea, hot chocolate, milk or orange juice.

Also, because they make for an excellent breakfast or brunch, you can simply serve them with butter and jam on the side.

More Topping Ideas

The possibilities are endless!

You could sprinkle your donuts with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, granulated sugar, chocolate fudge glaze…

The list goes on!

You could also opt for less sweet toppings, such as dark chocolate, caramel sauce and nuts.

Heart Shaped Donuts and Glaze Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Introducing a heart shaped donuts recipe, perfect for Valentine’s Day or honestly, any day! They’re cute bite-sized treats with a fun glaze.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Chill Time1 hour hr

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Desserts

Cuisine Donuts

Equipment

Deep heavy pot
Fryer
Deep fryer thermometer
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Cutting board
Medium saucepan
Whisk
Medium bowl
Parchment or wax paper

Ingredients

For the donut:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
3 egg
8 oz ricotta cheese 1/2 lb whole or skim
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
canola oil for frying (or another oil with a high smoke point)

For the donut glaze:

1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Pink food coloring
Sprinkles

Nutrition

Servings: 24

Calories: 108kcal

Notes

Serving size dependent on cookie cutter size.

Instructions

To make the donuts:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add sugar, eggs, ricotta, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix until just combined.

To shape the donuts into hearts:

Chill the donut dough in the fridge for about 1 hour.
Once it’s chilled firm, roll and cut heart shapes from the dough using a cookie cutter on a lightly floured cutting board.
Exaggerate the heart shape dough with your hands. It will become smaller after frying.
Pop the heart cut-out dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes or until firm before cooking them.

To cook the donuts:

Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot. Leave at least 2 inches of space at the top for safety. Using a deep-fry thermometer, heat the oil over medium until it reaches 325-375 degrees F.
Fry a test doughnut: Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop a scoop of batter in and turn it occasionally. It should take 3-4 minutes to turn golden brown. Carefully remove and cut in half to check if it’s cooked all the way through. Test another if needed.
Fry the remaining doughnuts. Don’t overcrowd the pot; fry in batches. Place doughnuts on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

To make the glaze:

Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm.
Sift confectioners’ sugar into milk mixture.
Whisk slowly, until well combined.
Remove the glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water.
Dip doughnuts into the glaze, one at a time, and then place them on wax paper to set.