Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Donuts

This recipe is from my debut cookbook, Donut Love! This classic donut had to have its own place on the blog to show you how fun it is to make donuts from scratch. If you love this recipe (and donuts in general!), be sure to snag a copy of the book!

Brioche donuts are likely the type of donut you are most familiar with and commonly see at bakeries. With its naturally mild flavor profile, brioche donuts from bakeries may rely on a sweet glaze or filling to stand out. But with the right high quality ingredients, namely unbleached all-purpose flour, large Grade AA eggs, and European-style butter, a plain brioche donut warm from the deep fryer should taste like a buttery dinner roll with a balanced yeasty flavor!

With a blank canvas that’s as delicious as my brioche, you can’t go wrong with a simple coating like cinnamon sugar. These cinnamon sugar donuts in particular have the ideal sugar to cinnamon ratio reminiscent of cinnamon sugar toast. The warm and fluffy brioche paired with the spiced sweet coating is like instant joy in every bite. Once you try this recipe, I guarantee it will become your go-to for every celebratory breakfast!

For more donut recipes, try Maple Glazed Brioche Donuts, Chocolate Filled Brioche Donuts, and Double Chocolate Glazed Donuts.

Why you'll love these cinnamon sugar donuts

• Overnight Proof: By letting the dough rise slowly in a cold environment, it not only develops more depth of flavor, but also gives you more flexibility with the timing of frying the donuts. Cold brioche dough is also much easier to work with! I recommend making the dough the night before, proofing overnight, and frying the donuts within 24 hours.
• Pillowy Texture & Buttery Flavor: As an enriched dough, this brioche has a pillowy soft texture with a beautiful even, tender crumb. Its buttery, slightly sweet, and balanced yeasty taste makes it the perfect vessel for just about any coating or glaze.
• Endless Versatility: Make this recipe your own by adding warm spices to the dough, swapping the cinnamon for pumpkin spice in the coating, or not cutting out the center hole and filling them with jelly! This base brioche recipe can create any donut you can dream up!

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use unbleached all-purpose flour for the best flavor and proper gluten development.
• Salt: Add kosher or fine sea salt to the flour to enhance the flavors in the donut. Mix it into the flour rather than the salt to the milk, yeast mixture, or it may kill the yeast.
• Milk: Use whole milk for best flavor, and bring it to about 110 degrees F to help the yeast activate. Be careful not to make it too hot, or it can kill the yeast.
• Sugar: A small amount of granulated sugar is mixed in with the milk and yeast to help activate the yeast, as well as give the brioche a richer color on top as it bakes.
• Yeast: Feel free to use instant or active dry yeast.
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a touch of pure vanilla extract for a slightly sweeter brioche.
• Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for optimum flavor and overall result. I recommend Kerrygold.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this cinnamon sugar brioche donut recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Activate the yeast; Mix in eggs & vanilla. In a cup, heat the milk to 110 degrees F (40 degrees C) and stir in the sugar and yeast. If using active dry yeast, allow it to sit for 15 minutes for the yeast to activate. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step. Mix the eggs and vanilla into the milk yeast mixture.

STEP 2: Add wet ingredients to dry. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.

STEP 3: Mix in the butter. Add in a few pieces of butter at a time, allowing them to fully incorporate before adding more. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 8-12 minutes. The dough will eventually pull away from the sides of the bowl and have a silky smooth texture with minimal stickiness. T

STEP 4: Perform windowpane test. o check if the dough is ready, use the windowpane test - tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute or two and check again.

STEP 5: Proof the dough. Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge. Alternatively, you can let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

STEP 6: Cut out the donuts. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ½” (1.25 cm) in thickness. Brush away any excess flour. Use well floured 3” (7.5 cm) and 1” (2.5 cm) round cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible and place each on a parchment square. Shape the excess dough into a disk, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 15 minutes before re-rolling and cutting out more donuts.

STEP 7: Proof the donuts & make the cinnamon sugar. Cover the donuts and allow to rise for about 30 minutes or until nearly room temperature, but still slightly cool to the touch. When pressed with a finger, the dough will slowly spring back.

Meanwhile, make the cinnamon sugar. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. 

STEP 8: Fry the donuts & coat in cinnamon sugar. Once proofed, use the parchment squares to gently lower 2-3 donuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for 90 seconds on the first side, then flip over and fry for an additional 90 seconds until golden. Transfer the donuts to the wire rack.

Once the donuts have cooled just enough to handle, toss them in the cinnamon sugar to coat.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x