Everyone loves donuts. Whether you prefer these sweet treats first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee, as a late night snack, or anytime in between, you can make your favorite donuts right in your own kitchen.

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Quick and Easy Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Sometimes, the best recipes are the easiest and while you can make your own donut dough (we'll show you how a little later), there's a really easy way to cheat by picking up a can of biscuits in your local grocery store.

What you'll need:

1 can of biscuits (found in the refrigerated section)

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

2 cups of cooking oil (for instance, canola, vegetable)

1 paper bag

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Voila! A delicious batch of homemade donuts in less time than it takes to drive to the store and back.

You can also repeat the frying and coating process with your leftover "donut holes," just keep an eye on the pan, because those little holes will fry up fast!

If you'd like to make donuts from scratch with your own donut dough, just follow this simple recipe, adapted from recipehut.com.
What you'll need:

1 package cake yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup Crisco, or shortening of choice

8 cups of flour

1 egg (beaten)

Start by dissolving the cake yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water along with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and let the mixture sit until it foams. Mix the Crisco with 1/4 cup of sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add in the beaten egg, salt and 2 cups of warm water, then add in the dissolved yeast and sifted flour. When the dough forms, knead until it's smooth and elastic then set aside to rise until the dough doubles in size. Punch the dough down and then let it rise again. At this point you can separate the dough into individual donuts and fry in a deep fryer or a large frying pan with straight sides.
Beignets

For those of you who have had the profound pleasure of visiting Café du Monde in New Orleans (and all of you that haven't), this delicious beignet recipe is perfect when you have that donut craving but just want a little bite. Fair warning; eating just one of these magical little French treats is nearly impossible! This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com.

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What you'll need:

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of warm water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup shortening

1 quart vegetable oil

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

First dissolve the yeast with the warm water in a large bowl, then add in the sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk and blend. Gently mix in 4 cups of the flour, blending until smooth. Then you can add in the shortening and remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover the bowl and chill for up to 24 hours.

When the dough is ready, roll it out until about 1/8 inch thick and cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. You can fry your beignets in a deep fryer at 360 F degrees or the frying pan option with cooking oil. If your beignets do not pop up to the surface, your oil is not hot enough. When the beignets are golden brown, remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.
The last step is to shake the confectioner's sugar over the top of the beignets, which should be served warm.

Donuts make great canvasses so don't be afraid to get a little creative with your donut toppings. You can buy or make frosting, glazes, sprinkles, nuts, crushed candy, or whatever your heart (or tummy) desires. Here's a super simple vanilla glaze recipe to get you started:

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What you'll need:

1 cup of confectioner's sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons of water

Just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and drizzle over your donuts!

Making donuts is fun, quick, and best of all, simple. The next time your family has a donut craving, just whip up a quick batch at home. You don't have to tell them how easy it is.