These fried blueberry doughnuts are for people who actually want their blueberry desserts to taste like blueberries. No fresh berries. No jam swirls. No “hint of blueberry.” Instead, these doughnuts use only freeze-dried blueberries, which means intense blueberry flavor and a naturally vibrant purple glaze without adding extra moisture to the dough.
They’re rich, tender, and deeply flavored, with that classic fried doughnut texture: crisp on the outside, soft and plush inside. If you’ve ever been disappointed by pale, barely-there blueberry doughnuts, this is the fix.
You may notice that this recipe is very similar to King Arthur’s Old Fashioned Doughnut recipe. This recipe simply adapts their base by adding in the blueberry flavor and a vibrant blueberry glaze. I am told they resemble the doughnuts from Blue Star Doughnuts in Los Angeles. Of course, this comment led me to peruse their site, and now I have a long agenda filled with Blue Star copycat recipes to create.
Should I use fresh blueberries?
You can use only 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries in this recipe. I tested this as well, but found that too many fresh blueberries made the dough sticky and difficult to work with. Fresh blueberries are great, but they’re mostly water. In fried doughnuts, that moisture can lead to soggy pockets, uneven frying, and muted flavor. Freeze-dried blueberries solve all of that.
Because the berries are completely dehydrated, they can be ground into a fine powder and folded directly into the dough. Since the dough is already a bit sticky, I recommend just using the freeze-dried blueberries.
Where do I get freeze-dried blueberries?
Grocery stores usually carry them near the nuts and trail mix in the dried fruit aisle (e.g., Trader Joe’s freeze-dried berry mixes) . I’ve personally found them at Target, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, ACME, and GIANT! If you can’t find them in store, they are super accessible on Amazon.
Ingredients
Blueberry Doughnut Base
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk 227 grams
- 2 tablespoons butter melted and cooled, 28 grams
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 533 grams
- 1/3 freeze-dried blueberries ground up into fine powder in food processor , about 10 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying 1191 grams
Bluberry Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted, 240 grams
- 1/3 cup heavy cream 80 grams, plus more to get the right texture
- 1/3 cup freeze-dried blueberries ground into fine powder, plus more if you prefer
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tsp orange zest about half an orange
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice 15 grams
Instructions
Blueberry Doughnut Base
- In a medium bowl, add all the glaze ingredients. Mix to form a thick glaze, since different brands of blueberries will absorb liquid differently, feel free to add more heavy cream or confectioner's sugar to get the consistency you want. It should be thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon an slowly drizzle off the spoon. Dip each doughnut, while warm into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Place on a wired rack with a parchment paper underneath to catch the extra glaze.
- Add vegetable oil to an 8-quart stock pot is an large dutch oven. While making the dough slowly start to heat the over medium heat; you want it to reach somewhere between 365°F and 375°F before you begin to cook.
- In medium bowl, add the dry ingredients and set aside (flour, ground freeze dried-blueberries, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, and sugar and until combined, mixture should be light in color an slightly thickened. Fold in the melted butter. Add in the reserved dry ingredients and fold to form a thick but soft dough. It will be slightly sticky. Flour a work surface, and your hands, and turn the dough out onto the surface. Knead the dough four or five times to make it cohesive and incorporate the blueberries into all parts of the dough. Then, with a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.
- With a circular cookie cutter (I used a 3.5 inch cutter) dipped in flour (you will want to re-dip it in flour each time you cut), cut out doughnuts. Save the “holes” for munchkins! I don’t recommend re-rolling the dough.
- When the oil is 365°F to 375°F, use. a slotted spoon to lower one doughnuts into it. I recommend starting with one to gage your cook time before moving into batches of 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time. The doughnuts may initially sink to the bottom of the pot, but they will quickly rise up again. Fry the doughnuts until lightly golden brown, about a minute. one each side. Then flip them and cook for a final 30 seconds.
- Remove the cooked doughnuts from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to catch the excess oil. Dip in glaze immediately .
- Store cooled doughnuts, well wrapped, at room temperature for up. to 3 days.
Bluberry Glaze
- Add all glaze ingredients to a bowl. The consistency should be thick but pourable. Since the brand of freeze-dried blueberries can affect the texture, add more heavy cream if the mixture seems too thick, or more sifted confectioners’ sugar if it seems too thin.
- For a more vibrant and flavorful glaze, you may need to add more finely ground freeze-dried blueberry powder to reach your desired color and flavor. This will thicken the glaze, similar to adding confectioners’ sugar, so balance it out with additional heavy cream as needed.
- Once the glaze is complete, dip the warm doughnuts into the glaze and place them on a cooling rack set over parchment paper to catch the drips.
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