Any doughnut is a delicious delight – but fresh donuts (donuts you make yourself) are something else entirely.
The absolute perfect snack (almost any time of day, even), fresh donuts are a lot easier to make them most people realize as well.
In fact, if you know even just a little bit about cooking (not even baking, just cooking) the odds are pretty good you can make donuts better than your local donut shop sooner than you would have thought possible.
Of course, if you’re going to be making donuts on a regular basis you’re going to need to either have a donut cutter specifically made to produce perfect donuts every time – or a substitute that’ll help you get the job done just as well.
That’s where this detailed guide comes into play.
Below we highlight just about everything you need to know about cutting donuts without having to have a donut cutter on hand (or even know what one looks like, even).
Let’s jump in!
How to Cut Donuts Without Donut Cutter
Donuts – perfectly round with a center punched out for your finger – have an almost iconic look, a consistent look, that is produced (commercially at least) by donut cutters specifically designed to punch the dough twice in a single move.
Donut cutters slice out the outer perimeter of your donut and punch the “donut hole” in one fell swoop, making them super easy to use and foolishly reliable.
At the same time, most folks don’t have donut cutters on hand – even in otherwise well outfitted kitchens. This isn’t the kind of accessory lots of folks are reaching for on a routine basis.
Luckily, though, you don’t need to have a donut cutter on hand to produce fantastic (and consistent) donuts.
Use the tools and tips we highlight below and you’ll be rocking and rolling in no time, pumping out dozens and dozens of donuts without having to buy a specialty cutter.
Biscuit Cutters Work in a Pinch
If you don’t have a donut cutter close at hand you might have a biscuit cutter, and (truth be told) that works just as well.
Biscuit cutters have that perfectly round and consistent shape we are looking for, and while they may produce slightly smaller donuts than what most people are used to they still get the job done.
Biscuit cutters are able to punch that tight, even, perfect shape out of pretty much any kind of donuts do as well. You’ll have to punch out the middle separately (we show you how in a second), but that’s not all that big of a deal.
If you’ve got a biscuit cutter, use a biscuit cutter!
Tops of Jars Can Work Well, Too
The tops of jars – Mason jars and the like – can be used in a pinch to cut out the shape of a donut consistently, too.
These jars aren’t going to have a super sharp edge for cutting on the top (that would leave your lips cut more often than not), and many of them are going to have a screwtop that can be punched into the doughnut as well.
Don’t worry about that, though.
A little bit of extra brute force will still separate your donut from the rest of your dough. And as far as the screw imprints are concerned, those will “buff out” while you rest your donuts before cooking them – and will definitely be smoothed out during the actual cooking process.
Use a Large Glass (Like a Pint Glass)
A large glass (like a pint glass) can be used as a donut cutter as well.
You’ll have to use a little bit of extra force, just like you would have with the top of a jar, but you’ll be able to punch consistent donuts in almost any kind of dough without a lot of headache or hassle.
The beautiful thing about using a large glass to punch your donuts is that you get that perfect donuts size (the top of these classes are almost always the same size as standard donut cutters) and you can quickly clean things up in the dishwasher, too.
A (Cleaned) Open Can of Soup or Veggies
If you are really in a bind and need something to cut perfect donut shapes – and you don’t mind if those donuts are a little bit on the smaller side of things – you can use a (cleaned) open can of soup or vegetables.
The shape is definitely going to be on the smaller side of things, but that just means more donuts – but the mouth of these kinds of cans are made of metal (very narrow metal) and can punch clean and consistent holes out of your dough just the same way as a legitimate donut cutter can.
Just make sure that you really clean these cans before you use them.
Nobody wants green bean or chicken soup flavored donuts!
Punch Centers with Your Finger
As far as punching out the centers of your donuts are concerned, you have the best donut homemakers in the world attached to your wrists!
Your finger pushed through the center of your donuts is going to do the job better than any other tool that isn’t a dedicated donut cutter.
You’ll be able to decide exactly where that donut hole goes. You’ll be able to decide exactly how big that donut hole is. And you’ll even be able to punch the center out, roll it up into a small ball, and then cook that donut hole with the rest of your donuts, too.
It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.
Closing Thoughts
There you have it – everything you need to know about mastering cutting donuts without having to have a dedicated donut cutter anywhere near your kitchen.
Of course, donut cutters are pretty inexpensive these days (available for next to nothing on Amazon, even) if you do decide to spring for one.
If not, though, don’t worry about it.
All the options we highlighted above will help you make dozens and dozens of donuts with no problem at all.