Upgrade Breakfast By Transforming Canned Biscuits Into Sugary Sweet Donuts

A can of refrigerated biscuit dough holds limitless possibilities. The contents can certainly be used as directed to make fluffy fresh biscuits, but there are dozens of other ways to transform the dough into unusual treats, from monkey bread to garlic knots.

Biscuit dough also makes excellent donuts, if you're willing to whip out the frying oil. For a flaky, airy, buttery-delicious donut, just punch out a hole in your circle of biscuit dough (a glass or the lid of a jar or bottle will work in a pinch), then heat up the oil until it's bubbling hot and fry the dough until it's golden brown and cooked through. Peanut, vegetable, and canola oil work best for frying!

You can also fry up biscuits like beignets if you don't want to spend the time cutting out donut holes; regardless, the fried dough is a great way to get a platter of sweet donuts ready in a flash, without having to go through the production of proofing dough.

A donut is often only as good as its toppings, and one of the best things about making donuts at home is how creative you can get with your flavors. Donuts can be glazed, powdered, sprinkled, frosted, and coated in all sorts of delicious flavor combinations.

Cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar are two simple yet classic options. If you're using these, be sure to coat the donuts while they're still hot and a little oily, so the sugar sticks better.

A drizzle of melted chocolate over the top works as well. You can use the melted chocolate to stick on additional toppings, such as pieces of candy or crumbled cookies, or even slices of fruit like strawberries. When the chocolate hardens, the extra toppings will hold fast.

Caramel, strawberry sauce, condensed milk, peanut butter — they can all be used to top fresh homemade donuts as well. Get a little creative when combining flavors for the best results.

Donuts are only the tip of the canned biscuit dough iceberg of possibilities. Since biscuit dough can be easily doctored to suit both sweet and savory recipes, it's incredibly versatile, making it a perfect candidate for incorporating into recipes of all kinds. 

For example, a tube of biscuit dough can easily be used as a crust for hand pies or empanadas. The dough can be stuffed with any number of ingredients before baking, from jam or fruit filling to chili, mac and cheese, or other savory combinations. It can also be used for topping both savory and sweet baked dishes: chicken pot pie, peach cobbler, and even breakfast casseroles.

You can also use biscuit dough to wrap things, such as brie (for a fancy baked appetizer), hot dogs (for a larger version of Pigs in a Blanket), or meatloaf (for a delectable meatloaf Wellington). The next time you're in need of dough in a pinch, try substituting in some biscuit dough!