There’s something ridiculously nostalgic about biting into a Krispy Kreme Jack-O-Lantern Doughnut. It’s not just the icing, or the puff of golden dough, or the goofy little grin piped on top. It’s the memory of walking past a glowing shop window in October, the glass slightly fogged, that sweet bready scent wrapping around you like a scarf.
I first tried one of these pumpkin-faced beauties during a spontaneous grocery stop just before Halloween. I hadn’t planned on buying doughnuts, but there they were, beaming up at me from a 6-pack box, cheerful and ridiculous in their orange glow. I brought them home, set one beside my coffee, and took a bite. Light. Airy. Sweet without being cloying. That thick orange icing hit like cake frosting, in the best way. It wasn’t spooky, it was comforting.
This copycat Krispy Kreme Jack-O-Lantern Doughnut recipe is built for that exact feeling. A soft yeast shell, bright orange buttercreme-style icing, a silly Jack-o’-lantern face, and a touch of green icing stem to crown it all. No tricks. Just a treat.
Table of Contents
Nutrition (per doughnut)
Approximate
Calories: 310
Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 42 g
Sugar: 24 g
Protein: 4 g
Ingredients
Prep Time: 2½ hours (including rising and cooling)
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: ~3 hours
Yields: 10 doughnuts
For the doughnuts
- 2 ¾ cups (340 g) bread flour
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) warm water
- ¼ cup (60 ml) warm whole milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Neutral oil for frying (canola or sunflower)
For the orange icing
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or refined coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 4 to 5 tbsp whole milk, warm
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp butter flavoring (optional, but recommended)
- Pinch of salt
- Orange gel food coloring
For the Jack-o’-lantern face & stem
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ tbsp milk
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 1 tsp melted butter
- Pinch of salt
- Green food coloring for stem icing
Tools You’ll Need
• Stand mixer or mixing bowl
• Rolling pin
• Pumpkin cookie cutter (or sharp knife + template)
• Large pot or deep fryer
• Slotted spoon or spider
• Piping bags or plastic zip bags
• Cooling rack + paper towels
• Thermometer for frying
Instructions
Step 1: Make the dough
In a stand mixer with dough hook, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In a separate bowl, whisk warm milk, water, egg, butter, and vanilla. Pour wet into dry and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead for 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled.
Step 2: Shape your pumpkins
Roll dough to 10–11 mm thickness on a floured surface. Use a pumpkin-shaped cutter, or cut 8 cm rounds and sculpt cheeky notches and a stem nub with your fingers.
Place on parchment-lined trays. Cover and let rise another 30–40 minutes until puffy.
Step 3: Fry
Heat oil to 175–177°C (350–355°F). Fry 2–3 at a time for about 45–55 seconds per side until pale golden. Drain on paper towels, then cool on a wire rack.
Tip: Don’t let them brown too much, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are pale and light.
Step 4: Make the orange icing
Whisk powdered sugar, butter, corn syrup, warm milk, vanilla, butter flavor, and salt. Adjust milk until it’s pourable like heavy cream. Tint bright orange. Keep warm.
Dip tops of cooled doughnuts. Let excess drip, then rest for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Decorate the face
Mix chocolate face icing ingredients until smooth and thick enough to pipe. Spoon into piping bag or zip-top bag with tip snipped. Pipe triangle eyes, a nose, and a jagged smile.
For the stem, tint a few spoonfuls of the leftover icing green. Pipe a little leafy nub at the top.
Let the doughnuts set uncovered 20–30 minutes before serving.
What to Serve with
Spooky Sips
• Pumpkin Spice Latte or chai – Anything warm and spiced pairs beautifully with the soft, sweet dough.
• Cold brew with sweet cream – That bitter chill cuts through the sugar and highlights the icing’s buttery flavor.
• Hot cider – Cinnamon, apples, and doughnuts were made to be friends.
Crisp-Savory Nibbles
• Cheese cubes and grapes – Sweet, salty, and snacky. It’s a fun grown-up pairing if you’re serving these at a fall get-together.
• Bacon twists or salty puff pastry – For contrast. It’s like breakfast-for-dessert energy.
• Maple-glazed sausage links – This sounds wild but trust me, it hits all the fairground notes.
More sweets (because why not?)
• Cinnamon apple chips – Light and crackly beside the soft dough.
• Pumpkin fudge or peanut brittle – If you’re making a Halloween dessert board, these doughnuts are your showstopper.
• Chocolate-dipped pretzels – Little salty snaps between bites of sugar. Balance.
Variations
Filled Jack-O’-Lanterns
After frying, use a piping tip to fill with pastry cream or pumpkin pie filling before icing. This makes them more like jelly shells with spooky flair.
Maple Jack-O’-Lanterns
Replace orange icing with maple glaze and use chocolate icing for the face. Sweet, woodsy, and wildly autumnal.
Mini Doughnut Pumpkins
Cut smaller rounds and skip the stem. Easier to fry and decorate for little hands. Great for school parties or Halloween potlucks.
Chocolate Glazed Ghosts
Use the same dough but cut ghost shapes and dip in white glaze. Use chocolate face for spooky eyes.
Savory Pumpkin Rolls
Use the dough base (reduce sugar to 2 tbsp) and fill with cheese or garlic herb butter. Serve warm with chili or soup.
Ingredient Substitutes
Flour
Original: Bread flour
Swap: All-purpose flour (your doughnuts will be slightly softer, less chewy, but still delicious)
Milk
Original: Whole milk
Swap: 2% milk, evaporated milk, or dairy-free like oat or almond milk
Butter flavor
Original: Butter extract or emulsion
Swap: A bit more vanilla and a pinch of salt if you’re skipping it
Corn syrup
Original: Light corn syrup
Swap: Honey, glucose syrup, or leave it out (but your icing may crust faster and be less glossy)
Powdered sugar
Original: Icing sugar
Swap: Blend granulated sugar in a high-speed blender to make your own
Food coloring
Original: Gel food coloring
Swap: Natural beet and turmeric-based dyes (though colors won’t be as vibrant), or leave plain for a minimalist look
Cocoa powder (for face icing)
Original: Dutch-process cocoa
Swap: Natural cocoa powder or even melted dark chocolate for richer contrast
Frying oil
Original: Canola or sunflower oil
Swap: Vegetable shortening (for crisper crust) or peanut oil (if no allergies)
Honest Review
After a couple batches (and more sugar than I care to admit), this homemade Jack-O-Lantern doughnut lands surprisingly close to the real Krispy Kreme version. The dough is feather-light with that telltale gentle chew, and the icing? Sweet, creamy, and just buttery enough to mimic their signature “buttercreme” vibe. It sets with a glossy finish, no gritty sugar feel, and holds its sheen for hours.
Is it a perfect clone? Not quite. I mean, Krispy Kreme probably uses commercial emulsifiers and pro-level proofers I just don’t have in my kitchen. But does it taste like fall nostalgia in doughnut form? 100%.
The face details are charming, the orange glaze pops, and every bite has that melt-in-your-mouth magic you get when a doughnut is freshly fried and still a little warm. It’s festive, fun, and honestly… more satisfying than a store-bought 6-pack.
Would I make it again? Already planning to. Especially with a big mug of coffee and a Halloween playlist in the background.
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups (340 g) bread flour
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) warm water
- ¼ cup (60 ml) warm whole milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Neutral oil for frying (canola or sunflower)
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or refined coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 4 to 5 tbsp whole milk, warm
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp butter flavoring (optional, but recommended)
- Pinch of salt
- Orange gel food coloring
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ tbsp milk
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 1 tsp melted butter
- Pinch of salt
- Green food coloring for stem icing
Instructions
Step 1: Make the dough
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, water, egg, butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead for 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Step 2: Shape your pumpkins
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 10–11 mm thickness. Use a pumpkin-shaped cutter, or cut 8 cm rounds and gently pinch or sculpt small notches and a stem nub with your fingers to create the pumpkin shape.
Place the dough shapes on parchment-lined trays. Cover and let them rise again for 30–40 minutes until light and puffy.
Step 3: Fry
Heat oil to 175–177°C (350–355°F). Fry 2–3 doughnuts at a time for about 45–55 seconds per side, until just pale golden. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tip: Keep them light, Krispy Kreme doughnuts should be pale, not deeply browned.
Step 4: Make the orange icing
In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, butter, corn syrup, warm milk, vanilla, butter flavor, and salt. Adjust the milk as needed until the icing is pourable, like heavy cream. Tint it bright orange and keep it slightly warm.
Dip the tops of the cooled doughnuts into the icing, let the excess drip off, then rest them for 10 minutes to set.
Step 5: Decorate the face
Prepare the chocolate icing by mixing the ingredients until smooth and thick enough to pipe. Transfer to a piping or zip-top bag with the tip snipped off. Pipe triangle eyes, a nose, and a jagged jack-o’-lantern smile.
Tint a few spoonfuls of leftover icing green and pipe a small leafy nub or stem at the top.
Let the decorated doughnuts set uncovered for 20–30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition (per doughnut) Approximate Calories: 310 Fat: 14 g Saturated Fat: 4 g Carbohydrates: 42 g Sugar: 24 g Protein: 4 g
