Air Fryer Halloween Donuts (The Spooky 20-Minute Party Recipe)

Name: Air Fryer Halloween Donuts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 8 donuts
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 can (16.3 oz / 462g) refrigerated biscuit dough (8-count); 3 tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, melted; 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice; 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, divided; 2-3 tbsp (30-45 ml) milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; Gel food coloring: orange, purple, black; 1/4 cup (45g) chocolate chips; Halloween sprinkles and candy eyeballs

No yeast, no deep fryer, no waiting around — just a can of biscuit dough, 5 minutes in the air fryer, and a decorating station that turns plain donuts into the spookiest treats on the party table. These Air Fryer Halloween Donuts come out golden and fluffy, then get the full haunted treatment: half rolled in pumpkin-spice cinnamon sugar, half dunked in orange, purple, and midnight-chocolate glazes with Halloween sprinkles and a spiderweb drizzle. They’re the kind of recipe that makes you look like you tried way harder than you did — perfect alongside monster Halloween cookies and a cauldron of witches brew punch for the ultimate spooky spread.

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 10 min | Total: 20 min | Makes: 8 donuts

Air Fryer Halloween Donuts with orange glaze and chocolate spiderweb drizzle

What You Need

1 can (16.3 oz / 462g) refrigerated biscuit dough (8-count)
3 tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, divided
2-3 tbsp (30-45 ml) milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Gel food coloring: orange, purple, black
1/4 cup (45g) chocolate chips
Halloween sprinkles and candy eyeballs

Air Fryer Halloween Donuts ingredients and decorating station

How To Make It

Shape the donuts: separate 8 biscuits; punch a hole in each center with a small round cutter (keep the holes as donut holes).
Air fry at 350°F (175°C): 4 donuts per batch, 5-6 minutes flipping halfway, until deep golden. Donut holes: 3-4 minutes.
Cinnamon-sugar half: brush warm donuts with melted butter, roll in cinnamon sugar + pumpkin pie spice.

Air frying the Halloween donuts until golden

Glaze the spooky half: whisk 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1-1.5 tbsp milk + vanilla; divide and tint orange, purple, black; dip donut tops.
Decorate: add Halloween sprinkles while wet; pipe a chocolate spiderweb (3 circles + toothpick-dragged lines); add candy eyeballs.
Serve the same day, slightly warm.

Tips & Variations

Don’t skip the flip: air fryers blast heat from the top, so flipping halfway is the difference between pale bottoms and evenly deep-golden donuts.
Glaze consistency is everything: aim for a slow ribbon off the whisk — too thick and it won’t dip smoothly, too thin and it slides right off. Add milk 1/2 tsp at a time.
Make-ahead: fry the donuts plain the day before and store airtight at room temperature, then glaze and decorate on party day for the freshest look — our spooky Halloween sugar cookies are another great make-ahead Halloween bake.
Spider donuts: skip the hole, glaze the whole top black, and press 8 pretzel sticks around the sides for legs — instant creepy-crawly donuts.
All-cinnamon-sugar option: skip the glazes entirely and roll every donut in the pumpkin-spice cinnamon sugar — just as festive, half the work.

Estimated nutrition per donut: ~290 cal | protein 4g | carbs 48g | fat 10g.