You’ll need to have your donuts fried and ready for glazing. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet–this is to set the donuts on while the glaze cools, and the baking sheet will catch the drips and avoid making a mess of your counter.

Sift the powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve. This helps avoid lumps in your donut glaze. Measure out the vanilla extract and set aside.

In a small (about 2 quart) pan, heat the milk until it’s steaming and very hot, but not boiling. Remove it from the heat.

Whisk in the powdered sugar, about a half cup at a time. When all of the sugar has been added, immediately stir in the vanilla extract.

Using a fork, dip the donuts in the glaze and flip them to coat both sides. Remove the donut from the glaze and allow any excess to drip off. Place it on the prepared cooling rack and repeat the process with the rest of the donuts.

If the glaze begins to harden in the pan before you’ve finished dipping the donuts, you can reheat it over low heat to thin it back out. Every time it’s reheated, the glaze will become a little bit thicker, so you may need to add a few teaspoons of milk to thin it back out.