You can’t get enough of this light and airy Elephant Ears Recipe! Crispy fried dough with a tender inside and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. The perfect at home fair food.
Elephant Ears are kind of similar to funnel cakes like you can get at the county or state fair or boardwalk. There’s nothing better than a cinnamon sugar fried dough kind of treat!
Light, chewy on the inside, and crispy on the outside, these Elephant Ears Recipe are a special dessert. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or dusted with powdered sugar, it’s the perfect touch to complete this special dessert.
I’m a huge fan of the fair, especially the Minnesota State Fair. There are tons and tons of people, food trucks, food vendors, so much to do. It’s an all around good time, but I’m there each year for the fair food!
You can catch me there with one of these every single year. Sure, yes, I know how to make them, and using this recipe makes it SUPER simple to make all year round (trust me I make them constantly because the family always wants them!), but having someone else make one for me just makes them taste even better for some reason.
Trust me, with this Elephant Ear recipe, you can’t go wrong. They’re so good and it is nice to enjoy one at home without having to worry if it’s fair season yet or not.
Some of our other favorite fun fried food recipes we have on our site include: Sopapillas, Fried Mac and Cheese Balls, and a good ol’ classic Funnel Cakes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- It is super simple to double this recipe to make more!
- Makes you feel like you’re going to the fair or the carnival without having to wait for it to come to town.
- The kids love them just as much as the ones we can get at the fair!
- Delicious treats in under 20 minutes!!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
Whole milk
All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Fine sea salt
Unsalted butter
Ground cinnamon
Peanut oil for frying
HOW TO MAKE ELEPHANT EARS, STEP BY STEP:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, pour in the milk and microwave it in 15-30 second intervals until it’s heated to 110°F. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add in the butter and slowly stream in the hot milk while stirring, until a slightly sticky dough forms. Once the dough forms, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is sitting, in a large skillet with deep sides or a dutch oven, start heating 2-3 inches of oil.
- Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon together in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Create a clean working surface and dust it with flour. Divide up the dough into 8 equal portions, and roll each dough portion in the flour so it is lightly coated with flour. Roll it out into a rough ¼-inch thick circle and repeat with the rest of the dough balls. Place the finished rolled-out circles between parchment paper layers until ready to fry them.
- Once the oil in the skillet or dutch reaches 350°F, carefully place one Elephant Ear at a time into the hot oil and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until lightly golden brown in color.
- Once it’s done, carefully remove it from the oil and place the fried dough on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
- Place it on a wire rack over a sheet tray. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the ear immediately and repeat with the remaining dough ears. Serve and enjoy.
WHAT ARE ELEPHANT EARS?
This delicious and easy recipe is a common fair food. It is a circular piece of dough that is fried and then topped with cinnamon sugar.
The large wavy and kind of wrinkly shape of this fried dough treat is similar to that of an elephant ear. You can find this treat at many fairs, carnivals, and even food trucks in Africa, and all around the world.
WHAT ELSE IS THIS CALLED?
Elephant ears have many names, some other names you may know this dessert by are:
- Fry bread
- Buñuelos
- Fried dough fritters
- Fry dough
- Doughboys
- Scones
- Flying Saucers
And, y’all, I’m sure there’s more, everybody seems to have their own names for these things.
CAN I TOP THESE WITH OTHER THINGS?
Feel free to swap out the topping choice or add any of your other favorites. Try powdered sugar, whipped cream, fresh fruit, festive sprinkles, your favorite pie filling, a scoop of your favorite flavor of ice cream, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and more.
HOW TO STORE:
These Elephant Ears are best eaten the same day that you make them but they can last up to 2 days at room temperature.
These can also be frozen. I recommend placing sheets of parchment or wax paper in between them and then placing them in a freezer-safe bag where they will keep for up to 3 months.
Also, I recommend freezing without the cinnamon sugar on top if you can.
These are best eaten warm, so if you want to reheat them you can. Just put one in the microwave for 15 seconds to warm it up again or place it in the oven for a minute or so to bring it back to life.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can use whatever milk you prefer, I just like to use whole milk in this recipe..
- It’s important to keep the oil nice and hot, use a candy thermometer to help you keep an eye on the oil temperature.
- You can reheat these to bring them back to crispy, hot snacks, check out my suggestions above.
- Plus, you can freeze these! I like to make a huge batch and freeze the extra ones to enjoy again later. Check out the freezing tips I have shared above.
- Easily double this recipe.
- Top with other toppings if desired, see my suggestions above.
Ready for an absolutely irresistible dessert that will make you feel like you’re at the fair? Then this Elephant Ear Recipe is just what you need.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
If you’ve tried this ELEPHANT EARS RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Elephant Ears Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe bowl, pour in the milk and microwave it in 15-30 second intervals until it's heated to 110°F. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add in the butter and slowly stream in the hot milk while stirring, until a slightly sticky dough forms. Once the dough forms, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is sitting, in a large skillet with deep sides or a dutch oven, start heating 2-3 inches of oil.
- Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon together in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Create a clean working surface and dust it with flour. Divide up the dough into 8 equal portions, and roll each dough portion in the flour so it is lightly coated with flour. Roll it out into a rough ¼-inch thick circle and repeat with the rest of the dough balls. Place the finished rolled-out circles between parchment paper layers until ready to fry them.
- Once the oil in the skillet or dutch reaches 350°F, carefully place one Elephant Ear at a time into the hot oil and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until lightly golden brown in color.
- Once it's done, carefully remove it from the oil and place the fried dough on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
- Place it on a wire rack over a sheet tray. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the ear immediately and repeat with the remaining dough ears. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- You can use whatever milk you prefer, I just like to use whole milk in this recipe..
- It's important to keep the oil nice and hot, use a candy thermometer to help you keep an eye on the oil temperature.
- You can reheat these to bring them back to crispy, hot snacks, check out my suggestions above.
- Plus, you can freeze these! I like to make a huge batch and freeze the extra ones to enjoy again later. Check out the freezing tips I have shared above.
- Easily double this recipe.
- Top with other toppings if desired, see my suggestions above.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Laura
Is there an oil that would work just as well as peanut oil? I would love to make these for my kids, but my youngest is allergic to peanuts, so I do not use peanut oil.
Tornadough Alli
Canola oil will work fine with this.