Easy Homemade French Crullers Dipped in Honey Glaze
Homemade French Crullers are one of the easiest and most delicious kinds of doughnut you can make. Start to finish, they take about an hour to make and requires only a small handful of ingredients - milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and flour. They are simple enough for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast but pretty enough for a special occasion brunch.
This recipe includes a super simple method for frying Crullers with ease and a delicious sweet honey glaze.
What are Traditional French Crullers?
"Crullers" are kind of a broad category of pastry. Traditional Crullers are fried rectangles of dough twisted into a sort of braided torpedo. Sometimes, Crullers are made with a batter more akin to a cake doughnut. But, French Crullers are lovely fluted, ring-shaped doughnuts made from pâte à choux that's fried and then dipped in a sweet glaze.
Pâte à choux (choux pastry) is that delicious, buttery, eggy dough used to make things like Profiteroles and Eclairs. It can be a bit tricky. But, the version used for these French Crullers is easy-peasy.
Frying the dough eliminates many of the challenges of baking pâte à choux. The dough comes together quickly - they are quite literally something you can decide to make at 9am and be happily eating by 10am.
4 Simple Steps For Making Pâte à Choux (Choux Pastry):
- Add milk, water, butter, salt, and sugar to a saucepan and bring it to a full, rapid boil.
- Add the flour. Pour the flour in all at once and stir until it forms a dough. Cook the dough for about a minute longer, smushing it against the side of the pan as you do. Then, dump the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer and let it cool down for a few minutes.
- Add the eggs. Add two eggs to the dough and beat until they have been fully incorporated. Beat in a third egg, then an additional egg white and some lemon zest. Make sure to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then.
- Let it chill. Cover the bowl and set it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes while you prepare to fry the doughnuts.
The super easy technique for frying crullers with ease:
One of the potentially tricky parts of making crullers is getting that delicate pastry dough into the hot oil. The dough is soft enough to be piped into pretty little rounds, making it nearly impossible to lift the doughnuts into the hot oil.
The solution is simple: Just pipe each doughnut onto its own little parchment paper square and lift eat whole thing - parchment and all - into the hot oil. Once the doughnut hits the hot oil, the parchment will come free from the dough and you can use metal tongs to remove it.
Crullers cook quickly. After 5 or 6 minutes, they will be golden brown, soft and airy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. When the crullers are a rich golden brown, use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove them from the hot oil, set them on a metal rack, and drizzle them with plenty of honey glaze.
Here's something you may not know about Crullers:
Apparently, Crullers were referenced in The Wizard of Oz. Aunt Em offered Hunk, Hickory and Zeke a cruller after scolding them for being "three shiftless farmhands". So, Aunt Em thought they were screw ups, but at least they got a Cruller out of it.
You don't have to be a shiftless farmhand to deserve a French Cruller. You deserve one simply because it's today and they are delicious. No other reason required.
This recipe makes 9 or 10 French Crullers, depending on how thick your piping is. The doughnuts are best the day they are made, but still pretty good the next day. I made the ones pictured here yesterday and am eating one right now, as I type this. Still delicious.
More Favorite Doughnut and Pastry Recipes:
Apple Fritters with Maple Glaze {Overnight Recipe}
These are the kind of apple fritters you’d get at the very best kind of doughnut shop – soft yeast raised dough with a hint of nutmeg and orange, buttery cinnamon coated apples, and crackly maple glaze. This recipe includes instructions for letting the apple fritters rise overnight so you can fry them up in the morning and enjoy them at their best – warm and fresh.
Doughnut Recipe | Overnight Homemade Doughnuts
This doughnut recipe can be used to make pretty much any kind of homemade doughnut you can imagine. Chocolate or vanilla glazed? Of course. Cream filled? Absolutely. Doughnut holes? You betcha. Rolled in sugar, frosted or glazed, covered in cereal, sprinkled with bacon, filled with fruit or pastry cream… whatever you can imagine, this is the only doughnut recipe you will ever need.
But, you want to know the best thing about this doughnut recipe?
The dough is super simple, and cut-out doughnuts can rise in the refrigerator overnight so that all you have to do to enjoy homemade doughnuts in the morning is cook them. In your bathrobe, of course.
Doughnut Holes filled with Salted Caramel Pastry Cream
Tender yeast raised doughnut holes are filled with salted caramel pastry cream and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.
Perfect Chocolate Eclairs {Filled with Pastry Cream}
Eclairs are buttery logs of choux pastry (pâte à choux) baked until light, tender, and puffed up to form a hollow center that’s perfect for filling with luscious vanilla pastry cream and topping with a rich chocolate glaze.
Perfect Profiteroles {Little French Cream Puffs}
Profiteroles (cream puffs) are buttery little balls of choux pastry (pâte à choux) baked until light, tender, and puffed up to form a hollow center. They are the perfect vessel for pastry cream, ice cream, whipped cream, all varieties of savory ingredients, or anything your imagination and taste buds, can dream up.
Overnight Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Rich, buttery rolls with gooey swirls of cinnamon sugar, slathered in vanilla cream cheese icing. If you love the kind of cinnamon rolls that are soft and buttery, and not overly sweet, this easy recipe just might become one of your favorite morning indulgences.
Napoleon Dessert Recipe | French Pastry (Mille Feuille Cream Pastry)
Layers of flaky French pastry and the most perfect vanilla pastry cream come together in this popular cream pastry, also known as a Mille Feuille.
If you like this recipe, you'll also probably like this Cannoli Filled Napoleon.
Frequently Asked Questions about Making French Crullers:
Q: I noticed there's a higher amount of salt in this recipe than in similar recipes. Why the higher amount?
A: I rarely feel that recipes for sweet foods include enough salt. Salt does so much more than make foods taste "salty". It's an amazing flavor booster, making every other ingredient in a recipe taste more like itself. Salt is also one of the ingredients in recipes that adds "balance". In this case, the amount of salt not only increases the flavor of the dough, it helps to balance out the sweetness of the honey glaze.
Having said all of that, I have heard from a couple of readers that the amount of salt in this recipe is a bit high for their personal taste. If you tend to be salt sensitive, just decrease the amount of salt by a ¼ teaspoon or so.
Q: How do you know when Crullers are cooked all the way through?
A: It can be a bit tricky to know when crullers are cooked all the way through. Color is the most important indicator - they should be a deep golden brown on all sides. Another thing you can do is use the first doughnut to test the cook time. Cook one cruller in the hot oil, making sure to keep the temperature of the oil as constant as possible and timing how long it takes to achieve a rich golden brown color.
Remove the cruller from the oil and watch it for a minute or two. If it collapses on itself after it cools, that means the inside isn't quite done. Simply increase the cooking time for the rest of the batch.
Q: Can I cook Crullers in an Air Fryer?
A: Yes! A couple of reader have left a comments to say that they've had good success making these in their air fryer. They were kind enough to leave instructions about what they did. Here's what they said (Thank you, TJ and Lesley!):
"Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small bowl. Cut several 3″ squares of parchment. Place them on a sheet pan and brush very lightly with the oil. Pipe rings on the parchment. Brush the tops of the crullers very lightly with oil.
Set the air fryer to 380F and preheat for a couple minutes. Leaving the rings on the parchment squares, set as many as will fit in the fryer basket. Fry for about 2 minutes, at which point the crullers should be well puffed and have a little browning. Turn the crullers over and remove the parchment squares. Don’t worry if the crullers deflate slightly; they will puff back up once the heat is on. Continue to fry until they are browned all over and feel firm, about 2-3 minutes. If using a melting-type glaze, glaze immediately and cool on a rack.
Keep a close ear on the fryer as the parchment squares can sometimes blow loose from under the crullers. Remove any loose parchment squares immediately as they can cut off the air flow or ignite." - TJ
"I made about 11 donuts in the air fryer and found that 390°F for 9-10 minutes worked best for me." - Lesley
Q: What tools do you need to shape the dough into Crullers?
A: You'll need two things to shape Pâte à choux (choux pastry) dough into the distinctive shape of a French cruller: A large pastry bag and a large star piping tip.
I purchase large 18-inch disposable decorator bags in bulk from Amazon. This box of 100 18-inch bags lasts a long time, ensuring that you won't run out when the urge to make Crullers hits. You can use smaller bags, but I find them to be frustrating. With smaller bags, you have to constantly stop and refill the bags sometimes running out of dough in the middle of piping a Cruller. The large 18-inch size is much easier to work with.
The other thing that's important to have is a large piping tip. I have heard from readers who only had a small piping tip and forged ahead with making Crullers anyway. They simply made many tiny Crullers, which I love. But if you want large, normal size doughnuts you'll need to pipe them through a large decorator tip. The large start tip I use is Ateco 869 French Star.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment, or take a picture and tag @ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy Baking!
French Cruller Doughnut Recipe
Homemade French Crullers are one of the easiest and most delicious kinds of doughnut you can make. Start to finish, they take about an hour to make and requires only a small handful of ingredients - milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and flour.
They are simple enough for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast but pretty enough for a special occasion brunch.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me!
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGHNUTS:
- ½ cup (118ml) + 1 tablespoon (14.7ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (118ml) + 1 tablespoon (14.7ml) water
- 8 tablespoon (1 stick; 113g) butter
- 1 tablespoon (12.5g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon (4.4g) table salt, 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (*See note)
- 1 ¼ cup (150g) unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 3 large whole eggs
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
- 1-2 tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 1 ½ cups (187.5g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (21g) honey
- 2-3 (30 - 45ml) tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil over medium heat. (A rolling boil means that bubbles are "rolling" across the entire surface of the liquid.)
- Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until combined and throughout moistened.
- Return the pan to the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring vigorously the entire time. The dough will be very thick and stirring it will give your arm a good workout. Rather than "stirring", think of it as kneading the dough with a wooden spoon. After 2-3 minutes, a thick film should have formed over the bottom of the pan and the dough should feel smooth.
- Dump the dough into the bowl of an electric standing mixer and use the spoon to spread it out into a somewhat thin layer, covering the bottom of the bowl and moving a few inches up the sides. Let cool, uncovered, until the dough is just slightly warm - about 15 minutes.
- Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and add 2 of the eggs to the dough. Beat on medium speed until the eggs have been fully incorporated into the dough, stoping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the 3rd egg to the dough. Beat on medium until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg white and lemon zest. Beat on medium until fully incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and let chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Cut out ten 3-inch by 3-inch squares of parchment paper and brush each lightly with vegetable oil.
- Heat a fryer to 370 degrees F (187 degrees C). OR - add enough vegetable oil to a deep saucepan or stockpot to come 3 or 4 inches up the sides, and heat the oil to 370 degrees F (187 degrees C). *It's extremely helpful to have a deep fry thermometer.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and scoop some into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Holding the pastry bag vertically over one of the parchment squares, pipe an even circle of dough, just making the ends meet and connect. Repeat with the remaining dough and parchment squares.
- Gently place a cruller onto a slotted spoon, along with it's paper, and lower it into the hot oil, paper and all. Hold the spoon under the cruller for 4 or 5 seconds to prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the fryer. Fry the doughnuts 3 or 4 at a time for 5 ½ to 6 minutes, removing the paper with mental tongs after 1 minute and flipping them over after 2 ½ minutes. The crullers should be a deep golden brown on all sides. Do your best as the doughnuts cook to keep the temperature of the oil between 355 - 370 degrees F (179.4 - 187 degrees C).
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the doughnuts from the oil to drain on paper towels. Cool completely before glazing.
MAKE THE GLAZE:
- Add all glaze ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add enough milk to create a runny glaze that's still thick enough to adhere to the tops of the doughnuts.
- When the crullers are completely cool, dip the tops of each one into the glaze.
Notes
A not about the amount of salt in this recipe:
I've heard from a couple of readers that the amount of salt in this recipe is a bit high for their personal taste. If you tend to be salt sensitive, just decrease the amount of salt by a ¼ teaspoon or so.
How do you know when Crullers are cooked all the way through?
It can be a bit tricky to know when the crullers are cooked all the way through. Color is an important indicator - they should be a deep golden brown. If you like, test the cook time by cooking the first doughnut by itself. If it collapses on itself after removing it from the oil to cool, increase the cooking time for the rest of the batch.
One reader left a comment to say that they've had good success making these in their air fryer. They were kind enough to leave instructions about what they did. Here's what they said (Thank you, TJ and Lesley!):
"Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small bowl. Cut several 3″ squares of parchment. Place them on a sheet pan and brush very lightly with the oil. Pipe rings on the parchment. Brush the tops of the crullers very lightly with oil.
Set the air fryer to 380F and preheat for a couple minutes. Leaving the rings on the parchment squares, set as many as will fit in the fryer basket. Fry for about 2 minutes, at which point the crullers should be well puffed and have a little browning. Turn the crullers over and remove the parchment squares. Don’t worry if the crullers deflate slightly; they will puff back up once the heat is on. Continue to fry until they are browned all over and feel firm, about 2-3 minutes. If using a melting-type glaze, glaze immediately and cool on a rack.
Keep a close ear on the fryer as the parchment squares can sometimes blow loose from under the crullers. Remove any loose parchment squares immediately as they can cut off the air flow or ignite." - TJ
"I made about 11 donuts in the air fryer and found that 390°F for 9-10 minutes worked best for me." - Lesley
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
ThermoPro Waterproof Digital Thermometer -
Ateco Disposable Decorating Bags, 18-Inch, Pack of 100
-
Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless 8-Quart Stockpot with Cover
-
Cuisinart Deep Fryer, 4 Quart, Stainless Steel
-
KitchenAid Professional 600 6-Qt. Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer
-
Ateco 869 Pastry Tube - French Star - Size 9
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 CrullerAmount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 500mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 5g
© Of Batter and Dough. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Of Batter and Dough.
Jig says
Such a great recipe! My donuts were delicious but this recipe requires way too much salt. Cut it in half to 3/4 tsp salt.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! Thanks so much for your comment. I'm so glad your doughnuts turned out well. I also want to thank you for your comment about the amount of salt in this cruller recipe. Since, choux is such a bland pastry dough, I really like the flavor the extra salt lends to the dough. I also like the contrast between the salt in the dough and the sweet glaze. But, my personal taste leans heavily towards a high salt to sugar contrast in most sweets. You've reminded me that this isn't the case for everyone, so I've added a note to the top of the recipe about the amount of salt. It's comments like these that allow me to clarify recipes for those who might make them in the future. So, thank you! I appreciate it! xo
Laronda says
Can you bake these as well?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Laronda! These would probably turn out if baked... it is, after all, just a chop pastry dough, the same kind of pastry dough that you make eclairs out of, which are baked. However, I haven't tried baking them, so can't say for sure. I'd suggest baking one or two in a 375 degree oven to test it. If they turn out well, you can always fry the rest. If you do bake them, would you let me know how they turn out? I'm super curious now... 🙂
KimBillhimerkKim says
Me +mom used to
Make these fried and baked
Rebecca Blackwell says
Aren't memories like that wonderful? I have many memories of baking with my mom and grandma and I treasure every single one. xo
Danie says
I agree, I didn't see this comment until after I made a batch and they were a bit salty. Still good but definintely cut the salt.
Emily says
I have never left a comment on a recipe before but I have to say how fantastic this recipe is! Conceptually, making doughnuts has intimidated me for a while. But this recipe is so well put together and easy to execute, and the results are absolutely delicious. I shared these with friends and they were all incredibly impressed. I really enjoy the salty finish against the hint of citrus in the dough and the sweetness of the glaze.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Emily! Your comment is the first thing I saw this morning as I opened my computer preparing to get to work, and you've totally made my day! I am so glad the recipe worked out well for you and that you like these crullers. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. It means more to me than I can express. xoxo
Lisa says
Mine came out so soggy and soft from the deep fryer? Too many eggs?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hmmm.... my guess is that either the oil wasn't hot enough, or they needed a few more minutes in the fryer. It's really important that the oil stay at 375 degrees. Do you have a thermometer that will measure heat that high? If so, I'd suggest checking the accuracy of your deep fryer's heat. Just like ovens, they can get a bit off sometimes. I hope you'll try these again! They are sooooo yummy when they come out right! Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. xo
Lisa says
I did measure the oil temp and it was spot on. I’m thinking perhaps it was because I used X large eggs. They seemed very heavy and “eggy” when I’m used to Crullers being a rather light texture. I’ll try again with large size eggs and hopefully I’ll get better results 🙂
Shyla says
I had some troubles while making these. Let me explain.
1. I used salted butter. I think i should have used 1/2 tsp less salt.
2. My pastry tip was too small. This made skinny little crullers that cooked too fast and burned very quick. Next time maby i should go around more that once and make them thicker.
3. I didn't have any parchment paper, so i used coffey filters. This worked but you had to peal them off with tongs and a spatula. That felt dangerous. Parchment paper is probably the best idea.
So i made tiny, burnt, salty crullers.
BUT. They were good. And im going to try again.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Ha! Shyla - this comment totally made me smile. I love that you went ahead and made these even though you didn't have the correct tip or parchment paper. And I really love that you're going to try again. I would suggest purchasing a bigger pastry tip before making them again. Going around more than once with a small tip might work... but the layers might also separate in the hot oil. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I do hope you try these again and that the second time around they are not tiny, burnt or salty. 🙂 xo
Kelsie Meade says
French crullers are my favorite donut and you don't find them many places! (Literally around me I only find them at Dunkin Donuts lol). Anyway, I don't own a stand mixer (dream one day - along with a real cappuccino machine lol), would these be possible to make using a hand mixer?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Kelsie! Yes - I don't see any reason why a hand mixer wouldn't work. Will you let me know how these turn out for you? French crullers are one of my favorite doughnuts too. Although, to be perfectly honest, my favorite doughnut is whatever kind of doughnut that's in front of me at the moment. 🙂 Happy doughnut making! xo
Dana T. says
Could you make this dough a day in advance and keep and make the next day?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Dana! Yes, you can do that! The dough can be kept in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of these doughnuts after you make them! xo
Bridget says
Would this recipe work in an air fryer ? If so, what would the suggested air fry time be ?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Bridget! I've never actually used an air fryer, so I'm not certain as to whether they would work in there or not. I did find an article on thekitchn.com about making doughnuts in the air fryer: https://www.thekitchn.com/air-fryer-donuts-264464
The Kitchn folks aren't making crullers, but I would think the method they use would work for these as well. If you try it, would you let me know so I can add a note in the recipe for other air fryer folks? xo
TJ says
Hi, Rebecca,
Yes, it's definitely possible to make crullers in an air fryer. Here's how I do it:
Put 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a small bowl. Cut several 3" squares of parchment. Place them on a sheet pan and brush very lightly with the oil. Pipe rings on the parchment. Brush the tops of the crullers very lightly with oil.
Set the air fryer to 380F and preheat for a couple minutes. Leaving the rings on the parchment squares, set as many as will fit in the fryer basket. Fry for about 2 minutes, at which point the crullers should be well puffed and have a little browning. Turn the crullers over and remove the parchment squares. Don't worry if the crullers deflate slightly; they will puff back up once the heat is on. Continue to fry until they are browned all over and feel firm, about 2-3 minutes. If using a melting-type glaze, glaze immediately and cool on a rack.
Keep a close ear on the fryer as the parchment squares can sometimes blow loose from under the crullers. Remove any loose parchment squares immediately as they can cut off the air flow or ignite.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Thank you so much TJ!!! This is wonderful information! I'm going to add a note in the recipe with your instructions so other doughnut makers with air fryers can try it too! xo
rita says
will ommiting the lemon affect the recipe
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Rita! You can totally leave the lemon out and these crullers will still be delicious. Please let me know if you have any more questions. And, I'd love to hear what you think of these doughnuts after you make them! xo
Micaela says
Hi, i'm a very big fan of these recipe. They were delicious. My question is if i could use the oven to cook them rather than the fryer.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! So happy you like this recipe Micaela! Crullers are made from the same kind of dough that is used to make eclairs and profiteroles, both of which are baked. So, even though I've never tried it myself, I don't see any reason why you couldn't bake crullers - however, they won't have the same consistency as fried crullers. If you try it, I'd suggest following the baking instructions: Preheat oven to 450 F. degrees. Pipe the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each doughnut. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F degrees & bake for 20 minutes more (maybe longer). The doughnuts should be golden brown and the surface of the dough should not look wet at all.
Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, if you try to bake these, I'd love to know how it goes and how you like them in compared to fried crullers. xo
Ellen says
Just made this recipe and my brother and 2 of his friends came over and we polished off the entire batch! They are amazing! I loved the strong lemon taste and the saltiness was perfect! Thank you!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Ellen! I am so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! I only make these when there are other people over to share them with because otherwise my husband, daughters and I eat waaaaaaay too many of them. 🙂 Your brother and his friends are lucky to have you! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo
Melanie says
Left out lemon zest and only used 1 ts of salt but these were amazing! I’m still dreaming about them today. Thank you for sharing the recipe; the entire family enjoyed them!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear this Melanie! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! xo
Lex says
How large is the pastry tip opening? The Amazon links don’t look to be landing on the product page.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Lex! Sorry the link to the pastry tip isn't working. I used an Ateco 869 Pastry Tube French Star, Size 9. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Megan says
Do you think this would work with foil instead of parchment paper?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Megan! Yes! I think foil would work just fine. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of these after you make them! xo
dana says
im thinking of making these, but i don't love super fried tasting donuts. are they more light an airy then normal donuts? if not any tips to make them airy?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Dana! These are much lighter than regular doughnuts. They are very airy and not heavy tasting like traditional fried doughnuts because the dough for Crullers is totally different - pâte à choux dough instead of sweet bread yeast dough. I hope you make them! If you do, please let me know what you think! xo
Phoebe says
Hi Dana - I read that if your oil is too cold, your donuts/fried foods will be greasy. Hope this helps. I fried some other donuts at 370F and they were not greasy. Can't wait to try the french cruller recipe.
Terry Makar says
Hi, I love French Crullers but have an egg allergy. Could I make this with a commercial egg substitute?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Terry! I'm honestly not sure if egg substitute will work in these or not. I haven't had much experience baking with egg substitute. I'd say that if it works well in other recipes, it will probably work well in these. If you try it, will you let me know? I would imagine there are other people out there who would love to know if using an egg substitute is an option. xo
Joyce Leftly says
I would love to make this recipe since French Crullers are my favorite but don't seem available in bakeries anymore.
I can order the specific Ateco Pastry tube you suggest but I have no idea what type or size of Pastry Bag I should order. They have so many varieties and I've never used one before.
I'm leaning towards a re-useable one if they aren't too difficult to clean. Can you please suggest which would be best for this recipe ?
Thanks !
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Joyce! I like to use disposable pastry bags because I think cleaning them is kind of a pain in the you-know-what. I also like to use large bags. I usually order these Ateco 18-inch bags from Amazon. I just find that the smaller bags are difficult to deal with. There are 100 bags in the package, so unless you're using them often, they'll last you a really long time. 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions! And I'd love to hear what you think of these homemade crullers after you make them! xo
Meg says
These turned out great! I made them without a stand mixer (used a wooden spoon) and fried them in a veggie/canola mix in an old Dutch oven. I reduced the temperature a bit (probably to around 360) because they were burning a little bit - but I think my piping tip was a little too small which caused it. The salt level was good for us, the contrast between that and the glaze was really nice. I used a dark buckwheat honey for the glaze to get a stronger honey flavour (highly recommend if you can get it). Best doughnut recipe I've tried yet!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Meg! I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! I have some dark buckwheat honey in the cupboard right now - first time I'd ever tried it and it's wonderful! I can imagine that it added a lot of flavor to the glaze for these doughnuts. I just might have to make a batch before we run out. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate it! xo
Sara and Nora Johnson says
We had a bit of a challenge with our pastry tip/bag situation, but the dough came together great, and those crullers we made small enough turned out quite nicely. The glaze was delicious.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm glad you ended up with some good ones! What was your challenge with the pastry tip and bag?
Sara Johnson says
I'd run out of actual pastry bags, so tried to use a gallon zip-lock and it broke. After splitting our second bag we gave up and did cruller-lumps.
Rose W. says
My crullers were very comically misshapen due to a much too small pastry tip. I've ordered the right one and will be trying again but they were still delicious! I forgot to get a lemon so I used some lemon oil that I'd gotten for last month's bake club lemon cake recipe and they were bright and airy! I made them for the superbowl last night so naturally I have to tint the glaze red and yellow for my team...which only served to make them look even more hilarious in the end! Hopefully round two is better looking but tastes just as good. I also took down the salt to about 3/4t and they were perfect for my taste.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I love this! One of my favorite Julia Child quotes is, "One of the secrets of cooking is to learn to correct something if you can, and bear with it if you cannot." I love that you just forged ahead, laughed at the result, and ate them anyway. Life is much too short to take something like Crullers seriously. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your experience with all of us. Let me know if round 2 comes out better! And, thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
Valerie says
Made these today but baked them instead of deep frying using your instructions I found in the comments. These crullers are light, airy, and delicious!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe, Valerie! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
Desi M says
I realized when it came time to pipe these I only had comically small piping tips. So I made adorable mini crullers. And then when my piping bag split down the side (rough morning over here) I took small scoop sized amounts of the dough, balled it then shaped a hole in the middle. The kids loved. Mini French Crullers + mini donuts. Everyone is a winner!
Great recipe.
Cant wait to do it again w the right sized tip.
Thank you!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I love this! I love that you just kept rolling with it, no matter what happened. Whenever I am in a similar situation, I always think of Julia Child shrugging her shoulders and saying, "Never apologize for your cooking." Because, in the end, perfection is not the goal. Making something for people we love is the goal. When we know that, as you said, everyone is a winner. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and share your story. I truly appreciate it! And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
J&B says
We can't wait to try these! Thank you! One question though... Where can we get some "mental tongs" you referenced in step eleven? We can think of LOTS of uses for them after we make the crullers!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! You should be able to pick them up at any home goods store (or even Target), but, like everything else, you can also find them on Amazon. These are the tongs I have. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of these doughnuts after you make them! xo
Fariha says
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. These crullers are light, airy, and delicious! I tweeked the recipe a bit by using dark brown sugar and whole wheat flour to make a healthier version and they still turned out great! Only I used a cocoa based glaze with the same brown sugar as i thought
the honey glaze with brown sugar wouldnt look so pretty. My kids couldnt have enough!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Fariha! I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! The next time I make these I'm going to try them with brown sugar and whole wheat flour. I'm so curious about how those changes would affect the flavor. It sounds fantastic - especially with a cocoa glaze! Thank you so much for taking the time to write and share your experience and adaptions with this recipe! I truly appreciate it! xo
WB says
These look really amazing!! Even though I'm just an amateur baker, I want to try making for Father's Day! It's my dad's favourite donut and I'm really looking forward to making these (wish me luck!).
But my main concern is that I don't think he'll be able to finish nearly a dozen of these in just two days. Do you know of any good tips to reheat these crullers? Is it possible to maintain that soft flaky interior even after a few days? Either way, I'm really excited to make this, thank you for the recipe <3
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! These are a great choice for Father's Day! You can try to reheat these doughnuts in a 300 degree oven - set them on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for just a few minutes. Having said that, Crullers are best soon after they've been fried. They won't be terrible a day after making them, but they are much, much better fresh.
Another thing to consider since this is the first time you're making these: Because the recipe makes 10 doughnuts, you could use the first two or three as "test" doughnuts. It can take a little bit of practice to get the doughnuts piped (shaped) well and to make sure you're frying them at the right temperature and for as long as they need to cook through. If you use the first couple of doughnuts as "testers", you might actually only end up with 7 or 8 in the end. 🙂
Please let me know if you have any questions about these as you make them! And, I'd love to hear what you and your dad think of these! I'm sure he's going to love them! xo
Lesley says
I made these for Father’s Day and they were delicious! I made about 11 donuts in the air fryer and found that 390°F for 9-10 minutes worked best for me. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Lesley! I'm so happy to hear that these doughnuts worked out well for you! It's also great to hear from those of you who have had success with them in the air fryer! Thanks so much for taking the time to include information about the temperature and timing. I know it's helpful to others who would rather use their air fryer to make these than deep fat frying! xo