French Crullers are one of the easiest kinds of homemade doughnuts you can make! Start to finish, crullers take about an hour and require a small handful of ingredients - milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and flour.
They are the kind of thing you can be impulsive about on a Sunday morning, but also decadent and pretty enough for a special occasion brunch. Also... if you've never had a freshly made homemade cruller, prepare to be shocked by how truly delicious they are.
This recipe includes a super simple method for frying crullers with ease and a delicious sweet honey glaze.
Jump to:
- What are Traditional French Crullers?
- Ingredients Needed to Prepare This Recipe
- 4 Simple Steps For Making Choux Pastry
- A Super Easy Technique for Frying Crullers
- Useful Equipment for Making Homemade Crullers
- Homemade Cruller FAQs
- More Doughnut and Sweet Roll Recipes
- A Fun Fact About Crullers
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
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 Choux Pastry {pâte à choux} that's fried and then dipped in a sweet glaze.
Choux pastry is that delicious, buttery, eggy dough used to make things like Profiteroles and Eclairs. And it has an unfortunate reputation for being difficult.
But, trust me friend, this recipe is easy-peasy. Crullers are fried not baked, and frying the dough eliminates many of the challenges of baking choux pastry.
The dough comes together quickly - they are quite literally something you can decide to make at 9am and be happily eating by 10am. Plus, I'll show you a super easy method for frying these delicious little doughnuts.
Want to use an air fryer? The recipe includes helpful tips from readers about how to use air fry your crullers!
Ingredients Needed to Prepare This Recipe
One of the best things about homemade crullers is that they are one of the few doughnuts for which I almost always have all of the ingredients.
- Whole milk + water. Some recipes use all water, but I find that half water and half milk creates a more tender texture and richer flavor.
- Butter! I prefer to use unsalted butter because it allows for more control over the amount of salt in this recipe.
- Granulated sugar. Many recipes for choux pastry do not contain any sugar, but just 1 tablespoon boosts the flavor of the dough so much that I always include it.
- Salt. Salt is just as important for sweet treats as it is for savory foods because salt boosts the flavor of all the other ingredients and balances out the sweetness.
- All-purpose flour. Preferably unbleached.
- 3 large whole eggs + 1 large egg white. That extra egg white keeps these crullers light and airy and provides additional structure that helps them hold their shape while frying.
- Lemon zest. A bit of lemon zest adds a delicious bright fresh flavor to these doughnuts that is positively addicting.
For the honey glaze:
You'll need just 4 ingredients for this simple honey glaze:
- Powdered sugar
- Honey
- Milk
- Pure vanilla extract
4 Simple Steps For Making 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.
*Never made choux pastry before? Check out this complete step-by-step tutorial, including a video, for How to Make Choux Pastry.
A Super Easy Technique for Frying Crullers
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.
Pro tip! 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.
Useful Equipment for Making Homemade Crullers
It's important to use an electric mixer to make choux pastry dough. Beating the eggs into the dough by hand is extremely difficult. Use either a Stand Mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand held electric mixer.
I also like to use a heat proof spatula to stir the dough while cooking it in a saucepan because it allows you to scrape along the edges of the pan. This ensures that no little pieces of dough are stuck in the crevices and prone to burning.
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
- 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.
Homemade Cruller FAQs
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. For crullers, 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.
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.
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 380° F 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
A Fun Fact 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.
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!
📖 Recipe
French Cruller Doughnut Recipe
French Crullers are one of the easiest kinds of homemade doughnuts you can make! Start to finish, crullers take about an hour and require a small handful of ingredients. They are the kind of thing you can be impulsive about on a Sunday morning, but also decadent and pretty enough for a special occasion brunch.
Also... if you've never had a freshly made homemade cruller, prepare to be shocked by how truly delicious they are.
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.
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) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon (12.5g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon (4.4g) table salt, or 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 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 note 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.
Can crullers be cooked in an air fryer?
A couple of readers have left 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 380° F 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.
Amanda says
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Amanda! Yes - you can double this recipe if you like. If you want to make even more crullers than that, I'd suggest making successive batches of dough. More than doubling it will create a situation in which it's difficult to handle the dough. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Pat Whisnant says
Great work, beautiful text and photos.
Would there be any way to use or modify this recipe for a waffle maker?
We haven't found any French Crullers since leaving California in '95 and I imagine that eggy goodness might make the best waffles ever!
Pat
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Pat! I've never tried to cook Pâte à choux (choux pastry) in a waffle maker. But, it's an interesting idea! I don't really see any reason why it wouldn't work... The one thing I don't think you'd get is crispy edges. But, it would probably still be delicious! If you try it, would you let me know how it works out for you?
Kacie says
I just made these. First time ever doing this kind of dough and they are incredible as heck! I did cinnamon sugar for them.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that these doughnuts turned out well for you Kacie! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! I truly appreciate it! 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
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
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
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
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