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Easy Elephant Ears Recipe makes a great treat to enjoy at home. The pastry dough is fried to perfection and topped with cinnamon sugar.
Easy Elephant Ears Recipe
No need to wait to enjoy this fabulous treat. We are going to show you how to make elephant ears at home. Don’t let the idea of making these fried pastries intimidate you.
It is very simple and we give you step by step instructions. The results are the best elephant ears.
Each bite is soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The topping takes it to the next level for a delicious treat.
Are elephant ears and fried dough the same thing?
They are made with very similar ingredients and both are fried. However, the dough is prepared differently.
You roll out Elephant ears such as a thin pizza before frying. Fried dough is not normally rolled out.
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- warm water
- Oil- Peanut, vegetable or canola oil work best for frying.
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
How to make elephant ears:
- First, get out a medium size mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt and baking soda.
- Second, slowly stir in the milk until a dough forms.
- Next, gradually add in the water until the dough is formed. It is important to do this gradually because you may not need all of the water.
- Once everything is combined, let the dough sit for 5 minutes.
- After the 5 minutes, roll the dough out slightly into thin sheets and cut it into 6 pieces. Next, take each of those pieces and roll into balls of dough.
- Then flatten into ½ inch thick circles.
- Now, add 3 inch of oil to 375 degrees in a large pot over medium heat. Place the dough circles in the hot oil and fry until the puff pastry is golden brown. It will poof up slightly and then you flip the dough after just a minute per side or more depending on your stove.
- Fry the other side until the puffy pastry is puffed and golden. They should be golden brown. Remove from heat.
- Line a plate with paper towels and put the fried dough on it to drain on paper towels. This will help to absorb any excess grease.
- Finally, mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
- Lay the elephant ears out on a baking sheet. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while still warm.
How to store elephant ears:
I store the leftovers in the refrigerator in an air tight container. They will stay fresh for up to 2-3 days.
You can reheat them in the microwave or in the oven. If you stored them without the cinnamon sugar you can brush them with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon.
I normally just use a small saucepan to melt the butter.
What to top on Elephant ears:
Traditionally, cinnamon and sugar goes on top. However, the possibilities are endless for this treat.
Other ideas include:
- Cherry Pie Filling. I think a dollop of this with whipped cream would be amazing.
- Caramel sauce. You can use store bought or make this easy recipe.
- Hot fudge sauce. Chocolate fans will love this topping.
- Nutella. My kids love this.
- Powdered Sugar. Simple but delicious.
Whatever you decide to use, it will be delicious. I think your friends and family will love elephant ears.
Print this elephant ears recipe:
Easy Elephant Ears
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 cup warm water
- Oil for Frying
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly stir in the warm water until a dough forms. Gradually add in the water until the dough is form (you may not need all the water).
- Let the dough sit for 5 minutes.
- Then roll the dough out slightly and cut it into 6 pieces.
- Then roll out each piece into a ½ inch thick circles.
- Heat 3 inches of the oil in a deep pot. Fry the dough circles in the oil until the dough is golden brown and poofs up slight. Then flip the dough to fry the other side.
- Set the fried dough on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Stir together the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the dough while still warm.
- Serve immediately while warm and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients call for Baking Powder, but the instructions call it Baking Soda ?? I know one of the 2 require a different PH of the the recipe…… I guess I’ll need to Google it.
Instructions refer to Baking Soda,
It requires Baking Powder as the recipe itself does not contain an acid. (like cocoa, buttermilk, etc)
Should we use baking powder or soda? Your recipe has powder in the ingredients list, but soda in the directions.
It is baking powder. I fixed the recipe card. Thank you
Made this recipe for our Youth Group, they loved it.
I’m so glad they loved it.