Enjoy the sweet and flavorful taste of a crisp and delicious treat with this Elephant Ears recipe. They’re easy to prepare, and they’re perfect to have for breakfast or a dessert.
Homemade Elephant Ears Recipe
Elephant ears are fun treat that is normally sold at local fairs or events. It’s a flaked pastry that is deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar. It’s large and resembles an elephants ear!
If it’s a treat you enjoy, now you can learn how to make these fried dough treats at home instead of going out of your way to getting them. Once you make them, you can enjoy them for breakfast, dessert, or eat them as a snack throughout the day.
Why You’ll Love this Elephant Ears Pastry Recipe:
- Crispy treat. Elephant Ears have the perfect texture. They’re crispy and delicious!
- Quick and easy. These fried dough treats are easy to prepare. It doesn’t take long to make the dough or fry them.
- Fair flavor at home. No need to travel to your local county fair for these treats now that you can easily make them at home anytime!
How to Make Elephant Ears for Breakfast
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Put your milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and stir.
- Add in butter, teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt.
- Add five cups of flour into the mixture.
- Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Knead your dough for five minutes.
- Spray a bowl with non-stick spray, setting the dough back into the bowl.
- Cover the dough and let it sit for an hour.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Divide your dough into 15 balls, roll them out into 7-inch rounds.
- Place in the oil and flip each disk every 30-45 seconds.
- Let them cool on a plate with a paper towel to get rid of any extra oil.
- Dip each desk into the sugar mixture before serving.
Elephant ears are crispy fried circles of dough topped with powdered and/or cinnamon sugar. They’re called elephant ears due to their large size and shape that resembles an elephant’s ear.
No, they are not the same thing. Elephant ears are a flaky pastry, and funnel cakes are deep fried soft batter. You can find both at fairs, but they have different tastes and textures.
Elephant ears should be fried in an oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable, canola, or peanut. I recommend vegetable oil for the most neutral taste.
The possibilities are endless! For a sweet elephant ear, drizzle on chocolate, caramel sauce, or maple syrup or top with fresh fruit and whipped cream. For a savory take, top with pizza sauce and shredded cheese.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Continue to stir your flour until you can’t stir it anymore. Then, turn the dough out onto the floured surface.
- Store leftover elephant ears in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
- You can easily reheat the Elephant Ears in a 350°F oven for at least 5 minutes, or until they become light and crispy.
Bring the fair home with this easy elephant ear recipe! It is an easy dessert recipe that will bring back memories of roller coasters and popping balloons for prizes.
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Elephant Ears Recipe
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups milk 397 grams, warm (110°F)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 149 grams, divided
- 1½ tablespoons instant yeast 14 grams
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 84 grams, melted (¾ stick)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 6 grams, divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5½ cups all-purpose flour 660 grams, divided
- Vegetable oil for frying
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
- Add the milk, ¼ cup of the sugar, and the yeast to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until it starts to bubble.1¾ cups milk, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1½ tablespoons instant yeast
- Stir in the butter, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the salt to combine.6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add 5 cups of the flour and stir until you can no longer. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.5½ cups all-purpose flour
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a light dust of flour when it becomes too sticky to handle, but don’t overdo it. You want the dough to be tacky but not sticky.
- Scrape out any flour bits from the bowl, spray with nonstick spray, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let sit for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep-frying pan over medium heat until it reaches 265°F.Vegetable oil for frying
- In the meantime, divide the dough into 15 equal balls and roll each out into a roughly 7-inch round.
- Fry one disk at a time for 3-4 minutes, flipping the disk every 30-45 seconds to ensure even cooking.
- Let them cool on a plate with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil.
- Stir the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl or a plate then dip each disk in the dough and lightly tap off the excess. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Continue to stir your flour until you can’t stir it anymore. Then, turn the dough out onto the floured surface.
- You can easily reheat the Elephant Ears in a 350°F oven for at least 5 minutes, or until they become light and crispy.
I love your site and have printed and made many of your recipes. However, over the last few weeks, it’s hit or miss whether or not a recipe will print. Sometimes when I hit the print button, it opens the original blog page in a new window. Sometimes, it will open the print screen but when I hit the second print button, nothing happens. I have tried to print using Ctrl + P and it still won’t print. As I said, this doesn’t always happen, but it is a nuisance when I find a recipe I really want to make and can’t print. I do better with the reading it on paper. Thank you for listening.
These turned out great! I cut the recipe back to 5 servings and split the dough into sixths. They fried up great!
We are heading to the county fair tonight and I wanted an authentic treat to bring for my son who is a allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. These will be great for him to have while his sisters have something at the fair. Thank you!
What a wonderful idea, Lindsey! So glad you enjoyed them!