Light and airy donuts with a soft and delicate interior, a lightly crisped exterior, and a sweet glaze that melts into every crevice! Learn how to easily make this classic French pastry at home that's BETTER than anything store bought! Move over Dunkin!
Prep Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Cook Time5 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr35 minutesmins
Course: Donuts
Cuisine: French
Keyword: cruller donut, crullers donut, French, French cruller recipe, French crullers, pastry dough used in crullers crullers
Servings: 16
Calories: 185kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Donuts
1 ¼cupwater
½cupunsalted butterat room temperature
4 ½teaspoonsgranulated sugar
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonvanilla extract
1 ¼cupsall-purpose flour
4large eggs
2egg whitesfrom large eggs, discard yolks or save for another use
Frying
Oilas necessary to fill your pot 3 to 4 inches deep; I use and recommend vegetable oil
Glaze
2cupsconfectioners' sugarsifted if it's lumpy
1tablespoonlight-colored corn syrupsuch as Caro
2 to 3teaspoonshot water
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Instructions
French Crullers - To a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the water, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and bring to a boil.
Add the flour and stir or whisk in until incorporated.
Continue cooking and stirring the mixture until it begins to coat the bottom of the saucepan in places; remove it from the heat.
Mixer - Carefully transfer the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or large bowl and handheld electric mixer) and beat on medium-low speed for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture has cooled slightly. Tips - While this recipe is possible using a handheld electric mixer, it's easier with a stand mixer. So if you have one, now is the time to bring it out. Make sure the mixture is cool enough that it won't scramble the eggs upon adding them in the next step. Dip your finger into it, and if it feels semi-hot, wait another couple of minutes before moving on.
With the mixer running, add the eggs, and the egg whites, one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate before adding the next.
After you've added all the eggs, continue mixing until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and a dough starts to hold a little shape.
Oil - To a large stockpot, add enough oil so that it's 3 to 4 inches deep and preheat it to 375F. Do not guess, use a digital thermometer with pot clip.
While the oil is heating, cut parchment paper into 3 to 4-inch squares and place them on a baking sheet; set aside.
Pipe the dough into circles about 3 to 4-inches in diameter, and place each circle of dough on top of each square of parchment.
Frying - Carefully drop each piece of parchment with dough. Tips - it's okay to plop the whole thing in the oil. I highly recommend wearing a pair of rubber kitchen gloves or using hot mitts so that if/when oil splatters up, you don't get burned.
Using a tongs, dip it into the oil and carefully peel the parchment from the crullers.
Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Tips - Watch them carefully so they don't burn. They will darken up as they cool. Don't overcrowd the pan for best results.
Place the fried crullers on paper towels on a wire rack and repeat the frying process until all dough has been fried; set aside while you make the glaze.
Glaze - To a medium bowl, add the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, hot water, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
One at a time, dip the warm crullers into the glaze and use a fork to turn each cruller over to ensure it's completely glazed.
Using a fork or strainer style of large spatula, remove each cruller from the glaze, and allow as much glaze to drip off and back into the mixing bowl as possible. Repeat until all crullers have been glazed.
Transfer glazed crullers onto a wire rack and allow the glaze to set up before serving. Crullers will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3-4 days. Tip - If desired, zap leftover crullers in the microwave for about 5 seconds to soften them up a bit, just take care so you don't overheat them and make them hard which sometimes can happen in microwaves if you're not careful.