Sometimes a cruller is a doughnut dough leavened with yeast or baking powder that’s shaped into a long twist, deep fried and sprinkled with sugar or glazed with a thin icing. The traditional French cruller is made from pate a choux and is basically hollow. The word “cruller” comes from the Dutch word “krulle” or “krullen,” meaning twisted cake.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Make the Crullers: Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from the heat, add all the flour at once, and stir hard with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated, about 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, to evaporate some of the moisture, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the mixture into a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer or mix by hand), and mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and adding 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg and mix until completely incorporated.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (use a large size, like #12), pipe the dough onto the sheet pan in rows of 2 1/2-inch rings. Freeze them for 30 minutes to make them easier to pick up.
- Meanwhile, make the Glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 325 degrees F. Working in batches, lift the dough circles off the sheet pan and carefully slip them into the oil. Fry, turning once, until lightly browned. Drain the crullers on a brown paper bag; then dip them completely in the glaze. Let the crullers cool and set before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 197 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 29 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 20 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 68 mg |
| Sodium | 122 mg |
Reviews
i didn’t worry about storing them as they won’t last the weekend.. Delicious
I made these in my Instant Pot air fryer. They were awesome! I cut parchment rounds, piped circles of dough, three ‘pipes’ high, brushed with melted butter & dropped the parchment rounds with donuts piped into the air fryer basket. 10 minutes is about perfect. Then I pricked a couple holes in each & glazed. Instant pots are amazing machines!
I made these with my 9 year old Granddaughter on Christmas day, she helped with measuring all the ingredients and with icing them! I used the moment to refresh her math, I used a 1/2 cup measurement to measure the sugar, Then I said to her we need two cups of sugar, we are using !/2 cup measurement so how many 1/2 cups do we need, she said 4 grandma…
She decided that she wants purple donuts so we used purple food coloring for the icing.
All Came out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is great! It was easy to follow, simple ingredients that most people will have in their kitchen already, and turned out very nicely!
A few things to note for those of you who are super detail oriented like I am:
– You will need an oil thermometer, there’s just no way around it, otherwise you will burn them or they won’t be fully done
– I agree with several other reviewers in saying it worked better a little hotter, close to 350 for me
– I tried doing a few after freezing for 30 minutes, and a few just refrigerated, and the refrigerated ones turned out more plump and slightly better done
– I also put in a touch of vanilla that I think really put them over the top
The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because the dough was a little lacking, could’ve had a bit more sweetness or flavor, but with the vanilla I think they’re superb!
These were amazing. I cant say anything about the icing as I didnt have the goods to make that. I also fudged the recipe a little. I had only margarine. That was ok. I made a half batch with 2 eggs. That too was fine. I didnt freeze the dough or even let it rest hardly at all, certainly didnt freeze it for the 20-30 mins either. I used a fry-daddy and that seemed to cook them well and quickly. They were nice and airy and light and curstardy like. Yum. I added a few drops of honey while they cooled a tad and ate em warm. At some point i will do it all right and how it says but if it came out this good doing a quicky try I can only think this can become even better. Next go I look to add a little vanilla to the dough and the icing, Maybe a few other tricks.All in all I give this a 5 of 5! Would give it more but they only gave me a max of 5!
Wow! Really fun to make, tender, egg-y and and delicious! French Crullers have always been a favorite at the donut shop and they are getting harder to find around here. These are even better than the shops! Don’t be intimidated… try this recipe it’s easy! The batter would not hold the star shape so my donuts looked like raised-glazed, but tasted like crullers.
This recipe is waaayy better than the rating gives it credit for! It’s near perfect, though I suggest upping the oil temperature a little bit.
Instead of freezing the disks I just made a cane shape. Fast, easy and more important DELICIOUS!!!. NOTE: make sure the oil is 375.
amazing!!!! i was worried mine would turn out funny cus i forgot the sugar and used salted butter, and i didn’t even cook the mixture after i put the eggs in, i was worried about over cooking in the pan. used a deep fryer with penut oil and they puffed up like 4 times their size!!! crispy on the outside hollow in the middle 🙂 a welcome treat 🙂 especially since i can’t find a decent donut shop in all of houston!!!
These are just like home. I really enjoyed them. The crullers I remember from my home town in NY were light and airy, like a cream puff. They had a distinct ?eggy? taste and a smooth buttery consistency. I agree with the person who recommended increasing the oil temp. I was worried by the three star rating at first, but quickly realized the rating was brought down my people who either didn?t know what a cruller was supposed to taste like or didn?t even try the recipe.