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The most delicious fried French Honey Crullers! So good, you won’t believe you made these at home!

French Honey Crullers glaze on wire rack

Happy Friday y’all! Breakfast is these french honey crullers

There isn’t a thing I don’t LOVE about donuts (rule #374 – double negatives are totally allowed when donuts are involved). They’re light, doughy, airy, sweet, glazed, sprinkled, and jelly-filled. While, I will admit ALL of the chocolate variety of donuts or doughnuts (which ever) are my favorite, these french honey crullers do measure up to second best. They really do. Especially because they’re rolled around in honey glaze. <–That’s bonus points.

two crullers on plate with a stack in the back with coffee mugBefore we jump into the recipe, I just wanted to say, you are going to want to makes these. Because not only are these crullers adorable, they are easy to make and are ready in under 45 minutes.

Not soon after I was done making this batch, Anees asked if we could have them again. Maybe with chocolate in there somewhere. That is probably about the only way these honey crullers could get better. Now, where to put it? And can we have those EVERY morning?ingredients for homemade crullers on white surfaceAll the ingredients that are needed for these French honey crullers are probably already in your kitchen. The dough starts with a few eggs, less than a stick of butter, a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. Along with flour, of course. The recipes that require zero trips to the grocery store are my favorite.

I’m known to visit at least a few different grocery stores more than a few times a week. It’s sadly, a running joke in the family. Okay, i’ll admit the frequency/quantity of grocery stores I visit, is slightly out of control. Slightly. Oh, and lucky for me (not soo much for Anees) the hubby’s office is right next door to a grocery store. WIN!

Ahem. So back to French Honey Crullers.

close up of French honey crullers showing shiny glaze on wire rack

We’re going to start by bringing the water, butter, salt and sugar to boil. Next we’re going to add the flour. You want to try and remove as much of the moisture from this dough as possible. This will result in super airy crullers that fly off the plate in .03 seconds.

Once the moisture is removed (about 3 minutes), transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture (hand mixer will work too) and beat in the eggs. Let each egg incorporate fully into the dough before adding the next.

The final step for this dough requires 1 – 2 large egg whites. I added 1 extra large egg white and that did the trick for me. If all you’ve got on hand are large egg whites, no worries! Lightly beat the two and add the egg whites to the batter a little at a time. You want to get a light luster to the batter. See picture below.

batter for crullers in stand mixer bowl
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piped dough on pieces of parchment on sheet pan

Pipe the dough on 3 x 3 parchment paper squares that have been sprayed with cooking spray. I used a star tip to do this. Make sure to get any air out of the bag so you get perfect little circles.

crullers after frying without glaze

When the oil temperature reaches 370 degrees F, place 1 – 2 piped crullers into the oil at a time. I placed mine upside down (with parchment on top) and when the cruller was ready, the parchment paper detached easily.

Fry for 2 – 3 minutes per side. Keep in mind they will darken as they sit so pull them out a shade before what seems to be golden – brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before dunking in honey glaze.

dipping donuts in glaze

To make the glaze: combine the honey, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Using sifted powdered (confectioners) sugar produces a lump free honey glaze. Dunk the cooled crullers into the honey glaze. Double dipping is permitted. Triple dipping is encouraged.

I am totally in love with these cuties! I stored them on a plate, covered with clear plastic wrap, and unfortunately they didn’t last very long around here! They are completely irresistible. Sticky, gooey, a slight crispness on the outside with airy lightness on the inside. And the best (read: dangerous) part? They are so gosh darn easy to make.

Next time, I make French crullers i’m making them with chocolate glaze. Totally, doing that!

stack of dripping honey crullers

Recipe slightly adapted from: Use Real Butter

French Honey Crullers

4.82 from 11 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 15 -18 crullers
Author: Marzia
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Ingredients 

For the French Cruller:

  • 1 cup water
  • 6 tablespoons 3/4 stick unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice it’s a very subtle flavor note
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 – 2 large egg white or 1 extra large egg white

For the Honey Glaze:

  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 and 1/2 cups powdered confectioners sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 3 – 4 tablespoons milk

Instructions 

  • For the French Crullers: In a heavy bottom sauce pan (preferable nonstick), bring the water, butter, sugar, pumpkin spice and salt to a brisk boil. Immediately add in the flour and whisk until it's completely incorporated. Keep stirring over the heat, but keep it at a low/medium. Remove as much moisture as possible for a fluffier pastry later on. I did this for about 3 – 4 minutes. Then, transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the paddle attachment to stir the dough for a minute to quickly cool down the dough. Turn the speed to medium and add one egg at a time. Don't add the next egg until the first one is completely mixed. Repeat the process with the remaining egg. Add one egg white and blend until the dough becomes smooth and glossy, if it's not getting smooth and glossy, add the other egg white. If it starts to become glossy with just 1 egg white, don't add the second. Transfer dough to a large pastry bag with a large star tip. Preheat your oil to 370 degrees in a deep saucepan. Cut about 16 3×3 squares out of parchment paper. Spray each square (one side) with butter nonstick spray. Pipe a ring of dough onto each square. Place cruller and paper into hot oil. The paper will automatically separate from the oil, and the cruller will float on the hot oil, bubbling away. Flip cruller once, and fry until light brown (about 2-3 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
  • Make the glaze: Combine all the honey glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. When crullers are cold to the touch, dip each top half of the doughnut into the glaze. Let glaze harden with a cookie sheet under the wire rack to catch the drippings. When the glaze has hardened re-dip for a thicker glaze, if you prefer. If you run out of glaze just make more. French Honey Crullers taste best served on the same day. Store remaining crullers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!

Hi, I'm Marzia!

A wife, mother, nutritionist, certified foodie, and a coffee lover. My husband Anees, our daughter, and I live near Houston. I love reading books, bingeing reality shows, and a good salted brown butter chocolate chip cookie!

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4.82 from 11 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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20 Comments

  1. Gaby says:

    Hi there! How much oil do you need? And what kind of oil is best? Thanks!

    1. Kristina Unruh says:

      5 stars
      I use lard!

  2. Charity says:

    4 stars
    Just made these, but they turned out flat, chewy and dense. I kind of knew it would happen, since the dough was very strange. every time I added an egg, it separated, and became lumpy, and it was unlike any dough I have ever worked with. Great recipe, but I think I ruined it lol. 

  3. Nancy Simpson says:

    The link that brought me here said they:’re jelly filled am I missing something??!!! I PLEASE HELP ( OOOH and REPLY!!!) THX

    1. Marzia says:

      Nancy, I only have one recipe on the blog that is ‘jelly-filled’ so i’m hoping that that’s the one you’re looking for! You can find the recipe here.

  4. ajfaer says:

    Just made these!!! They turned out amazing!! My whole family (all 10 of them) LOVE these doughnuts! Some of us have gluten allergies and so I used rice flour instead and they weren’t poorly affected at all.

  5. Ember says:

    Can these be baked instead of fried in the oil?

    1. Marzia says:

      No unfortunately I don’t think they can be.

  6. Andrea says:

    About how many does this recipe make?

    1. Marzia says:

      As the recipe states, it makes about 15-18 crullers. But it really depends on how big or small you pipe them. If you make the rings smaller you can get more out of one batch, if you make the rings bigger you’ll get less. I made my circles on a 3×3 inch piece of parchment.

    2. Alicia Piasecki says:

      Yes, you can but they wont rise or have as many of those lovely air bubbles on the inside. Still better than no crullers at all, especially on a diet. Preheat your over to 450 degrees, bake at that temperature for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, change the temperature to 350 degrees and keep baking for 15 more minutes. Resume the recipe as instructed.

  7. sigrid says:

    my son is allergic to dairy can I use margarine instead of butter.. he loved crullers before I knew they had milk and butter in them

    1. Marzia says:

      I haven’t tried it before, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work 🙂 Good luck!

  8. adrienne says:

    These looked great, & I tried to make them today. I followed the recipe closely– or so I thought. I dont know if I messed up or what but they came out totally wrong!!! They arent fluffy at all… They are dense & soggy. What can I do to make them better next time?

    1. Marzia says:

      Oh no Adrienne, I’m so sorry to hear that! Hmm. The only thing I can think of is that maybe you didn’t dry out the water enough from the dough when you cooked it on the stove? Were they dense and soggy from the get go or after you dunked them in the honey-glaze?

  9. Eva says:

    looks delicious

  10. Alyssa {Cake, Crust, and Sugar Dust} says:

    Oh my gosh…these look absolutely dangerous! I always say if I could wake up and have a doughnut every day I’d be the happiest girl, and I think you just handed me the recipe to get me started on that! Beautiful photos too, Marzia!

    1. Marzia says:

      I like your philosophy! Donuts definitely make everything better. Hope you enjoy them! Thanks!

  11. lemonandolives says:

    Marzia, these look wonderful! I’m a donut lover and I’ll be adding these to my list of recipes 🙂 thanks for sharing!

    1. Marzia says:

      Thank you! I’m positive you will love them!