Baked Honey Crullers
Ask me what my favourite doughnut is and without hesitation my answer would be honey crullers. They’re light and airy and have the least amount of calories.
With this recipe, we moved one step towards healthier and removed the fat that deep frying adds. These baked honey crullers are so good I may never buy a deep fried, sugar ladened, honey cruller again.
This is made from pate a choux, the same pastry used for making profiteroles. Water, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and eggs are all you need. The dough is quite thick. I had to put a little arm action in to pipe these beauties out.
To make the doughnuts the same size, draw circles on the back of the parchment paper and use it as a guide. Then stay within the lines while piping.
Bake for 5 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit then lower the temperature to 350. Bake for 15 minutes further. Turn off the oven. Open the oven door slightly but don’t take them out. Let them sit for another 5-10 minutes.
Dip in the honey glaze.
Light, airy and beautiful, as a cruller should be.
Adapted from Use Real Butter.
- FOR CRULLERS:
- 1 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1-2 egg whites
- FOR HONEY GLAZE:
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To make the choux pastry: Combine water, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Add flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth ball is formed. Cook and consistently stir for 3-4 minutes. When a thin film sticks to the bottom of your pan, it’s ready.
- Transfer the pastry to the bowl of your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix for one minute. This is to let it cool slightly.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and smooth. Add the remaining eggs and continue to mix until smooth after each addition.
- Add the egg whites and continue to mix until smooth and glossy. Mixture will be thick.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star piping tip.
- Pipe the mixture 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly, and let sit for another 5-10 minutes.
- For honey glaze: combine icing sugar, honey and milk. Mix until well combined.
- Dip doughnuts in honey glaze. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.
Can I make chocolate honey crullers and if so how much cocoa powder do I use. I love this website.
Hi Megan, thanks so much!!! For the crullers, you can try adding 2 tbsp cocoa powder to the pastry dough. For the honey glaze, I would add 1-2 tbsp, or to taste.
I used Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour. These honey Crullers were amazing!
You made them gluten free, that’s fantastic! Thanks for the feedback.
Any suggestions as to if substituting the flour with a gluten free flour would work on these?
Yes, I believe it would work. Here is a post by Serious Eats. They substituted white rice flour and potato starch for the flour and added 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. Hope this helps.
COOL!
Do these stay fresh for a few days? Can they be frozen? I would love to try them but I’ll need to make them a few days in advance of serving them.
Hi Adina, since these contain no preservatives, they are best served fresh from the oven. I haven’t tried freezing them myself but you can certainly try. Thanks for visiting!
These are just beautiful and look delicious. I never thought about making them and am delighted at the idea of giving them a try. Thanks for sharing.
Great pictures and tutorial.
Blessings,
Pam
Hi Pam! Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by.
Those are gorgeous! Crullers are my all time favorite donut, so I can hardly wait to give these a try.
Thanks Krista! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.