EASY Elephant Ears Recipe (Crispy Dough With Cinnamon Sugar On Top)

This elephant ears food will bring the country fair right into your kitchen. This recipe combines simple baking ingredients to make an irresistibly fluffy, sweet fried dough that's covered in cinnamon sugar. It's just so delicious, and the best part is you can make it from scratch in just 15 minutes!

The Best Elephant Ears Food

If you've never heard of elephant ears food, it's another version of fried dough, funnel cake, and fry bread. They're all some delicious sweet fried fair food, but I think this elephant ear recipe is my all-time favorite. 

I mean, it has a sweet pastry dough that is pillowy-soft and fluffy on the inside with an incredible crunch on the outside, all covered in a blend of cinnamon and sugar. It literally melts in your mouth and gets better and better with each bite. You'll even think it came straight from the country fair!

Yeah, it's that good. 

And not only is this elephant ears food insanely delicious, but it's actually really easy to make at home. You basically just whisk up a sweet pastry dough, roll it out into your elephant ears shape, then fry 'em up in a skillet and top with your cinnamon sugar. It's really that simple, and as I mentioned, the entire process will take you less than 20 minutes! 

So, if you're looking to whip something up for a special occasion, then look no further than this elephant ears recipe. And if you want another classic fair food to make with it, you can whip up these fried Oreos too!

Ingredients

Like I said earlier, this easy elephant ears recipe is made with all common baking ingredients. In fact, I can almost guarantee you have everything you need to make them on hand already! 

Anyway, here's everything you'll need to make these elephant ears food:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ⅔ cup warm milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon and sugar
• Oil, for frying

Pretty simple, right?

Now when it comes to the oil, I suggest using peanut oil because it has a high smoke point, and that's what they typically use at the fair. But with that said, any neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point will work just fine.

As for topping the elephant ears, I love using a combination of cinnamon and sugar, but you can use powdered sugar as well! 

Oh, and you can use basically all of the ingredients from this recipe to make this fried dough and these funnel cakes, so definitely give those a try next!

How To Make Elephant Ears Food

Now it's almost time to make some elephant ears food!

This recipe is honestly easier to make than walking through the fair to get this delectable treat. And I know I'm a little biased, but I think it's tastier too.

Anyway, let's not waste another second and jump right into the recipe!

Step 1: Make The Dough

First things first, you'll want to grab a large bowl and whisk the flour together with the baking powder and sugar. Then, you can add the warmed milk and melted butter to the bowl of dry ingredients.

Next, you'll want to stir this mixture until the ingredients come together and a dough forms. Then you can transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times.

Once kneaded and combined, you can cut the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces and then roll out each piece of dough into a thin circle.

Step 2: Fry The Dough

When all of the elephant ears have been rolled out, you'll want to heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat and line a plate with paper towels.

Once the oil is nice and hot, you can add the rolled dough to the hot oil and cook it for 1 minute per side or until it's nice and golden brown and crispy. If the oil seems too hot, you can turn the heat down to medium heat in between batches.

Now, depending on the size of your skillet, you may be able to fry 1-2 pieces of dough at a time. But with that said, be careful not to crowd the skillet as it'll lower the temperature of the oil, and the elephant ears won't' fry evenly.

Step 3: Serve The Elephant Ears

As soon as you fry each elephant ear to perfection, you can transfer it to the plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.

When you're done frying the dough, you can sprinkle the fried elephant ears food with the cinnamon sugar mixture and serve 'em warm.

Enjoy!

How To Store Elephant Ears

This recipe for elephant ears food makes 8 elephant ears, which should be perfect for a family dessert or to bring to a party. They're so delicious that I doubt you'll have any left, but if you do, you can easily store them.

To store leftover elephant ears food, transfer them to an airtight container, and you can store them at room temperature for about 2 days. I don't recommend freezing the fried dough since it will alter the texture.

FAQs About This Elephant Ears Food Recipe

What are elephant ears food made of?

Elephant ears food is made up of the most common baking ingredients that you'd find in any home-bakers kitchen. That would be flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, and milk, then cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar for topping.

What is the difference between funnel cake and elephant ear?

Funnel cakes are made by pouring the batter into a piping bag, then frying them in a stringy, circular pattern. An elephant ear, on the other hand, is made up of dough that is rolled into a thin flat round disc. 

Are elephant ears and fried dough the same thing?

Elephant ears and fried dough are made with all of the same ingredients, but elephant ears food dough is rolled out into a thin disk, and the fried dough is not typically rolled out. Also, fried dough traditionally has powdered sugar on top, and elephant ears food has cinnamon and sugar.

Where do elephant ears food come from?

Elephant ears food was created in America, inspired by the fry bread of Native Americans. The Navajo tribe invented fry bread in the southwestern United States in 1864 using flour, sugar, salt, and lard that was given to them by the government. Elephant ears food was adapted from that original creation. 

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make elephant ears food that tastes like it came straight from the fair!

Seriously, this easy elephant ears recipe couldn't be closer to the ones right off the food trucks. It's just so crispy and golden brown on the outside, yet soft and fluffy on the inside. Each bite melts in your mouth, and the combination of textures leaves you craving more and more. 

So I hope you enjoy this elephant ears recipe as much as I/we do.

If you give it a try, be sure to leave a comment below and tell us all about it!

More Recipes

If this elephant ear food recipe has you craving even more easy dessert recipes, we have a ton on the blog that you can try next!

Here are some reader favorites:

• Coffee cake
• Fried cheesecake
• Oreo balls
• Oreo cupcakes
• Small batch sugar cookies
• Churro cheesecake bars

Oh, and makes sure to follow us on Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram for some delicious dessert recipes too!