Let this be your sign to start deep frying cinnamon rolls!! These cinnamon roll donuts are soft and fluffy and covered in a sweet cinnamon maple glaze. Frying the rolls gives them a light and crispy crust that just takes them to the next level. It's such a fun twist on a classic treat!
what makes these cinnamon roll donuts so good?
- fluffy yeast dough: Not only is this dough super easy to whip up (requiring only one rise!) but it's also so insanely airy and soft and makes the perfect base for a yeast donut recipe.
- cinnamon roll DONUTS: Like hello???? Is there a more perfect combination?! Plus everything tastes better deep fried.
- cinnamon maple glaze: A plain glaze just didn't feel like it would cut it - I felt like these donuts needed some maple syrup and extra cinnamon to really make them the ultimate fall experience!
- perfect for beginners: Even though we're working with yeast, this dough is really easy to work with and super easy to whip up for beginners and experts alike!
how to shape cinnamon roll donuts
The recipe for these cinnamon roll donuts is adapted from my classic cinnamon rolls recipe! You'll notice the ingredient amounts here are slightly scaled down and that's because the donuts need to be cut a bit thinner than classic cinnamon rolls so they can cook evenly. You still will get 12 rolls / donuts, but they'll be thinner than classic baked rolls.
When it comes to shaping the cinnamon roll donuts, it's basically the same as making classic cinnamon rolls:
- Make the cinnamon roll dough: Whisk together wet and dry ingredients separately, then combine. The dough will be very wet at first, but just keep gradually mixing in flour until it starts to ball together. Knead the dough until it's smooth. Cover the dough and let it rest.
- Fill the cinnamon roll dough: Roll the rested dough out into a rough rectangle then spread butter on top. Sprinkle brown sugar followed by cinnamon over the butter.
- Roll the filled dough into a log and cut the rolls: They're going to puff up a little in the next step, so cut the rolls a little thinner than a standard donut thickness.
- Rise: Arrange the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover and set aside to rise.
how to fry cinnamon roll donuts
Frying cinnamon rolls will have virtually the same process as frying regular donuts, but there are a few things to keep in mind to make the whole process a lot easier and seamless!
- Pick a pot with HIGH sides: It makes deep frying a lot easier and safer. As someone who's a magnet for hot oil splashing, even I can avoid it with a high sided pan.
- Fill the pot with 2 inches of oil: The cinnamon roll donuts will float as they fry, but having a good amount of oil in the pot will help keep the donuts away from the bottom and prevent burning.
- Heat oil to 350F: To test if the oil is heated, you can drop a little ball of donut dough - it should start gently bubbling around the edges and the ball of dough should float to the top of the oil after a few seconds.
- Add the donuts to the oil: The easiest way to do this without deflating the dough it to use scissors to cut out little squares in the parchment paper around the cinnamon rolls (see above photo for visual). Then lift the paper square up and carefully drop the cinnamon roll into the oil.
- Fry on both sides until golden brown and then glaze: Once all the donuts are fried, whisk together your glaze ingredients until smooth. Dip the face of each roll into the glaze and transfer onto a wire rack. Let the glaze set for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the surface feels set, then dig in!
Something to note when frying cinnamon rolls is that some of the filling will inevitably leak out as the donuts fry, so don't worry too much if you notice that happening.
can I fry store-bought cinnamon roll dough?
Yes! You can use virtually any cinnamon roll recipe and just deep fry it. Just keep in mind that a full batch recipe for 12 cinnamon rolls will make around 24 donuts (because we're slicing them a bit thinner than classic buns). So if that's too much for you, I would recommend halving the recipe or freezing any extras.
can I make cinnamon roll donuts ahead?
These donuts are an amazing make ahead recipe and perfect for getting ready the night before and frying in the morning for a fresh sweet breakfast! After filling, rolling, and cutting the dough, cover and transfer the shaped rolls to the fridge immediately (before allowing them to rise). The shaped rolls can stay in the fridge for up to 18 hours before frying.
Once you're ready to make the donuts, take the rolls out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes or until they no longer feel cold to the touch. Then, continue on normally with the rest of the recipe to fry and glaze them!
more tips
- Temperature: Yeast needs ingredients that are neither hot nor cold so it can activate and function properly. Overly hot ingredients will kill the yeast and render it unusable! Overly cold ingredients will significantly slow the activation of the yeast. An ingredient like eggs should be at room temperature, while ingredients like water, milk, or melted butter should feel warm (like tap water that you would wash your hands in) but NOT HOT!
- Kneading: To check if the dough is perfectly kneaded, there are a few signs to look out for. The surface of the dough should look smooth and feel slightly tacky but not sticky. If you lightly poke the top of the dough, the indent in the dough from your finger should slowly spring back - if it doesn't, it needs more kneading. Over kneading is also a possibility (although it's virtually impossible to over knead dough by hand before getting tired!) It's mostly a possibility if you're using an electric mixer, so do be careful of that. If the dough feels hard / tough or the indent from your finger springs back immediately, it's most likely overworked.
- Shaping: When it comes to rolling up the filled dough, it's important to roll it up tightly to help as much of the filling stay in the actual roll. I mentioned above that some filling will inevitably leak out as you fry the donuts, but a tightly filled roll will reduce the amount of lost filling. Also, make sure to pinch the seam well to ensure the rolls don't unravel as they fry.
cinnamon roll donut storage
Just like with any yeast dough or fried donut recipe, these are best enjoyed fresh the day they're made, but they will keep for 3 to 4 days and still taste perfectly delicious. Store the donuts in a single layer to make sure they don't stick to each other and cover tightly with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container to keep them fresh for as long as possible. Store at room temperature or in the fridge.
check out these other recipes!
• Sour Cream Glazed Donuts
• Baked Chocolate Glazed Donuts
• Baked Apple Donuts
• BEST Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Cinnamon Roll Donuts
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 donuts
Description
Let this be your sign to start deep frying cinnamon rolls!! These cinnamon roll donuts are soft and fluffy and covered in a sweet cinnamon maple glaze. Frying the rolls gives them a light and crispy crust that just takes them to the next level. It's such a fun twist on a classic treat!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 & ½ to 3 cups (325-390g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 & ¼ teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180mL) water
- ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
For the filling:
- ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (70g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- oil for frying
For the cinnamon maple glaze:
- 2 cups (260g) powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (80mL) pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 & ½ cups flour (to start), yeast, and salt. Set aside.
- In a microwave safe cup or bowl, combine water and butter. Microwave in 10 second bursts until the butter just barely melts and the mixture is warm but not hot! You can also do this in a pot on low heat.
- To the water/butter mixture, whisk in brown sugar and the egg until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix together until it starts to come together into a very sticky mixture. Gradually add in more flour and mix until it starts to ball together into more of a dough.
- Knead the dough in your bowl or on a floured work surface until it's smooth and slightly tacky but no longer sticky. Add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands / work surface. If you poke the top of the dough, the indent from your finger should slowly spring back. If the indent remains, knead the dough a bit more.
- Cover the dough and let rest for 20 minutes just to make it easier to roll out. It will puff up a little bit but won't quite double in size.
Fill and shape the dough:
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the rested dough on a floured work surface and lightly flour the top. Roll it out into a roughly 9x13 inch rectangle. Continue sprinkling flour on the dough as needed to keep it from sticking. Try to get the rectangle as even as possible but it doesn't have to be perfect!
- Spread the softened butter on top of the dough leaving a roughly ½ inch border along the edges.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter and spread it with your fingers to even it out. Finally, sprinkle the cinnamon evenly on top.
- Working on the longer side of the dough, tightly roll it up into a log and then pinch the seam to seal. A tightly rolled up log will cause less filling to leak out as the donuts fry! Also make sure to pinch the seam well to ensure the rolls don't unravel as they cook.
- Use a sharp serrated knife or unflavored floss to cut about 1 inch off of each end of the log (you can fry those as well, but they'll look a little wonky and the filling will be uneven - they're a perfect chef's treat though!)
- Cut the remaining log into 12 rolls that are about 1 inch thick.
- Arrange the rolls on your parchment lined baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches of space between each one. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for 45 to 60 minutes or until they've puffed up to a little under double in size.
- Once they've puffed up, use scissors to cut the parchment paper around each cinnamon roll so you can easily lift them up with the paper one by one (see above post for visual).
Fry the donuts:
- Pick out a large pot with high sides. The pot should have at least 4 inch high sides, but the taller the sides, the better and safer it is. Fill the large pot with about 2 inches of vegetable oil (or any neutral flavored frying oil).
- Place the pot over medium heat and heat the oil until it's about 350F. To test if the oil is ready, drop a little ball of dough into the pot and wait for it to start bubbling around the edges and rise to the top.
- Pick up 3 to 4 cinnamon rolls using the parchment paper cutouts and carefully drop them into the pot of oil one by one. Take care not to overcrowd the pan or it may cool the oil down and cause the donuts to soak up more oil.
- Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Adjust the heat as needed if the donuts are taking too long or browning too quickly.
*Note: some of the filling will leak out as they cook - that's normal!*
- Place the fried donuts on a wire rack and continue frying the remaining donuts.
Make the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon) until smooth and combined. If the glaze is too thick, you can thin it out with more maple syrup. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Dip the face of each donut into the glaze and gently shake off any excess.
- Place the glazed donuts back onto the wire rack and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the glaze to set before digging in!
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Donuts
Enjoy!
Juzeth Ulibarri says
Cuantos gramos de levadura? Tiene que ser alguna en especial?
Becky says
I've used this method of frying doughnuts but can't remember whether you slide the paper into the oil with the doughnut/cinnamon bun on it or turn the paper upside down and strip the paper off then or later.