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–+ servings
Baked cinnamon crisp elephant ears.
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4.89 from 9 votes

Baked Elephant Ears

These Baked Elephant Ears are like a combination of the fried elephant ears from the fair and the crispy crunchy palmiers from a bakery.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time10 minutes
Additional Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Course: Bread Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24
Calories: 191kcal
Author: Laura

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 cups flour All-Purpose works fine in this recipe
  • 2 1/2 instant teaspoons yeast refer to the notes if you want to use active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 sugar
  • 1 egg

filling

  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

topping

  • 1/4 melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional

Instructions

  • mix 4 cups of flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a mixer-if you're using active dry yeast see yeast notes below
  • warm the milk, butter, and sugar in a small pan on the stove, don't let it boil just get it warmed up
  • pour the warm milk over the flour, add the egg, and stir to combine
  • use the bread hook to stir the dough until it comes together as a dough,
  • If the dough is loose you may need to add the last of the flour to make it a soft dough
  • once the dough has come together let the machine knead it for one minute until the dough is soft and pliable
  • grease a clean bowl, add the dough, turn to coat, cover and let rise in a warm area until it's doubled in size
  • divide the dough and let it rest for ten minutes while you make the filling
  • combine the melted butter with the sugars and the cinnamon
  • pat out 1/2 the dough to make a 12X12 inches square, crumble half the filling over the top of the dough
    Patted-out dough for cinnamon crisp elephant ears.
  • Crumbled filling spread over the top of the dough.
  • roll the dough into a log, pinch the edges, and cut in 12 circles
    Rolled dough cut into twelve equal pieces.
  • repeat with the remaining piece of dough
  • lightly flour a clean counter and pat each circle out to a 3-4 inch circle cover and let rise for 30 minutes, don't worry these aren't meant to be perfect, they will start to rise and get puffy, and shrink
    Flattened cinnamon roll covered in plastic wrap to rise.
  • preheat the oven to 400˚
  • melt butter for topping
  • combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans if using
  • line baking trays with silicone sheets, parchment, or foil
  • lay four pieces of dough on a baking tray, cover with plastic wrap, roll flat with a rolling pin to make circles 5-7 inches around
    A cinnamon roll flattened to make an elephant ear.
  • remove the plastic wrap, brush with butter, sprinkle with about 3/4 Tablespoon sugar mixture
  • bake each tray of elephant ears for 8-10 minutes, 8 minutes will leave them puffy and soft, 10 minutes makes them crunchy
  • when done in the oven remove them immediately from the baking sheet and put on a cooling rack
  • repeat with the remaining circles
  • if you have remaining sugar and cinnamon sprinkle it over the elephant ears

Notes

  • if you’re using Instant Quick Rise or Rapid Rise Yeast you can add the yeast directly to your dry ingredients — There’s NO NEED to dissolve the yeast in the water FIRST
  • Active Dry Yeast-Regular Normal Yeast should be mixed with a small amount of the water and flour from the recipe and added that way to make sure the yeast is properly distributed
  • REBEL MODE you can be like me and use EITHER type of yeast like it’s Instant Yeast with very little problem-but you should be aware that there can occasionally be a problem like small pieces of yeast that didn't dissolve

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg