Crispy Elephant Ears Recipes

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• In small saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and shortening. Heat until shortening melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm, 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Sprinkle in yeast and let sit until foamy.
• Transfer mixture to large bowl, and stir in flour to make a dough. Knead until smooth, cover and let rise 30 minutes.
• In a large heavy skillet or deep fryer, heat 1 inch of oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll out 1 to 2 inch balls of dough into thin sheets. Fry sheets 1 to 2 minutes on a side, until puffed and golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Combine cinnamon and 6 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle over warm pastries. Serve.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, salt, shortening and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , On a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch down and shape into 15 ovals, 5-1/2-in. round by 1/8-in. thick. Heat 3-4 in. of oil to 375° in deep-fat fryer. Fry ovals, one at a time, 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over warm pastries.

CINNAMON ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and kosher salt and pour it over a flat surface such as a wooden board or marble slab. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar mixture.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and the cinnamon and spread it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it's a 13-inch square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. Fold the sides of the square toward the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake the cookies for 6 minutes, or until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

CRISPY ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine milk, water and yeast; set aside. In another large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg to yeast mixture; beat into dry ingredients until blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. , Preheat oven to 375°. Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 8-10 times. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll into an 18x10-in. rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle 1 cup over dough. Beginning with a long side, roll up jelly-roll style pinch edges to seal. Cut into 1-in. slices., For each elephant ear, sprinkle a small amount of the remaining cinnamon-sugar on a piece of waxed paper. Place a slice of dough on cinnamon-sugar; roll into a 5-in. circle. , Place sugared side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with some of the remaining butter; sprinkle with pecans and cinnamon-sugar. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

PUFF PASTRY ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Water wash entire surface of one pastry sheet.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on surface.
• Roll sheet up into a coil.
• Cut coil into 12 equal pieces.
• Place sufficient granulated sugar on work surface and place one cut piece on sugar, also covering top of roll with sugar.
• With a rolling pin, roll down piece, changing direction of sheeting to keep the piece oval. Use sugar as you would dusting flour to keep from sticking. Roll approximately 7" or 8" circles.
• Place on parchment paper lined baking pan.
• Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

ELEPHANT EAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Grind pecans, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped (mixture should resemble very coarse sand).
• Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheets side by side on floured parchment; press together at seam to form a 9 1/2-by-18-inch rectangle. Roll out to an 11-by-20-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Transfer pastry on parchment to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Brush generously with beaten egg, and evenly sprinkle with pecan mixture, patting it into dough. Starting with a short side, use one hand to roll up as tightly as possible, holding unrolled portion firmly with other palm. Brush off excess flour with a dry pastry brush as you are rolling, and press sides back into shape (they tend to splay). Roll tightly in parchment.
• Freeze dough until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch slices. Generously sprinkle a work surface with granulated sugar, and coat both cut sides of dough slices in sugar. Press dough slices to flatten slightly. Roll out into 6- to 7-inch rounds on sugared surface, sprinkling more sugar on top as needed. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 per sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake in batches until golden brown, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on baking sheets.

EASY ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Mix sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. If a shaker is available it works great for this.
• Heat oil in a large skillet to about 1 inch and about 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• If drop of water sizzles when dropped into the oil it is hot enough.
• Open biscuits and flatten carefully as large as you can get them without breaking. It is sometimes easier to stretch them in your hands like pizza dough rather than rolling out on the counter.
• Place 1 at a time in hot oil; watch carefully and turn when the bottom starts to brown lightly.
• When both top and bottom are the same color, remove from oil to paper towels.
• Immediately brush both sides with melted butter with pastry brush, and sprinkle each side liberally with cinnamon sugar.
• Eat immediately.