Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Soft and golden fry bread served hot with powdered sugar and cinnamon honey butter.

This treat has many names, but in North America it’s mostly known as fry bread, or frybread. Unless you’re from Utah like me, and then you likely call this a scone.
But regardless of the name you’re familiar with, they’re all pretty much the same— a simple dough rolled or stretched flat and deep-fried till golden. It’s soft, with a slightly crisp outer layer. And though you can serve it either sweet or savory, it is amazing sprinkled with a little powdered sugar and smeared with honey butter.
Sweet is definitely the way to go. (Is anybody surprised?)
Table of Contents
- Ingredients you'll need
- How to make fry bread with cinnamon honey butter
- Can this recipe be made ahead?
- More delicious recipes like this
- Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter recipe

Ingredients you’ll need
So let’s bake a batch, shall we? Here’s what you’ll need to make this fry bread with cinnamon honey butter (full recipe below):
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Honey
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Vegetable oil, for frying

How to make fry bread with cinnamon honey butter
- Prepare the dough. Mix dry ingredients, then add water and melted butter. Stir to make a wet shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour.
- Make cinnamon honey butter. While dough is resting, mix butter, cinnamon and honey together until smooth and uniform. Keep at room temperature.
- Shape dough. Lightly flour hands, a clean surface, and rolling pin. Pinch off rounded tablespoon-sized pieces (no need to be exact) and roll out to about ¼-inch thick.
- Fry in batches. Heat oil to 375°F and fry 2-3 pieces of bread at a time, about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Drain. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to transfer fried bread to paper towels to drain.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy hot. Dust fry bread lightly with powdered sugar, and serve immediately, either dipping it into the honey butter or spreading it on top.


baking tip:Deep frying tips
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot, such as Dutch oven.
- Fill it with at least 3 inches of oil so that everything has enough room to float.
- Use a thermometer so you know the exact temperature of the oil.
- Fry at 350-375°F (per recipe instructions) and adjust heat as needed to maintain that temp. If the oil is too cool, it’ll take longer and your treats will soak up more oil. If the oil is too hot, you risk burning them.
- Work in batches as needed to not crowd the pot or cause the oil temp to drop too much.
- Protect yourself! Wear an apron to protect your clothing from any splatters, and use a slotted spoon to flip them over and remove them.
- When you’re done, turn off the heat and let the oil cool to room temperature completely. Pour through a funnel into a container with a secure lid and discard (or save to use for frying later). Do not pour oil down the drain.
Can this recipe be made ahead?
- The honey butter can be made ahead, and will keep in the fridge for at least several weeks.
- Unfortunately, the fry bread dough cannot be made ahead as the baking powder will lose it’s leavening power over time. Fry the bread no more than 2 hours after mixing the dough for best results.

More delicious recipes like this
This recipe was originally published October 2011.
Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter recipe

Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- ¾-1 cup (200-250 ml) warm water
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Powdered sugar
Cinnamon Honey Butter:
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and ¾ cup warm water. Mix with a spoon until dough comes together into a ball. Dough should be moist but not sticky. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed. Cover dough and let rest for one hour.
- Pour enough vegetable oil into a wide skillet so that it's 2 inches deep. Set over medium high heat. Insert a thermometer and heat oil to 375°F.
- Meanwhile, roll out the dough. Pinch off a tablespoon sized ball of dough at a time and roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Stretch and pull with your hands if necessary. Dough should be about ¼ inch thick.
- Fry bread in batches of 2 or 3 until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oil with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain any excess oil.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately with the cinnamon honey butter or other desired topping.
To make the cinnamon honey butter:
- Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and somewhat creamy, about 2 minutes. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 1 week.
I’ve just finished eating this and, Wow! were they good. I made 1/2 batch and there were a number of them because I decided to treat them as if drop biscuits right off the spoon into the oil since they were only being eaten by me. They were delicious without the accompanying mixture – which was great and a nice pairing with my “biscuits.” Had I eaten them without the tiny bit of the hbc they would have been perfectly satisfying Just the right sweetness and a very nice texture made eating these a delightful – and filling – experience. Thank you for the recipe!!!
This is Fry Bread not Utah Scone. Utah scones use yeast, fry bread using baking powder.
delicious and easy to make.
I killed this!! Thanks for the awesome detailed recipe, the family loved it!!
Oops, forgot to rate the recipe in my previous post.
Delicious! My mother used to fry store bought bread dough but I like this much better. Also, no preservatives!
Oh my good lord i just made these last night, they weren’t as doughy as i wanted them to be (i must’ve done something wrong), but still so freaking delicious! Thank you! ❤