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?)

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

1. 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.
2. Make cinnamon honey butter. While dough is resting, mix butter, cinnamon and honey together until smooth and uniform. Keep at room temperature.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Drain. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to transfer fried bread to paper towels to drain.
6. 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.

Tips for this recipe

• Use a heavy-bottom pan and fill it with at least 2 inches of vegetable oil so there’s enough space for the fry bread to float as it fries.
• A candy/deep-fry thermometer is very handy to make sure the oil is at the proper temp. Too hot and you’ll burn the fry bread, too cool and the fry bread will take on excess oil as it cooks more slowly. If you don’t have a thermometer, test out a small portion of dough to see that it bubbles and fries right away without immediately smoking and scorching.
• Don’t overcrowd your pot or the fry bread may stick together and the oil will drop in temperature. Cook in batches as needed— I do 2-3 pieces of fry bread at a time.
• The fry bread is done when it just turns light golden brown. It’ll darken a bit as it sits, so if you fry it until deeply golden, it will likely be a little burned by the time it cools.
• 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

• Sourdough Apple Fritters
• Yeast-Raised Doughnuts
• Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Bites

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This recipe was originally published October 2011.

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Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Servings: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 16 mins

Resting Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 36 mins

Individual pieces of bread fried till slightly crisp on the outside and soft inside. Serve with cinnamon honey butter, or as desired.

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5 from 4 votes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
• ¾-1 cup warm water (200-250 ml)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Powdered sugar

Cinnamon Honey Butter:

• ½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (113 grams)
• 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.

Nutrition

Sodium: 222mg, Calcium: 51mg, Vitamin A: 442IU, Sugar: 6g, Fiber: 1g, Potassium: 134mg, Cholesterol: 38mg, Calories: 264kcal, Saturated Fat: 9g, Fat: 15g, Protein: 3g, Carbohydrates: 30g, Iron: 2mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Annalise

Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review below or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.