Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Soft and golden fry bread served hot with powdered sugar and cinnamon honey butter.
So, this is fry bread. Or Indian fry bread. Or, if you’re from South America, sopaipillas. Or if you’re from Utah, scones.
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, but it is amazing sprinkled with a little powdered sugar and smeared with honey butter.
Sweet is definitely the way to go. (Is anybody surprised?)
I grew up with fry bread mostly served as the base for Navajo tacos, and it wasn’t until I moved to Utah that I tasted “Utah scones” served with honey butter and fell in love.
If there is a heaven, I hope it’s a place where I can eat all the fry bread I want and not gain a single pound. Because really, my waistline is the only thing stopping me from making it on a regular basis.
If you’ve never had fry bread before, it’s definitely something you have to try. But be careful! It’s dangerously wonderful.
baking tip:Tips for deep frying
- Make sure your pot is big enough so that there are at least 3 inches between to surface of the oil and the top of your pot so when it bubbles up, it doesn’t bubble over.
- Always use a thermometer to maintain temperature. If the oil is too hot you’ll burn your food, too cold and your food will take on too much oil as it takes longer to cook.
- Don’t overcrowd your pot or your food may stick together and the oil will drop in temperature. Cook in batches as needed.
- Your food is done when it just barely turns 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.
- Use a slotted spoon, tongs, or spider strainer to remove fried food from oil.
- Set fried food on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
- Serve immediately! Fried foods are best fresh from the fryer.
Fry Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter
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 3/4 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 1/4 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
Have you tried this recipe?
I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below, send me an email, or take a photo and tag it on instagram with #completelydelicious.
This recipe first appeared on Completely Delicious September 2011. Photos have been updated and slight changes to the wording of the recipe have been made.
Omg, wat an interesting scones..
Looks and sounds almost like a sopapilla. Yummm!
These look dangerous and delectable! Never heard of these before, thanks for sharing 🙂
I have to make these!! Will post about it when I do! BTW I am in SLC too, well I moved from there too Tooele, but my family is there and we visit often. Thanks again for yummy stuff!
ok girlie 🙂 i LOVE utah scones!!! 2 things… 1) i use yeast (is that weird???) and 2) you're never supposed to measure or roll 🙂 you just rip it off and pull it a little before frying! i am happy you decided to make here home <3
I remember these and “Scones”. Didn’t realize they were unique to Utah, but I haven’t seen any of them since leaving Utah. I just figured that the other scones were just a different kind. As I remember we always used yeast, basically they were made from bread dough and fried. There was no measuring the dough nor rolling them out, mom would give us each a piece of dough and we’d form it however we wanted (usually the traditional shape). Don’t know if I’ll make them now, (probably not a good idea since I’m diabetic) but boy do I have fond memories…..
I wish I would have read this before making, they turned out much more dense than the ones we get in the restaurants here. My husband is military so we are not from Utah but have lived here almost 6 years and today he wanted scones from Sil’s cafe in Layton and these were just not the same 🙁
I do understand those feelings about not wanting to say you're from Utah. I feel that way myself at time, but mostly I like it.
And I have never made Utah scones, but they look amazing.
And very fun meeting the guy who got you to stay in Utah; he seems great!
These sound a lot like something we have where I live called fry bread. Very original name, I know. They are fantastic with berry jam!
Yum! I'd never heard of Utah scones, but they look delicious. They kind of remind me of the Spanish olive oil tortas I sometimes buy at the fancy-shmancy store as a treat (I refuse to deep-fry at home… I'm afraid that if I start, I'll never stop, and then I'll be 500lbs).
I guess most cultures have at least one dessert based on the concept that dough + oil + sugar = delicious! 🙂
The lady who ran the daycare I went to as a kid used to make these! (I grew up in Idaho, and I'm sure these aren't isolated to Utah, tehe.) I loved them, especially with homemade raspberry jam. We always called them scones… I didn't even know the other kind of scones existed until I got into cooking! I've been looking for a recipe for a long time… thanks for sharing!
I didn't intend to stay in Utah, either, but here I am!! These are my husband's favorite, and we have them for Christmas morning every year. Love them!
Oh my heck! You are totally from Utah now 🙂
I had the same experience. We moved here about 12 years ago and were certain that we would have moved on about 5 years later. Not the case! It took me awhile to wrap my head around the Utah scone thing, but must say they are a great treat, particularly drizzled (or drenched) in honey.
utahn. that's fun. 🙂
i don't like scones as a rule, but i've neither seen nor tasted scones like these. i'm intrigued!
Now these are the scones that I grew up eating. When I got into cooking and saw these “other scones” that were more like biscuits I was so confused? I had no idea it was a Utah thing?
I had ‘scones’ for the first time when my family and I visited Utah when I was 5, and any scone since then has paled in comparison..I don’t want a biscuit…I want a scone…I want this scone. Can’t wait to try the recipe!
I’m a Utahn, living in Las Vegas. I know exactly how you feel. I’ve felt that same way about this place. Anyway, I googled scones looking for the Utah recipe, and had no idea what that other thing was that kept coming up so THANK YOU for posting this!! I would have been lost. They look delicious and I can’t wait to make them! Thanks again!
How funny – I thought I knew quite a bit about Utah, being an Arizonan myself, but I’ve never heard this called Utah Scones. It’s Indian Fry Bread, and the best part about hiking down into the Grand Canyon. Also, if you make them bigger, they’re delicious for Indian Tacos.
Ummm… drooling my mouth out over here! Yum YUM!
LOL my husband was born and raised in SLC and we lived there for 8 years. I never felt like I fit there and we ended up back in the Midwest. It is an interesting place when it comes to food, though. They call small elephant ears scones and they have meat pies that are unique to Utah.
We usually buy frozen bread dough, thaw it, pinch chunks off and flatten them, then fry them.
These are not native to Utah, they are knock-offs of sopapillas. Regardless, they look delicious.
This post relates to me on so many levels. 1. I ordered a “scone” in Utah, received a Utah “scone” and was mystified! 2. I also met a boy and am now in Utah. =) 3. I still feel an outsider though and haven’t yet fully embraced that I’m currently in Utah. Not sure how long it’ll take me?
Don’t worry, I still feel like that sometimes too. I definitely felt more like I belonged once I stopped focusing on a few negative things I was still holding on to. Now I’m proud to be a Utahn!
I have been eating and making this bread dough for over 60 years, we call it bannock and it is great in dutch ovens, on a stick over fire coals, Navajo taco’s, scones, etc. Most of the basic ingredients and how to make this bread came from our grandparents here in the west that crossed the plains in the days of the pioneers and brought this basic bread knowledge with them from Europe and the British Isles. As a survival food it is hard to beat.
I am 36 years old and from the West (California, Hawaii, Idaho, and now Utah) and today is the first day that I have–in my life–heard that there is another type of scone other than this so-called “Utah scone” … My son brought a biscuit with fruit home from preschool and said “we made scones at school” and I mockingly laughed in his sweet little face.”That’s not a scone!” I declared. “That’s some sort of biscuit thingy. Scones are wonderful deep fried things youdrench with honey butter. I’ll show you a picture of a scone!” Then I Googled it and found that my entire life has been a lie (at least where scones are concerned). My mind is blown. This is like the time I was living in Belgium and they asked me if I had ever tried their little “sprouts” … “Yes,” I said, “but we call them Brussel spr- ooooooh.”
this seems similar to what is called Bake in many parts of the carribean. they are so good when stuffed with fish or eggs
Well, from the photo these look a lot like the ones my mother used to make. There is nothing like them if made correctly. The last time I had a “scone” was at the Midvale mining company cafe. The dang thing was the size of a dinner plate, and wonderful. I’ll give this recipe a try.
I came here looking for a recipe for The Rolling Scone scones in Utah. They were simply the best! I think they put the butter inside before they fried them, though.
Oh wow, that would be amazing!
Fry bread is served at The Feast of the Hunter’s Moon every year. It’s traditional Native American food from the 18th Century. It’s DELICIOUS!
Yes it is!
I LOVE THESE!!! Except instead of putting cinnamon sugar on it I put on homemade strawberry jam and it’s absolutely to die for (•‿•)
Sounds amazing!!
I was happy to see this recipe. My grandma was from New Mexico and would make these as a treat for us many grandchildren. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! So happy to hear you love fry bread too.
I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT FRIED SCONES WERE A CALIFORNIA THING TOO! WHEN I FOUND THIS POST, I REALIZED THAT MY UTAH RELATIVES IS WHERE WE GOT THIS RECIPE. MY MOM WOULD USE CANNED BISCUITS FOR SCONES THOUGH. NO WAITING FOR DOUGH TO RISE, AND REALLY QUICK AND EASY! NOT TO MENTION YUMMY!