Old Fashioned Cruller Recipes: Just Like Grandma Made

These authentic Old Fashioned Cruller Recipes call up memories of a warm kitchen, the tantalizing smell of nutmeg in the air, and the simple joy of a homemade treat. These are not the light, airy French crullers you find in modern donut shops; these are the real deal — the kind with a wonderfully crisp, golden-brown exterior that gives way to a tender, cake-like inside. They are the crullers of yesteryear, the kind Aunt Em famously served to Dorothy and the farmhands in "The Wizard of Oz."

This page is a journey back in time, sharing treasured recipes from historic cookbooks dating as far back as 1877. Each recipe tells a story, offering a slightly different take on this timeless fried pastry. Whether you prefer them lightly sugared, warmly spiced, or like "tangle britches," you'll find a version here that speaks to your heart and satisfies your craving for a truly nostalgic dessert.

Calumet's Old Fashioned Cruller Recipe

Calumet Baking Powder Cook Book (c.1921)

Calumet's Sugared Crullers

1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks, well beaten
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
4 cups flour
1/4 level teaspoon grated nutmeg
2-1/2 level teaspoons Calumet Baking Powder
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream the sugar and egg yolks and add egg whites. Sift together thoroughly flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt, and add alternately with milk to first mixture.

Place on floured board, roll thin and cut in pieces three inches long by two inches wide; make four one-inch gashes at equal intervals.

Take up pieces by running finger in and out of gashes, lower into deep hot fat and fry. Take up on a skewer, drain on brown paper, and roll in powdered sugar, if desired.

Old Fashioned Spiced Cruller Recipes

Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping (1877)

From the pages of the 1877 "Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping," these old fashioned cruller recipes show how home bakers personalized their crullers with warm spices. One recipe uses cinnamon for a familiar, comforting flavor, while the other adds a zesty kick of ginger. These are the perfect treats for a crisp autumn afternoon.

Cinnamon & Nutmeg Crullers

Two coffee-cups sugar, one of sweet milk, three eggs, a heaping tablespoon butter, three teaspoons baking powder mixed with six cups flour, half a nutmeg, and a level teaspoon cinnamon.

Beat eggs, sugar and butter together, add milk, spice, and flour; put another cup flour on molding-board, turn the dough out on it, and knead until stiff enough to roll out to a quarter inch thick.

Cut in squares, make three or four long incisions in each square, lift by taking alternate strips between the finger and thumb, drop into hot lard, and cook like doughnuts. —Miss R. J. S.

Ginger & Spice Crullers

Six eggs, one coffee-cup sugar, six tablespoons melted butter, four of sweet milk, one teaspoon soda in milk, two teaspoons cream of tartar in the flour, one teaspoon ginger, half a small nutmeg (or any other seasoning), flour to roll out; fry in hot lard. —Miss M. B. Fullington

Authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Cruller Recipes

Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking (1920s)

The Pennsylvania Dutch have a rich baking tradition, and these old fashioned cruller recipes from the 1920s are a testament to their love for simple, hearty treats. One uses cream for a tender crumb, while the other, "Tangle Britches," is a whimsical pastry known for its unique shape and delicate crispness.

Pennsylvania Dutch Crullers

2 eggs
1/2 cup cream, sweet or sour
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour

Beat the eggs, add cream and milk. Sift dry ingredients and combine with liquid, using just enough flour to make dough that can be rolled, but still remain soft. Mix well and let stand for 2 hours.

Turn dough out on floured board and roll to 1/4-inch thick. Cut into strips 6 inches by 1 inch. Fry in deep fat (360°F) until brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Tangle Britches

1/2 pound butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 cups flour

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs beating well. Sift in the cinnamon and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out dough very thin on a floured board to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into rectangular pieces 3 inches by 5 inches. Carefully make 5 cuts lengthwise in the dough 1/2 inch apart and 4-1/2 inches long, so that the rectangle remains in one piece.

Fry in hot deep fat (360°F) for 2 minutes or until they bob up to the top of the hot fat. When dropping them into the fryer, pick up the 1st, 3rd, and 5th strips and pull them upward. Let the 2nd, 4th, and 6th strips sag downward so that in frying they get all tangled or as the Pennsylvania Dutch say, all through each other.

Remove from fryer and dust with powdered sugar or dribble molasses over them and eat them while hot.

Southern Old Fashioned Cruller Recipe

Southern Recipes (1910)

Old South Crullers

6 eggs
2 scant cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
Flour, enough

Beat eggs separately. To sugar, add butter creamed, add yolks, and then beaten whites. Add enough White Lily flour to make a stiff dough — or the crullers will not fry well.

Fry in deep fat hot enough to brown the dough but not to burn it. Drain on paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. —Mrs. W. A. Bellingrath

A Sweet Surprise: Old Time Fried Trifles

Before there were crullers, there were trifles! These forgotten homemade pastries are even simpler to make and offer a somewhat different, yet equally delightful, experience. One is a crisp, cracker-like vessel for jelly, while the other is a marvel of delicate, crispy layers.

Crispy Fried Trifles

A quart flour, a cup sugar, two tablespoons melted butter, a little salt, two teaspoons baking powder, one egg, and sweet milk sufficient to make rather stiff.

Roll out in thin sheets, cut in pieces about two by four inches; make as many cuts across the short way as possible, inserting the knife near one edge and ending the cut just before reaching the other.

Pass two knitting needles under every other strip, spread the needles as far apart as possible, and with them hold the trifles in the fat until a light brown. Only one can be fried at a time. —Miss Ettie Dalbey, Harrisburg / Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, 1877

Fried Trifles with Jelly

Work one egg and a tablespoonful of sugar to as much flour as will make a stiff paste; roll it as thin as a dollar piece and cut it into small round or square cakes; drop two or three at a time into the boiling lard.

When they rise to the surface and turn over they are done; take them out with a skimmer and lay them on an inverted sieve to drain. When served for dessert or supper put a spoonful of jelly on each. So good! —The White House Cook Book, 1913

Grandma's Cruller Success Tips

Making these old fashioned cruller recipes can sometimes feel like a puzzle. Here are some of Grandma's time-tested secrets to ensure your crullers turn out perfectly every time.

• Use the Right Oil: A neutral oil with a high smoke point is best. Vegetable, canola, or peanut oil are all excellent choices. Lard, of course, is the most traditional option for a traditional taste.
• "Hot Lard" or "Hot Fat": Hot enough means the oil should be between 360°F and 375°F. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a 1-inch cube of bread into the oil. It should turn golden brown in about 60 seconds.
• Don't Crowd the Pan: Frying too many crullers at once will quickly lower the oil temperature, leading to greasy results. Fry in small batches, allowing the oil to come back up to temperature between each batch.
• Doughy or Raw Centers: Your oil is too hot. The outside is browning too quickly before the inside has a chance to cook through. Reduce the heat slightly.
• Drain Properly: Place finished crullers on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or on layers of paper towels to drain excess oil.

Aunt Em's Crullers: The Wizard of Oz Connection

The above YouTube video brings you the opening scene of the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz." You'll see the unflappable Aunt Em bring a heaping plate of her homemade crullers for Dorothy and the hungry farmhands. Now, thanks to these treasured old fashioned cruller recipes, you can bring that same comforting, delicious magic into your own kitchen.