Amish-style honey buns take everything people love about farmhouse doughnuts and turn it into a soft, spiraled, cinnamon-kissed treat drenched in sweet honey icing. They fit naturally with Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch fried pastries like doughnuts and fasnachts, where simple pantry doughs are fried in hot oil and glazed while still warm.amish-heritage+3
Amish Honey Buns Story
In many Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch communities, fried pastries are a beloved way to turn everyday bread dough into a special treat for mornings, church gatherings, and barn-raising breakfasts. These Amish-style honey buns follow the same spirit: a thrifty, yeast-raised dough enriched with milk, egg, butter, and a swirl of cinnamon, then fried and glazed with a shiny icing sweetened with real honey.amishamerica+3
Because the dough is made from basic staples—flour, sugar, milk, egg, yeast, and oil—it feels very much at home in a traditional Amish kitchen, where baking days often produce loaves of bread, rolls, doughnuts, and sticky buns all from similar doughs. Honey itself is a common sweetener in Amish country, sold in farm stands and bulk food shops, making a honey-laced icing a natural and rustic finishing touch.gracefuldame+3
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the honey buns, you’ll start with a soft, enriched dough:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 1 packet instant yeast
- ⅓ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil (for greasing)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2–2½ cups vegetable oil, for frying
The icing echoes classic Amish donut glazes but adds honey for deeper flavor:tastesoflizzyt+1
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
This combination yields buns that are tender inside, crisp and golden outside, and coated in a thin, crackly glaze that sets beautifully as they cool.amish-heritage+1
Step-by-Step Honey Bun Method
- Mix the dough base
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
- Warm the milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds, aiming for about 110 degrees so it activates the yeast without killing it.nerdymamma+1
- Activate and enrich
- Whisk the instant yeast, melted and cooled butter, egg, and vanilla into the warm milk until smooth.
- Pour this wet mixture into the dry ingredients and knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly tacky.
- First rise
- Grease a large bowl with the vegetable oil, form the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1½ hours, or until doubled in size, much like a traditional Amish bun or donut dough.amish-heritage+1
- Shape the spirals
- Gently press down the risen dough, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Press or roll it into a rectangle about 15 inches long and 8 inches wide.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the surface.
- Starting with a long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Dip your fingers in water and run them along the edge before pinching the seam to seal, which helps keep the spiral intact as it fries.
- Cut into buns
- Use unscented dental floss (or a thin knife) to slice the log into 1-inch buns, sliding the floss under the dough, crossing the ends over the top, and pulling tight to cut cleanly.
- Place the buns on wax paper, lightly spray the tops with nonstick cooking spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap, leaving space between them for expansion.
- Second rise
- Let the buns rise for about 30 minutes until slightly puffy; this second rise creates the airy, tender crumb associated with Amish doughnuts and sticky buns.amish-heritage+1
- Fry the honey buns
- In a large, heavy pan, heat 2–2½ cups vegetable oil over medium heat. Aim for hot but not smoking oil; a small piece of dough should sizzle gently and turn golden in about a minute.tastesoflizzyt+1
- Fry a few buns at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan.
- Cook each side until golden brown, turning once; adjust heat as needed to keep them from browning too quickly before the centers cook through.
- Drain and cool slightly
- Transfer fried buns to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Let them cool just until warm; glazing while warm helps the icing cling and set, just as with Amish glazed donuts.tastesoflizzyt+1
Honey Icing & Serving
- Make the icing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar, milk, honey, and vanilla extract until perfectly smooth and pourable.
- Adjust with a few drops more milk for a thinner glaze or a spoonful more powdered sugar for a thicker, sweeter coating.nerdymamma+1
- Glaze the warm buns
- Take each warm honey bun and dip the top into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the bowl.
- Place the glazed buns on wax or parchment paper and allow the icing to firm up into a shiny, sweet shell.
- How to enjoy them
- These buns are best eaten the day they are made, still slightly warm, with a mug of coffee, tea, or cold milk—much like Amish sticky buns served fresh from a country bakery case.gracefuldame+1
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature; if desired, briefly warm them in the microwave to soften the crumb and revive the glaze.