It's So Easy To Turn Hot Dog Buns Into Delicious Long John Donuts
Homemade donuts always feel like a luxury — the fresh, sweet frosting, the warm, airy dough, and the magic of being able to flavor and decorate them however you want. But honestly, they're a lot of work. Whether you go with the classic deep fried or the lighter baked donuts, you're committing some serious time to the endeavor of mixing, shaping, cooking, and decorating each pastry. If you want something easy to make at home that'll still wow guests at your kid's birthday party or your friend's baby shower, skip to that last step by using toasted hot dog buns as the base for bar-shaped, do-it-yourself Long John donuts.
For the uninitiated, Long Johns are yeast-risen donuts that are essentially the Midwestern version of the Western U.S. bar donut and the French éclair. They're sometimes frosted and sometimes filled. But if you use your imagination and some spare fridge staples, a Long John could also be a toasted hot dog bun filled with whipped cream and strawberry jam. (After all, who's gonna stop you?)
How to take your hot dog buns from savory to sweet
Okay, okay, a hot dog bun isn't necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to D.I.Y. donut material. They are, of course, typically intended for savory dining-related purposes (read: hot dogs, for one) — not as the base ingredient for a sweet dessert. But in our defense, they're the right shape and have a convenient center split to hold filling.
More importantly, brioche hot dog buns exist. Brioche is an eggy, buttery traditionally French bread and usually involves a multi-day baking process — but you can find ready-made brioche hot dog buns at Aldi's, Trader Joe's, and Safeway, to name a few. They're sweeter than typical hot dog buns, and after popping them in your air fryer for a few minutes to toast, you could totally convince someone that a flaky bite of one is from a real donut.
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Next, the world of decorating hot dog bun Long Johns is your oyster. You could go with whipped cream and/or strawberry jam for the filling, or a powdered sugar combo for your donut's exterior. You could also pull out your Nutella, cookie butter, or a tangy acidic lemon curd (for filling, or icing, or both), or embrace the fall spirit with an apple caramel donut filling. As for the leftover hot dog buns — well, this recipe for hot dog bun French toast bites is calling their name.