Cinnabon Delights: Crispy donut holes coated in a generous amount of cinnamon sugar, and filled with cream cheese frosting. Enjoy this Taco Bell favorite at home in minutes!
The internet made me do it! After seeing these all over Youtube an Instagram I knew I needed to give them a try.
I feel like people imagine food bloggers turning up their noses at things like prepackaged cookies and drive through desserts. Not me, I love them both!
But, apparently hitting the drive-through for a 12 pack of these bad boys twice three times a day is frowned upon in this society.
The first time I tried this recipe I jumped up and down. They are a dead ringer for the Taco Bell treat. SO amazing. They’re warm and have the perfect amount of filling. Love cinnamon for breakfast? Also try my cinnamon french toast casserole. Guaranteed to have you reaching back into the serving dish to get just one more.
Other Copycat Recipes
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Recipe
What Are Cinnabon Delights?
Cinnabon delights are just a deep fried cinnamon sugar doughnut with cream cheese filling. Mouth watering yet? Taco Bell serves these all day long, and if you’ve never tried them, you’re truly missing out. The good news is, you don’t have to run out to a taco bell to get these. I’m going to share the Cinnabon delights recipe with you, so you can have homemade Cinnabon delights in your PJs! After all isn’t homemade so much better?
I like knowing how things are made and being able to recreate it myself. It also gives me the license to play around with the recipe, not that I needed to with this one. It’s a definite winner.
Cinnabon Delights Recipe
There are two parts to this recipe. Let’s start with the doughnut portion, and then we’ll get to the filling recipe. First, you’ll need a large bowl and a small bowl. The large bowl is for the dry ingredients and the small one will be for the wet ones.
In the large bowl mix your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together. Make sure that everything is incorporated. In the small bowl mix the egg, milk and butter together. After you’ve done that combine the wet and dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. Make sure to stir these really well, as you don’t want any lumps in your dough.
To deep fry these you can use either a cast iron skillet, an electric skillet or a deep fryer. Whichever you decide to use, make sure your oil is at 375 degrees. All you have to do is form the dough into a ball and drop it into the oil. I used a small ice cream scoop. A teaspoon works great too!
I do about five or six of these at a time, depending on the size of the skillet or deep fryer. You don’t want to overload it, or they won’t get golden brown. Fry them for about two to thre minutes, turning them once. Then, remove from oil and lay them on some paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Finally, roll the warm doughnut around in cinnamon sugar.
Taco Bell Cinnabon Delights Filling Recipe
The filling recipe is quite simple. You’ll just need to put ¼ to ⅓ cup of room temperature cream cheese in a bowl. It needs to be room temperature so it will be easier to work with. You can use either measurement of the cream cheese you want, depending on the amount of cream cheese flavor you like.
Combine the cream cheese with your powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Stir that together so there are no lumps and begin to add your milk a little at a time. Make sure not to add it all at once, because it may make your filling too thin. You want the filling to coat the back of your spoon, not quite as thick as frosting.
Pour the icing into a piping bag or a bottle with a nozzle and insert the tip into the doughnut. Don’t be skimpy with the filling. Make sure to move the tip around inside the doughnut so the filling gets worked into as much of the doughnut as possible. These are best if served warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Type of Oil Should I Use for Frying?The best oil to use for frying is one that is flavorless and has a high smoke point. This will ensure that you get a nice fry on the doughnut with no funny taste. A good oil to use would be vegetable, safflower, or sunflower oil.
- How to Reheat Cinnabon Delights: These are really easy to reheat. All you need to do is put them in the microwave for eight to ten seconds. It won’t take much to warm them. Then enjoy them like they just came out of the fryer. I mean, this is assuming that you’ll have any to reheat.If so I’m super jealous!
- Can I Bake Them Instead? Baking is not recommended.
Cinnabon Delights
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 Egg
- ½ Cup Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Butter Melted
- Oil For Deep Frying
- Cinnamon Sugar
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- ¼ to ⅓ Cup Cream Cheese Softened
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Whole Milk
Instructions
For the Donuts
- In a large bowl, whisk flour sugar, and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk, and melted butter. Do not over mix.
- Heat oil to 375 degrees F in a cast iron pan. Drop batter using a generous teaspoon into the hot oil. Fry 5 or 6 at a time, do not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, turning once.
- Drain on paper towels, and roll in cinnamon sugar.
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Add in powdered sugar a little at a time until just combined.
- Add milk as needed until you reach your desired consistency.
- Pour into a squirt bottle or piping bag. Fill donuts with glaze, being sure to move the tip around so you get a generous amount of frosting.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted via Cooking With Honey
Sweet Breakfast Treats From Blogs I Love:
Apple Spice Crunch Muffins via Small Town Woman
Cream Cheese Danish via Cakes Cottage
Chocolate Donuts via Buns In My Oven
What do you think of these Cinnamon Delights. Have you tried any good fast food desserts lately, I want to know!
Love these quick and easy Cinnabon donut holes! I can see why you frequented Taco Bell for these. Like you, I prefer the home version. I used coconut milk because it’s what I usually have at hand, and rolled the dough into small balls while dusting my hands lightly with flour. The cream cheese filling is perfect for this treat. Thanks!!
I would never think of using coconut milk, thanks for sharing your method Iris!
Thanks for sharing. They turned out great. I just had the stove too high at first.
Would the results be the same if you use and air fryer to fry them?
Hi Christina!
Great question. I’ve only tried the recipe as written, but I fear the batter would not hold up as well in the air fryer. Please let us know if you do end up trying it.
I’m not getting something. How can a squirt bottle fill a little donut hole? I can see maybe a basting injector but i must be mossing something. Maybe a piping bag if it had the right attachment. Do you put filling in before you fry them or after?
Hi Michael!
Great questions. I fill after frying.
I’m sorry for the confusion. It is less of a squeeze bottle and more a piping bottle (mine is an older Wilton version similar to this https://www.wilton.com/silicone-cookie-decorating-bottle/409-7723.html). A piping bag would work great too!
I haven’t tried it yet but what about making the filling in advanced freezing it and cutting it into squares and forming the dough around the frozen filling and then frying them?
Hi Leslie,
I’ve only tried the recipe as written, sorry. Please let me know if you try it this way, and how it goes.
OMW These look absolutely a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Need I say anymore? I don’t think so. 🙂 I’m totally going to make these the first chance I get. Thanks for sharing!!! xo
Wow!!! This recipe was incredible!!!! I rolled the donuts in melted butter then put cinnamon/sugar on them and they turned out amazing 🤤 10/10!!!!
I love these at Taco Bell, thanks for the copycat recipe
Thank you so much, these were yummy.
Thank you so much for your copycat recipe.
Thank you so much for your recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks you so much for sharing!
yummy Cinnabon balls… thank you for sharing, Krystle!! Keep it up 🙂
Awesome copycat recipe, my kids loved them.