Description
Homemade sopaipillas with this easy recipe! These fluffy, golden pillows are crispy outside, tender inside, and perfect with honey or cinnamon sugar. Ready in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
For the Magic Dough:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (I use whatever’s cheapest at Kroger)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder (check the date—learned this the hard way)
- ½ teaspoon salt (table salt, kosher salt, whatever you’ve got)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (Carmen swears by Crisco, I’ve used store brands)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon warm tap water (not hot, just comfortable to touch)
For the Frying Adventure:
- Enough oil for about two inches deep (vegetable or canola—I buy the big jug at Costco)
For the Happy Ending:
- Honey and powdered sugar (classic combo that never gets old)
- OR cinnamon sugar (mix 1/4 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon)
- OR get creative with jam, chocolate syrup, whatever makes you smile
Instructions
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in your bowl first. Add the shortening and attack it with two forks until it looks like breadcrumbs mixed with small peas. Don’t overthink this part—some texture is good.
Pour in about half the water and stir with a fork. Add the rest gradually until everything sticks together into a soft dough. Not sticky, not dry, just soft. Knead it right in the bowl for maybe three minutes until it feels smooth. First time I made these, I didn’t knead enough and the dough kept tearing when I rolled it.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set a timer for twenty minutes. I cannot stress this enough—DO NOT RUSH THIS. First batch I ever made, I got impatient after ten minutes and tried to roll it out. The dough fought me like it was alive, snapping back every time I tried to flatten it.
Use this time to clean up your mess, get your honey ready, maybe start heating oil. Carmen always says this is when she mentally prepares for the exciting part.
Put about two inches of oil in your heaviest pan and heat on medium. This is where patience saves you money—rushing with high heat just burns oil and ruins everything. I learned this by smoking out my kitchen and having to start over completely.
Test with a tiny ball of dough. Should sizzle immediately and pop up to float. If it just sits there sadly, keep waiting. If it turns brown instantly, your oil’s too hot—take it off heat for five minutes.
Flour your counter and roll the dough into a rough square about as thick as a tortilla. Doesn’t have to win any beauty contests—rustic is traditional. Cut into nine pieces with a knife or pizza cutter. I just eyeball three cuts each direction.
Pro tip I wish someone had told me: don’t roll too thin. Need that thickness for proper puffing. Made paper-thin ones once that just sat in the oil like sad crackers.
Drop one square in the oil using tongs. Watch it sink for maybe half a second, then POP—it floats back up. Here’s Carmen’s secret that changed my life: immediately start spooning hot oil over the top of it while it cooks.
Keep spooning that oil over and over. This is what makes them balloon up like crazy instead of staying flat. Cook about thirty seconds, flip, spoon oil on the other side for another thirty seconds. They should be golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them.
Put each one on paper towels to drain. Serve immediately while they’re hot and puffy. Dust with powdered sugar or roll in cinnamon sugar while they’re still hot enough for it to stick.
My kids have learned to wait exactly ninety seconds for them to cool enough to handle. The anticipation kills them, but they’ve been burned enough times to respect the process.
Notes
Two at a Time Max: Tried doing four once to speed things up. Oil temperature dropped and they all came out greasy and flat. Patience pays off.
Watch the Edges: They’re ready to flip when the edges look set and golden, usually around thirty seconds but varies with oil temp.
Recovery from Mistakes: If oil starts smoking, pull it off heat immediately and wait five minutes. Better to pause than ruin everything.
The Sound Test: Properly done sopaipillas sound hollow when tapped with tongs. Dense sound means they need more time.
Drainage Technique: Prop them against each other at angles instead of laying flat. Better air circulation prevents soggy bottoms.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Deep Frying
- Cuisine: Mexican