These Homemade Beaver Tails are made with pizza dough for an easy treat you can make at home – no need for deep frying either!
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How to make this recipe
- Add dough ingredients to pizza dough and then tear it apart and mix together in a large bowl.
- On a heavily floured surface, roll out dough then cut it into 6 pieces to form the shape of traditional beaver tails.
- In a large, deep frying pan, pour in sunflower oil.
- Take a small piece of flattened dough and put it in the oil, cooking for two minutes each side.
- Meanwhile, combine a plate full of sugar with cinnamon and stir to combine.
- Once the beavertails are done frying, move them to a paper towel lined plate.
- Transfer to the sugar plate, coating on all sides.
- Decorate with your favorite toppings. Ex: Nutella, coconut and strawberries.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sunflower oil – vegetable oil, canola oil, or coconut oil can be used in place of sunflower oil.
Dough
- Pizza dough – make your own dough or use a store-bought pizza dough as I’ve listed for easy assembly.
- Brown sugar – pre-made cinnamon sugar or white sugar can also be used in place of brown sugar.
- Vanilla extract – there is no exact substitution for vanilla extract so if you don’t have it, leave it out entirely. Or you can substitute it with another extract of your choice.
- Cinnamon
- Water
- Flour – use cornstarch or pastry cloth as substitutions for flour in this recipe.
Dipping Mixture
- White sugar
- Cinnamon
Topping Ideas – use as many or as little of these toppings as you’d like! The combinations are endless.
- Strawberries
- Shredded coconut
- Sliced bananas
- Nutella
- Brown sugar
- Chocolate/butterscotch chips
- Reese's pieces
- Mini marshmallows
- Any other candy you desire!
What is a Beaver Tail?
A Beaver Tail is a Canadian staple! It's the go-to dessert paired with a hot chocolate after a day of skiing or skating. It's essentially a stretched dough that is deep fried and covered with cinnamon sugar. You can enjoy it as is or add just about any topping that you can think of on top! The most popular one available at the Beaver Tails chain is the Killaloe Sunrise, which is cinnamon sugar and fresh lemon juice! Another favourite is the Chocolate Hazelnut, which is a Beaver Tail covered with a chocolate hazelnut spread.
Topping ideas
The best part about making your own Beaver Tail is being able to mix and match the toppings to your liking! Not sure where to start? Here's some delicious options:
- Nutella
- Fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, apples, etc.)
- Shredded coconut
- Chocolate chips
- Mini marshmallows
- Butterscotch chips or toffee
- Caramel sauce
- Pretzels
- Oreo crumble
- Fresh lemon slice
- Chocolate/candy (Reese's pieces, Skor, etc.)
- Etc.
Storing and reheating
If you have any leftovers, which is doubtful, or you've made a few extras for a later date, store them in the fridge in an airtight container or freezer bag. Store them with no toppings so they stay fresh and are easy to reheat the next day. To reheat you can microwave them but I prefer to oven bake them so they don't get too soggy. Once reheated, add your favourite toppings and enjoy!
Freezing leftover Beaver Tails
Freeze any leftover pizza dough for a later date. You'll be able to use it for a future pizza or if you're hoping to create even more of these delicious Beaver Tails!
You can also freeze any extra Beaver Tails that you've made for a later date! Once they've cooled to room temperature, store them without toppings in the freezer in an airtight container or a freezer bag (make sure there's no extra air in the bag). When ready to enjoy, bake them in the oven until warmed all the way through and then add your desired toppings!
More healthy sweet treats
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls
- This almond butter would make a great topping to these Beaver Tails
- Pizza dough can be stored in Ziploc bags for up to 3 months in the freezer
Homemade Beaver Tails with Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup sunflower oil
Dough
- 1 bag pizza dough
- 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp flour
Dipping Mixture
- Plate filled with white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Topping Ideas
- Strawberries
- Shredded coconut
- Sliced bananas
- Nutella
- Brown sugar
- Chocolate/butterscotch chips
- Reese's pieces
- Mini marshmallows
- Any other candy you desire!
Instructions
- Add ingredients to pizza dough then tear apart and mix together in a large bowl. This will probably take a while, but just do your best to get it all mixed together.
- On a heavily floured surface, roll out your dough so that it is about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 6 pieces and then use the knife to cut the dough (this step is optional and only for aesthetic reasons) so that the dough forms the shape of a beaver tail (basically a long, oval shape).
- In a large, deep frying pan, pour in sunflower oil.
- Take a small piece of flattened dough and put it in the oil. You'll know when the oil is hot enough when the dough floats to the surface and starts to cook. Remove the piece of dough at this point and add a larger piece of dough, cooking for 2 minutes each side. Set your stopwatch on your phone to ensure precise cooking times, and only cook one to two beaver tails at a time in the oil. Of course, be careful when cooking around hot oil as well.
- Meanwhile, combine a plate full of sugar with cinnamon and stir to combine.
- When the first beaver tail is done, use a large slotted serving spoon to remove it from the pan and let it drain on a paper towel lined plate for about a minute.
- Transfer to sugar plate, coating on all sides.
- Decorate with your fave toppings (mine is Nutella, coconut and strawberries!)
Nutrition
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Jane says
Um..I try not to eat gluten but I would cheat just to eat these!! YUM!! My fiancee is from Toronto and introduced me to these delicious things. Thanks for the recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
Hahaha they are soooo worth the cheat I’m telling you!! The occasional treat doesn’t hurt 😉
Alison says
I have never even heard of Beaver Tails but these look delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
Taylor Stinson says
They are so simple! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Isabela Xela says
Beaver Tails??? OMG I’d never believed it:) Thanks for that:)
Hannah says
I’ve never in my life heard of a beaver tail, but this looks ahmayzing!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Hannah! 🙂
Gail says
I made these last night 🙂 I’ve never tried a beavertail but it looked pretty simple and I’ve heard they’re amazing. I made my own dough and as a result, got 20 of them. They came out absolutely amazing 🙂 All the girls at work are asking for the recipe now so I’m sending your link around 🙂 My husband was looking for a sugary snack to have at his morning break to get him through to his lunch. He works at a concrete manufacturer so yeah, very physically intensive. He’s loving these now too! I’m going to pop the balance into the freezer tonight so they stay fresh, if there’s any left…lol. He can pull them out in the morning and they’ll be well thawed by break
Taylor Stinson says
I’m SO happy these turned out so well for you Gail!!! They are admittedly quite addictive – I always make a batch around the holidays. Thanks so much for letting me know that you made these. You’ve made my day! 🙂
Jan says
I know these as elephant ears.
I have not had them since as a child. Thank you for the recipe.
A comedian jon something
cracked jokes about wanting them so bad. Thnx again
Mary Kate says
I made pizza dough and might have some left over, but I’m not sure what “a bag” of pizza dough is, weight/measurement-wise. Is it a pound, roughly?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Mary Kate – so sorry for the delay in response. I’m honestly not sure what the weight is, sorry about that! You can use up whatever pizza dough you have on hand though, you just break off little bits to make the fried dough circles so you have some flexibility!