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The Alligator Jaw Pastry is a total childhood throwback! This amazing treat is a triangle-shaped glazed pastry filled with delicious cherry buttercream frosting. Give this one a try!
Featured with this recipe
Alligator Jaws were my #1 favorite pastry when I was growing up. Hands down. In the small town where we grew up, there was an amazing little bakery just off of Main Street called Ron & Chris Bakery. We all loved going there for donuts, cookies, and freshly made sandwiches.
Their cherry chocolate chip cookies, ribbon sandwiches, and strawberry cream cheese croissants were among our favorites, but the alligator jaw pastry was the absolute best!
What Are Alligator Jaws?
What are Alligator Jaws exactly? Allow me to enlighten you. An Alligator Jaw is a triangle-shaped glazed pastry filled with a delicious cherry buttercream frosting. They are heavenly (super-rich, but heavenly all the same).
From looking at the photo, it’s probably clear how it got its name. I can almost imagine the jaws snapping!
A Childhood Favorite
A few years ago, I went to Cedar City, my hometown, with my heart set on getting an Alligator Jaw Pastry for old-times sake. To my dismay, the bakery was no longer open. I almost cried. Okay, I may have actually cried.
The more I have looked, the more I discovered that Alligator Jaws are one of those things that everyone in Cedar City knows about, but very few people outside of Cedar have even heard of.
It is the same with Ribbon Sandwiches. Who knew Cedar City had so many tasty foods that no one else has heard of?
Ingredients
Dough:
- Yeast
- Warm water
- Milk – lukewarm
- Sugar
- Salt
- Egg
- Shortening
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil – for frying
Glaze:
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
Cherry Buttercream Frosting:
- Maraschino cherries – from a jar
- Maraschino cherry juice – from a jar
- Butter – softened to room temperature
- Powdered sugar
Creating the Alligator Jaw
That being said, there is no recipe to be found anywhere out there for Alligator Jaws. UNTIL NOW! I couldn’t go one more day without having an Alligator Jaw, so I came up with my own recipe. Lucky for me, it tastes just like the original.
To all my friends in Cedar City, here is our recipe for Alligator Jaws. Trust me, they taste just like the Ron & Chris Bakery original. I know there is a grocery store in Cedar City that sells them, but these are better!
To everyone else outside of Cedar City who has never heard of an Alligator Jaw pastry before, you are in luck! You don’t have to go on any longer wondering what an Alligator Jaw is or what it tastes like. You can try it out for yourself!
Can you tell how excited I am about this recipe? Not only do I love how delicious they are, but I also love the great memories they bring back from when I was a kid. I’m glad I can now share them with my family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Alligator jaws is a triangular-shaped pastry/doughnut that is cut open and stuffed with delicious buttercream inside. With a little imagination, you can imagine the shape of an alligator’s mouth snapping shut!
Probably the easiest way to fry donuts is in a deep fryer. A typical electric deep fryer can hold up to 15 cups of oil. As a general rule, however, whether you are using a deep fryer, pan, or pot – you will typically want it to be no more than a third to a half full of oil.
To get perfectly light and crispy donuts that aren’t too dense, greasy, or tough, you want the oil to be between 350 to 375 degrees. If the frying oil is too cool, the donuts will absorb too much oil and turn out tough and greasy. Too hot, and the donuts will dry out and be overcooked.
Read More: 33+ Easy Dessert Ideas (with Pictures + Simple Recipes)
More Pastry Recipes to Try:
- Pumpkin Pasties
- The Very Best Lemon Bars
- Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
- Blueberry Coffee Cakes
- Danish Pastries
- Pumpkin Scones
- Mini Fruit Tarts
How to Make Alligator Jaws Pastry
Alligator Jaws Pastry with Cherry Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Dough:
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
For the Cherry Buttercream Frosting:
- 6 maraschino cherries from a jar
- 2 tablespoons juice from maraschino cherries from the jar
- 1/2 cup butter softened to room-temperature
- 1 pound powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Dough:
- Dissolve yeast in water in a mixer. In a separate bowl, combine milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and add to yeast water.
- Slowly add flour and mix on low until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Roll dough out on a floured surface until it is about ½ inch thick. Cut into tall triangles (about 2-3″ wide by 4″ tall)
- Place on a cookie sheet allowing enough room to let them rise. They rise for about 30 min.
- Prepare glaze while rising (see below).
- Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees. Slowly transfer the triangles with spatula to the hot oil and fry 30 seconds each side until lightly golden brown.
Glaze:
- Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Sift confectioners’ sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined.
- Remove the glaze from the heat. Dip fried triangles into the glaze, 1 at a time, and set on a draining rack placed in a half sheet pan until cooled.
For the Cherry Buttercream Frosting:
- In a food processor, process the cherries with the cherry juice (about 5 pulses).
- Place the processed cherries in a mixing bowl and combine with butter and about 1 cup powdered sugar.
- When well combined and smooth, add remaining powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach a good frosting consistency.
- Add more cherry juice if it gets too dry.
To Assemble:
- Cut each triangle horizontally from the smallest point of the triangle to the back being careful not to cut it all the way through, making it look like an “alligator jaw”.
- Open the “jaws” and spoon a good spoonful of frosting between each half and spread evenly. Place top half back down and serve.
My grandparets owned a bakery in St. George and they made alligator jaws! I was just telling my husband that they were my very favorite thing to get when we went to Grandpa’s bakery, and I’ve never seen them again anywhere else! So my husband got online and found this! I’m so excited to try these, and that someone else on the planet knows about alligator jaws!!!
Must just be a So. Utah thing! Aren’t they the BEST??
Oh my goodness thanks so much have been trying to find this for years
They are amazing! We had to start making them because we couldn’t buy them anymore.
These look like Cheese Pockets that a local bakery here makes, except of course the filling is a sweet creamy (bakery?) cheese. Did the same restaurant/bakery that you used to get these from have anything like that?
I honestly don’t think they had them filled with cheese but that sounds delicious. Almost reminds me of the cream cheese filled pretzels at Disneyland. Those are SOOOO good and the filling is slightly sweet, even though it is cheese.
Back in the 50’s at the Holland Bakery in Sunnyside, WA they also had Alligator Jaws, but instead of the glaze they were dusted with powdered sugar and the filling was made up like a marshmallow frosting (but shiny-like a 7 min. frosting-but didn’t harden). I loved them! When I went back to Sunnyside in the early 70’s the owner had retired and the Alligator Jaws that was sold wasn’t anything like the original!! What a bummer! I’m so glad to have found this recipe. Maybe one day I’ll try to duplicate the filling they used. At least I have the pastry recipe. Thanks!
Let us know what you think if you make them! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
OMG, both my sisters and myself and my brothers ate these as kids in Sunnyside, WA. in the 50’s and 60’s. We have search high and low for them since. We are planning a alligator jaw baking day party! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Glad you found this recipe! You are very welcome! Let me know what you think!
I was so excited to see this recipe!!! I too loved the alligator jaws & cherry chip cookies from Ron & Chris! Our next-door neighbors were his granddaughters so once in a while we got to go in there and hang out with them at his bakery ! I served his Ribbon sandwiches as part of the refreshment for my wedding reception!
So, I made this recipe tonight. Pretty darn delicious!!! It was so fun to be able to share this with my kids! I’m excited to try the ribbon sandwiches. Thanks again ????
Yay!!! So glad that you liked it! Thank you for coming back and leaving a comment to let us know! You are going to love the ribbon sandwiches. My kiddos gobble them up.
I’m a Cedar native as well and never realized that the these gems were so unique until I never could find them anywhere.
So I decided to make these for the Super Bowl tonight. They turned out pretty good, and pretty authentic so I would say the recipe is pretty close to what I remember. I would post a picture of how mine turned out if I could.
Thank you so much for this comment! Great idea to make them for the super bowl! If you want to post a picture you can post it on Instagram and use the hashtag #favoritefamilyrecipes — we would love to see it! Or you can email it to us and we can post it on our Instagram.
There were two bakeries that I know of in Utah that made Alligator Jaws, Ron & Chris’ and Parsons Bakery in Richfield. They must have had the same recipe because both tasted the same. I LOVED both of those bakeries! Thank you for working to come up with a recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I have never been to Parson’s but I keep hearing about it. Sounds like a must try next time I’m in Richfield 😀
Unfortunately, it closed down several years ago. =( Like you, I cried when I went back home and they were gone.
I just made them! They were amazing!
Thanks you for letting us know! How are you Jake? It has been forever! I hope you shared some with Rachel! I know she wanted to try them ???? -Erica
These aren’t unique to Cedar City. Parson’s Bakery in Richfield also had them for years, until they went out of business. They do seem to be unique to Utah, though. I now live back east, where people look at you like you have cherry frosting coming out of your ears if you ask for an alligator jaw. 🙂
Oh! And I’ve seen them with little frosting dots on top for the eyes. 😀
Yeah I have seen that too! I think that’s a cute idea.
Yeah, they would do a star swirl on top and put a maraschino cherry in the middle for eyes. I LOVED those from Parson’s in Richfield!
Haha yeah so true! That’s totally how my husband looked at me when I was trying to explain them!
Thank you so much for the recipe! We grew up in St George and went to Neilsons Bakery and got these all he time. We also loved their donut holes! What cedar store still sells them? Thanks again!
I think Lins and Smiths still sell them. I think their frosting is different though… Doesn’t quite taste the same as R&Cs
I too grew up in St. George and would get them at Neilson’s Bakery! We got such a kick out of seeing them for the first time and hearing their funny name. What a fun memory your post brought back!
THANK YOU! I have been dreaming about these for almost 40 years. I could not remeber where I had them but I have been hunting for them ever since. Trust me when I tell you that NO OTHER BAKERY ON EARTH has these!
They are frustratingly difficult to find– which is why I had to come up with my own recipe haha
Do you happen to have the cherry chip cookie recipe? I miss those like crazy!
I wish! The tough thing with those is finding the cherry chips. Those things are impossible to find!
M husband bought me a case of them during the holidays, I have 1 bag left, n I hate cherry flavored anything! I love your site n all you share!! Thank you!!
The case being cherry chips.
We had these same Alligators in Richfield at Parsons Bakery. From when I can remember in the 70’s until they went out of business. They really are a special treat.
It’s so sad that all these amazing bakeries have closed 🙁 they were all so loved by the communities
They still sell them at Parson’s bakery in Bountiful!
Have you figured out a recipe for Ron’a brownies. So glad to have found this site via FB. Can’t wait to start trying them. Thanks for your efforts.
Thanks Suzette! Glad you found us too! For the brownies… It has been so long since I have had them and the flavor isn’t as distinct as the alligator jaws, so I don’t have a duplicate. I will do my best to try though!
Loved these as a kid! Thank you! Now we just need cherry chip cookies! They were my absolute fav! ????
Right? The cherry chip cookies were awesome! Next on my list to figure out!
Oh my! I want to pull one off the screen and eat it! Frosting filled donuts of any kind are one of my “can’t pass it up” eats. That filling looks divine!
I couldn’t agree more! I am a total “filled doughnut” girl!
I will have to try these! I lived in Cedar for almost 6 years but never went to that bakery – I think I passed it quite a few times before it closed, but never knew it was such a hidden gem! I heard Garden House went out of business too, and they had the best soup I’ve ever had, so if you ever feel like figuring out any of those recipes… 😀
Isn’t it crazy that Cedar has so many gems? The bakery, Pastry Pub, Don Miguel’s, RUSTY’s (their Coconut Shrimp is the best I have ever had)! So many great local places!
Definitely, I have really missed Pastry Pub for sure!
Sounds fun. My brother and his family lived by Delta, wonder if they ever happen upon them.
Thank you. I have been looking around for this recipe and had resigned myself to never having a suitable substitute (because the Linn’s ones aren’t the same). I will have to try it out!
So true– the Lin’s ones are ok.. but they are no Ron & Chris!
yeah ron and chris alligators were the best, we get ours at lins now!