You are here: Home / Recipes / Doughnuts / Easy Homemade Churros
by nourished endeavors Leave a Comment
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
Crispy on the outside with a soft moist center, these easy homemade churros are so good! The cinnamon sugar coating on the outside adds to the overall deliciousness of this special treat. Although these churros are great on their own, they taste even better dipped in some chocolate sauce or dulce de leche!
What Makes this Recipe So Good?
- Perfectly fried golden brown strips of dough with a crispy exterior and soft center
- Cinnamon sugar coating adds an additional touch of aromatic flavor
- So easy to make
What are Churros?
Churros are a type of fried dough with origins from Spain and Portugal but are popular throughout many Latin American countries as well. Specifically, it is made from a choux pastry-like dough that is fried until golden brown. Its texture consists of a soft, fluffy center with crisp edges. These tasty treats are commonly coated in cinnamon sugar and served with melted chocolate or dulce de leche.
How to Make Churros
Requiring readily available ingredients, these fried bites of deliciousness are so easy to make! The dough comes together rather easily after being cooked on the stove and having the eggs mixed in once cooled. For me, the best part of making this dessert is piping the dough into the hot oil and watching it crisp up into golden brown perfection!
To make this recipe, you will need:
Key Ingredients
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt
- Egg
- Egg White
- Water
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
Tips for Making the Best Churros from Scratch
- Properly Cook the Dough – the base of this recipe is essentially a choux pastry dough which is made by cooking water, butter sugar, salt and flour into a thick dough. You will know when the dough is fully cooked when it starts to leave a thin film at the base of the pan.
- Cool the Dough Before Mixing in the Eggs – to prevent ending up with bits of scrambled eggs in the dough, it should be cooled completely before the eggs are mixed in. The cooling process may be sped up by mixing the dough at medium low speed using a stand or hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until the base of the mixing bowl no longer feels hot to touch.
- Pipe the Dough into the Oil – the easiest way to fry the dough is by piping it into the hot oil and using scissors to help cut the strip of dough from the piping bag. For those classic ridges on the fried dough, I suggest using a piping bag fitted with an open star pastry tip like this Wilton 1M piping tip. For larger churros, I would go for Wilton 6B piping tip.
How to Store
Churros are best eaten fresh; however, these tasty treats may be frozen as well:
- To freeze fried churros, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen churros into an airtight container and store in the freezer for upto 1-2 months. When ready to serve, place the churros in a toaster or conventional oven heated to 400F for 10-12 minutes or until heated through the center.
- To freeze unfried dough, pipe strips of the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen dough into an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. Freezing the dough prior to frying it will may yield churros that are not as crisp as the dough freshly made and fried right away.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Use a candy/deep fry thermometer to help gauge the temperature of the oil throughout the frying process. For perfectly fried churros that are crisp on the outside but soft and fully cooked on the inside, the temperature of the oil should be maintained between 350F and 375F.
- Use a sturdy piping bag to pipe the dough into the oil. Given the thickness of the dough, a sturdy/heavy-duty piping bag will make it easier to pipe the dough into the oil without it bursting. I prefer to use these piping bags.
- No more than 3 churros should be fried at a time to help prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping and in turn ending up with soggy churros.
Looking for More Scrumptious Eats, Checkout the Links Below:
- Easy Ricotta Doughnuts
- Lemon Cream Brioche Doughnuts
- Strawberry Cheesecake Brioche Doughnuts
If you make this recipe, please make sure to let me know by tagging me@nourishedendeavorson Instagram or by leaving a comment in the comment section down below so I can find out how this recipe turned out for you! If you have any questions, ask away! I would love to answer your questions! Happy baking!
Easy Homemade Churros
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
No reviews
Crispy on the outside with a soft moist center, these homemade churros are so good! The cinnamon sugar coating on the outside adds to the overall deliciousness of this special treat. Although these churros are great on their own, they taste even better dipped in some chocolate sauce or dulce de leche!
- Author: Winnie Reeves
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 21 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Churros
- 1 Cup (130g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled
- 1 Cup (240ml) Water
- 1/4 Cup (57g) Unsalted Butter, Cubed
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Large Egg + 1 Large Egg White, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Vegetable Oil, for Frying Churros
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/2 Cup (100g) Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium shallow dish, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon until thoroughly combined.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the water, butter, sugar, and salt. Stir the ingredients together until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low. Use a wooden spoon to mix all of the flour into the butter mixture until a soft thick dough forms. Continue to cook the dough while mixing until a thin film forms at the base of the pan.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Ttransfer the dough into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes or until the dough feels warm to touch.
- As the dough cools, fill a large deep-bottom pan halfway with vegetable oil and heat to 350F under medium heat. Line a large baking sheet with two layers of paper towels. Set aside.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix the egg and vanilla extract into the cooled dough followed by the egg white until smooth and thoroughly combined. This mixing process will be difficult at first given how sturdy the dough is but as you keep mixing the dough will come together. Alternatively, you can use a hand or stand mixer, if preferred.
- Transfer the dough into a large sturdy piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. I used a Wilton 1M star tip.
- Gently, pipe a 3-4 inch strip of dough into the heated oil and use a clean pair of scissors to quickly cut the dough from the tip. You should fry no more than 3 churros at a time to prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping below 350F.
- Fry the dough for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer the churros to the prepared baking sheet and continue this process until you have no more dough left.
- Roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar to coat on all sides before serving on its own or with dulce de leche, caramel or chocolate sauce.
Notes
- Use a candy/deep fry thermometer to help gauge the temperature of the oil throughout the frying process. For perfectly fried churros that are crisp on the outside but soft and fully cooked on the inside, the temperature of the oil should be maintained between 350F and 375F.
- Use a sturdy piping bag to pipe the dough into the oil. Given the thickness of the dough, a sturdy/heavy-duty piping bag will make it easier to pipe the dough into the oil without it bursting. I prefer to use these piping bags.
- No more than 3 churros should be fried at a time to help prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping and in turn ending up with soggy churros.
Previous Post: « Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Next Post: Creme Brulee Donuts »
