Easy Homemade Churros


You can find a type of fried dough in nearly every cuisine, and one of my favorites is the Spanish churro. Many countries have adopted the churro since its creation, but in Spain, you can dip them in coffee for breakfast or enjoy with a chocolate sauce as dessert. My recipe is a hybrid of the Mexican version, which is characteristically rolled in cinnamon sugar, and the Spanish version, which, as I said, is served with a chocolate dipping sauce and omits the cinnamon. Why not have the best of both worlds? I don't often feel like breaking out oil to fry things, but when you have an easy churro recipe this delicious, it's absolutely worth it. They only take a few minutes to fry and will actually still taste good hours later at room temperature, making them a great party dessert!

What People Are Saying:
"Great recipe and easy to make. Make sure you let the water boil before adding the flour and mix it well and cool for 10 minutes. This recipe was not runny and was perfect! My daughter made them to take to her Spanish class also and they thought they were the best ones! Thanks for the recipe." - ren4320

"I made these multiple times and the dough comes out great ... Instead of adding vanilla flavor, I added banana and filled them with peanut butter sprinkled a little sugar and cinnamon delicious. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Next time I will take a photo but the family ate them all." - can1478 

How To Make Churros

INGREDIENTS

• The Butter: It's essential to use unsalted butter here to control the seasoning levels of the churros. You can also cut it up into small pieces so they melt faster, but be sure to bring the butter, sugar, and water to a full boil before adding the dry ingredients.
• The Vanilla Extract: I kept it simple with vanilla, but if you want to go rogue, mix up the extras here. Try with orange zest, cardamom, nutmeg, ground nuts, ground ginger—whatever sweet and savory mix-ins you want to experiment with.
• The Eggs: Make sure that you thoroughly beat in the eggs one at a time. And always go for eggs labeled "large," as this is the size I test and develop with.
• The Cinnamon Sugar: I call for a ratio of 1 cup to 1/4 cup cinnamon, but of course, you can play with the ratios that best suit you. This is just a general rule to start off with; taste as you go!
• The Dark Chocolate: I love how using dark chocolate gives the churros more depth and cuts through their sweetness, but you can also go with semisweet if that's your preference. If you try it with bittersweet, let me know how that turns out!

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Making churros at home might seem intimidating, but I'll break it all down for you here. The first step is to form the base of the dough. Let the butter mixture come to a rolling boil before adding the flour and salt. Vigorously stir until the flour is fully combined with the butter into a dough, then continue stirring to let the carryover heat shape that dough into a cohesive ball. This motion helps develop the gluten in the dough, which is crucial in making a soft but pipeable churro batter.

Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer, beat each egg fully into the dough before adding the next one; this will help aerate the dough and whip structure into the final batter. The best part is that you can do this right in the pot, no need to get out an extra bowl. The end result should be smooth and fluffy and pale golden.

Time to get frying. Make sure the oil is at 375° with an instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Using a piping bag and large star dip, start squeezing the dough into the oil into pieces about 6" long. Cut off with kitchen shears to separate. Fry until cooked through and golden brown, which should take about 5 minutes.

Using a spider or slotted spoon, remove the fried churros from the pot.

And dunk immediately into cinnamon sugar, turning them around to coat so the cinnamon sugar adheres.

To make the sauce, simply pour some simmering cream over the chips to melt, add a little cinnamon and salt, and it's ready to go.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

How To Serve Churros

This is one of my favorite recipes to wow guests for dessert. Make sure to have ice cream alongside for that ideal hot-and-cold balance to finish off your meal. But as I mentioned, you can also dip the churros into coffee for breakfast, or into hot chocolate if you want to give your kids a fun treat or snack.

Storage

Like any crispy treat, these are best eaten as soon as they're made. But you can wrap the uncooked dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 1 day. If it's too thick to pipe, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes, then try again.