Churros – tasty deep fried sticks of dough, cinnamon-sugar sprinkled and served with warm chocolate sauce for dipping, will make anyone’s day special! (*hint hint* Valentine’s day, Mother’s day, Weddings, Anniversaries)
They’re slightly crispy on the outside, soft and airy on the inside. Of course, hearts and chocolates go together, so don’t forget to dunk your churros in this dark chocolate sauce.
Have you ever tried a real churro? Not the long, freeze and bake churros they sell at theme parks or carnivals. I mean freshly fried, made from scratch kind of churros. If your answer is NO then you really really have to make these!
These are hands down the best churros I’ve ever had. I first tried making them when I was in pastry school and since then it has become one of my favorite treats to make.
In my opinion, a real churro tastes totally far from those you can buy in stores – nothing compares to fresh, homemade churros. They may look intimidating to make but the steps are actually easy. The ingredients are simple too.
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👩🍳 What are churros
Churros are made with a choux pastry dough. This is the same dough that is used to make cream puffs, eclairs, and French cruller donuts. The dough is then piped typically in straight or bent shapes into a frying oil. It puffs up when fried which makes them light and airy on the inside but slightly crispy on the outside.
Churros get their ridged surface through a churrera – a syringe-like tool with a star-shaped nozzle. But you definitely don’t need to get a churrera in order to make churros; a simple piping bag and a closed star tip will do.
📋 Ingredients
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
- 7 grams (3 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) white granulated sugar
For the Choux Pastry Dough:
- 250 ml (1 cup) full-fat milk
- 113 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 220 grams eggs (from about 4 pieces of large eggs // the weight is without the shell)
- about 450 ml (2 cups) vegetable oil/ canola oil
🔪 How to make churros
Make the Choux Pastry
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon and let it boil on medium heat. Remove from the heat then add the flour and mix well. Return the mixture to the heat to dry it out. Continuously mix with wooden spoon while pressing the edges. Ensure that flour is thoroughly mix and no lumps of uncooked white flour can be seen. You should be looking at a dry but soft mixture.
Transfer mixture into a mixing bowl and let it cool down by using a paddle attachment at low speed. When the mixture is warm add the eggs, one at a time, while mixer is still running at low speed. The dough should be quite firm but still in a pipeable consistency.
Pipe and Freeze the Churros
Fit a large star piping tip to a pastry bag and fill it with the churro dough. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (I use the backside of the baking sheet.)
TIP: To keep the parchment paper in place while piping, use a bit of the pastry dough as a paste to stick the parchment paper to the pan.
Pipe the churro dough in heart shape. If you would like to have uniform-size hearts, trace heart shapes (a cookie-cutter works well!) on the backside of the parchment paper and use it as a guide.
Freeze the piped churros for at least 2 hours to retain its shape. If you’re not planning to cook them immediately, transfer the pieces to a freezer bag.
Fry the Churros
Deep fry the piped churro dough in moderately hot oil, at around 175 C/ 350 F until lightly browned. Do this in batches, if necessary. Do not overcrowd the pan.
I recommend using a candy thermometer to check your oil temperature. But if you don’t have one, start with medium heat then do a test batch to see if your oil is at the right temperature, and adjust the heat from there. You would know that your oil is too hot if the exterior is already browned yet when you bite the churro the dough is still a bit mushy.
A churro should be crunchy on the outside and light on the inside. And like doughnuts, they should have puffed up a bit after frying. Once cooked, place on a strainer to drain excess oil or pat dry with paper towels.
Coat with Cinnamon-Sugar
In a shallow bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon powder. While still warm, roll the fried churros in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Best served warm with this Very Versatile Dark Chocolate Sauce!
💡 Tips on making great churros
- Preferably, use a candy thermometer to check the temperature of your oil. If your oil is too hot, the inside of the churro will be raw. If your oil is too low, the churro may not puff as much.
- Add the eggs one at a time: When you are adding the eggs to the mixture, beat each egg until it is thoroughly combined into the mixture before adding the next egg. The goal is to make a dough that is quite firm but still in a pipeable consistency.
- Make sure that the batter is not too hot before adding the eggs or you might get scrambled eggs.
- Let the churros drain on a paper towel or strainer briefly (about 45 seconds) before you roll them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. If they’re too oily, the sugar and cinnamon will just clump up. If they’re too dry, the cinnamon-sugar mixture won’t stick well.
- Churros are best eaten immediately after they’re cooked, while they’re still fresh and hot. You can also keep them warm inside the oven (while cooking the rest of the batch) until they are served.
- I don’t recommend reheating leftovers. The experience of biting into a “warm, crispy exterior yet soft and tender inside” is just not there. This has never been a problem for us though; whenever I make churros they are always wiped out!
⁉️ My churros are raw inside
When your churros are golden brown on the outside but kinda raw (mushy texture) inside, that may mean your oil is too hot. Lower the heat of your pan so they have time to be cooked all the way through before the outside turns golden brown.
❄️ Can I freeze churros?
Uncooked churros can be frozen. Make the choux pastry and pipe the churros onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about 2 hours. When they’re frozen, transfer the pieces in a Ziploc bag.
Whenever you are craving for a churro just grab and fry what you need – straight from the freezer. If you’re prepping for a party, you can definitely make your choux pastry ahead and cook on the day it will be served. As I mentioned earlier, they are best eaten while they’re freshly cooked.
🍫 Flavors and Sauces
Roll your fried churros into a cinnamon-sugar mixture (most common), or add strawberry flavor by mixing sugar with ground freeze-dried strawberries.
Dipping them in different sauces never fails – dark chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, or even dulce de leche.
📖 Printable Recipe
Heart-Shaped Churros
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 250 ml (1 cup) full-fat milk
- 113 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 220 grams (about 4 pieces of large eggs) eggs the weight is without the shell
- 450 ml (2 cups) vegetable oil e.g. canola
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
- 7 grams (3 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated white sugar
Instructions
- Make the Choux Pastry. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon and let it boil on medium heat. Remove from the heat then add the flour and mix well. Return the mixture to the heat to dry it out. Continuously mix with a wooden spoon while pressing the edges. Ensure that flour is thoroughly mixed and no lumps of uncooked white flour can be seen. You should be looking at a dry but soft mixture.Transfer mixture into a mixing bowl and let it cool down by using a paddle attachment at low speed. When the mixture is warm add the eggs, one at a time, while the mixer is still running at low speed. The dough should be quite firm but still in a pipeable consistency.
- Pipe and Freeze the Churros. Fit a large star piping tip to a pastry bag and fill it with the churro dough. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. To keep the parchment paper in place while piping, use a bit of the pastry dough as a paste to stick the parchment paper to the pan.Pipe the churro dough in heart shape. If you would like to have uniform-size hearts, trace heart shapes (a cookie-cutter works well!) on the backside of the parchment paper and use it as a guide. Freeze the piped churros for at least 2 hours to retain its shape. If you’re not planning to cook them immediately, transfer the frozen pieces to a freezer bag.
- Fry the Churros. Deep fry the piped churro dough in moderately hot oil, at around 175 C/ 350 F until lightly browned. Do this in batches, if necessary. Do not overcrowd the pan.Once cooked, place on a strainer to drain excess oil or pat dry with paper towels.
- Coat with Cinnamon-Sugar. In a shallow bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon powder. While still warm, roll the fried churros in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
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