Desserts

Classic Churros: Crispy Outside. Soft Inside. Cinnamon Sugar.

3 min

Stir the flour into the boiling butter-and-water all at once and keep the spoon moving for a couple of minutes, until the dough pulls together into a ball and leaves a film on the pan bottom. Let it cool five minutes before the eggs go in, or you'll scramble them. You're after a dough that's thick and glossy and holds a ridge from the star tip, which is what gives churros their ribbed edges and the crisp they're known for. The oil at 350F does the rest of the work, so keep a thermometer in it.

By Nora Calloway

A little backstory

Churros trace back to Spain and to Spanish colonial kitchens across Latin America, where the ridged shape and a morning cup of thick chocolate became a fixture. One popular story credits Spanish shepherds, who supposedly fried this simple dough in the mountains because it kept without a baker around, though that tale is hard to pin down. What's solid is the pairing with chocolate for dipping, which is why I've kept the quick chocolate sauce here.

Churros are happiness in fried dough form.

Crunchy on the outside. Soft on the inside. Rolled in cinnamon sugar. Dipped in warm chocolate. 30 minutes. No passport required.

1 1

Make the Dough

In a saucepan, combine water, butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Add flour all at once. Stir vigorously until dough forms a ball (about 2 minutes).
Remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes.

2 2

Add Eggs

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla.
Dough should be thick, glossy, and pipeable.

3 3

Heat Oil

Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350°F (175°C).

4 4

Pipe and Fry

Transfer dough to a piping bag with a star tip.
Pipe 4-5 inch strips directly into hot oil, cutting with scissors.
Fry 2-3 minutes until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

5 5

Coat and Serve

Mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm churros in the mixture.
Make chocolate sauce: microwave chocolate chips and cream in 30-second bursts until smooth.
Serve churros warm with chocolate sauce for dipping.

Summary

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 12-16 churros

Difficulty: Easy

Storage Notes

Best Fresh:

Churros are best eaten immediately. Leftovers get soft.

Reheat:

Air fryer at 350°F for 3-4 minutes. Oven at 375°F for 5-7 minutes.

Pro Tip:

Use a star tip for those classic churro ridges. They hold the cinnamon sugar better.

The Ingredients

Everything you need.

Prep

10 minutes

Cook

15 minutes

Total

25 minutes

Yield

12-16 churros

Makes 12-16 churros.

1 cup water
½ cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Oil for frying (vegetable or canola)

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the Chocolate Sauce:

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

1
Make the Dough. Make the Dough. In a saucepan, combine water, butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add flour all at once. Stir vigorously until dough forms a ball (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes. 2 2
2
Add Eggs. Add Eggs. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla. Dough should be thick, glossy, and pipeable. 3 3
3
Heat Oil. Heat Oil. Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350°F (175°C). 4 4
4
Pipe and Fry. Pipe and Fry. Transfer dough to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe 4-5 inch strips directly into hot oil, cutting with scissors. Fry 2-3 minutes until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. 5 5
5
Coat and Serve. Coat and Serve. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm churros in the mixture. Make chocolate sauce: microwave chocolate chips and cream in 30-second bursts until smooth. Serve churros warm with chocolate sauce for dipping

Swaps & Substitutions

Unsalted butter → if you only have salted, drop the added 1/4 tsp salt or the dough turns sharp
All-purpose flour → a cup-for-cup gluten-free blend works but the bite is softer and less crisp; don't expect the same snap
Brown sugar → white sugar is fine in the dough; you lose a little of the caramel note but the texture is identical
Heavy cream for the sauce → whole milk works in a pinch, just simmer it a touch so the sauce isn't thin
Vanilla extract → skip it if you're out; the churros are still good, just less rounded in flavor
Vegetable or canola oil → any neutral oil with a high smoke point; avoid olive oil, the flavor fights the cinnamon sugar

Questions & Answers

Why did my churros come out raw or doughy in the middle?

Usually the oil was too hot, so the outside browned before the inside cooked. Hold it at 350F and pipe strips no longer than 4 to 5 inches; fatter or longer ones need more time and the center lags.

Can I make the dough ahead?

You can hold the piped or bagged dough at room temperature for an hour or so, but it's best fried fresh. Once cooled the dough stiffens and pipes harder, and fried churros lose their crisp within a couple of hours.

Why won't the cinnamon sugar stick?

The churros cooled down too much. Roll them while they're still warm and a little oily from the fryer, straight after a brief drain on paper towels, and the coating grabs on.

My dough is too stiff to pipe. What happened?

Either it cooled too long before the eggs went in, or the eggs were undersized. Beat in the eggs one at a time until the dough is glossy and pipeable; if it's still tight, work in a little beaten egg until it loosens.

How do I store leftovers?

Keep them in an open container or loosely covered at room temperature for a day; sealing them traps steam and they go soft. Re-crisp in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes rather than the microwave, which makes them chewy.