Homemade Churros

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One of my favorite things to eat is churros! Whenever I am in Mexico or at a theme park or at Costco, I hunt down some churros. What is not to like about deep-fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar? Nothing! These homemade churros are amazing. If you love eating churros you will love these!

Homemade churros are so easy to make using just a few ingredients. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!

If you live in or are visiting the Phoenix area and you love churros make sure to stop by Dulce Churro Cafe, they have a huge selection of dipping sauces, churro bowls, stuffed churros, etc.

What are churros?

A churro is pretty much a fried pastry dough. The dough is very similar to French choux pastry and the process is almost the same as making cream puffs or eclairs. They originated in Spain and Portugal but are found in many places around the world.

There are a couple of varieties of churros, the Mexican style churro, and the Spanish style churro. Both are pretty similar in how they are made and use pretty much the same ingredients with slight differences. Some are dipped in chocolate others are dipped in other fruit sauces, etc. But both are rolled in cinnamon and sugar.

Step 1: Gather the ingredients

In order to make homemade churros you need just a handful of easy to find ingredients. Chances are you already have everything at home to make them:

• Butter – I always use unsalted butter, but you can use salted butter as well. Oil can be used as well instead of the butter.
• Water – My tap water tastes terrible so I always use filtered water.
• Salt – If you are using salted butter reduce the amount of salt added by half.
• Flour – Just use normal all-purpose/plain flour.
• Eggs – Some homemade churros and store-bought ones will not include eggs, but many recipes do. In fact, the original Spanish churros didn’t use eggs or butter. You can easily leave out the eggs though if you like.
• Oil – Oil is needed for frying. I generally use vegetable oil, but a number of oils will work, including canola, coconut, shortening, etc.
• Cinnamon – One of the main ingredients of these tasty fried pieces of dough.
• Sugar – Gotta coat them in sugar!

Step 2: How to make homemade churros

Begin by taking a large pot and adding about an inch deep of oil to it. Set the heat to medium/high and allow it to heat to 375 F/190 C.

In a medium pot add the water, salt, and butter. Or if you like, don’t use butter and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil instead.

Once the butter melts and the liquid starts to boil pour in all of the flour at once and then stir the mixture quickly with a wooden spoon and the dough will come together. Continue stirring and cooking the dough for about 30 seconds. Then remove it from the heat and place the dough in a large bowl.

Step 3: Stir in the eggs

Keep stirring the dough in the bowl until the temperature of the dough is just barely warm to the touch. If the dough is too hot when you add the eggs, the eggs will cook. Once the dough is cool enough add in one egg and stir it in. It will seem like it doesn’t want to mix in, but just keep stirring and it will finally mix in.

Repeat that with the second egg. If you want to make Authentic Spanish churros, skip this step and leave out the eggs.

Now take a piping bag and fit it with a large star tip. This will give the churros the classic ridges. It is hard to duplicate the same exact look as the ones that you buy at stores and theme parks because they have a special machine and tip that the dough is pushed through, but a large star tip will work great for homemade churros.

Put the piping bag in a very tall glass and then fold the opening over the rim of the glass which will keep it open. Next, scoop in the homemade churros dough. Twist and you are ready to fry them up.

Step 4: How to cook homemade churros

Check the temp of your oil with a candy thermometer. Once the ideal temp is reached, pipe in about a 5 to 6-inch length of dough over the oil then gently lay it in the oil, and snip off the dough with your finger or scissors.

Only put in 4 to 6 churros at a time. So they don’t get overcrowded. Fry them for a few minutes turning them from time to time with tongs, until they are evenly golden brown. Remove them from the hot oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towel, or on a wire rack.

You can experiment with different piping bag tips and find what style you like the best. The larger diameter tip you use the bigger the churro will be.

Step 5: Finish off the homemade churros

Take a pie plate or something similar and mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Then roll each churro in the cinnamon and sugar. You can also take a bamboo skewer and poke halfway down into the churro, then take a piping bag with injector tip and pump in chocolate, caramel, Nutella, etc.

Pile the homemade churros up on a plate and serve them. They are great slightly warm, but can be eaten at room temperature as well. If you like you can fill some small bowls up with chocolate sauce or a fruit sauce and dip the churros in that. Enjoy!

How long do homemade churros last?

Churros are definitely best when eaten after they are freshly made. They will keep a few days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag. They can also be frozen for a month or so.

Are Spanish churros Vegan?

Yes! If you make a traditional Spanish churro, using oil instead of the butter, and leaving out the eggs you will have vegan churros.

Here are some other recipes you may like:

Homemade Croutons

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

No-Bake Cheesecake

Microwave S’mores

No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.