Homemade Churros are a classic favorite dessert!
This churro recipe is made with simple, pantry-staple ingredients, fried to golden perfection and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients for Churros
Churros are a sweet treat typically made from piped dough, fried until golden, then tossed in cinnamon sugar.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for the best results. If using salted, skip the salt in the recipe.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness.
- Vanilla: Flavors the dough.
- All-purpose flour: The base to this recipe is all-purpose flour. Other types of flour have not been tested in this recipe.
- Egg: Eggs bind the ingredients together and add moisture. For even mixing, ensure the egg is at room temperature.
- Cinnamon Sugar: This is the coating these churros are rolled in adding a sweet finish with a hint of spice.
Oil for Frying
For frying, use vegetable oil, canola oil, or corn oil (or peanut oil) as they have high smoke points and a neutral flavor.
How to Make Churros
- Prepare the dough: Boil water, butter, and sugar. Stir in the flour and egg to form a dough per the recipe below.
- Fry: Pipe 3 to 4-inch lines of dough into hot oil and fry for about 90 seconds per side.
- Roll in sugar: Roll the warm churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
This churro recipe is perfect for enjoying by itself, but I love to add a dipping sauce like chocolate sauce or salted caramel sauce.
Tips for Frying Churros
- For the best churros, ensure the oil is between 360-365°F using a thermometer. Lower temperature makes them soggy, while higher temperatures result in burnt outsides and raw insides.
- Monitor the oil temperature while frying. Fry 2-3 churros at a time to prevent a significant temperature drop and avoid soggy churros. Allow the oil to return to the proper frying temperature between batches.
- Maintain consistent medium heat for frying. Start heating the oil before making the dough to reach the right temperature. Avoid rapidly increasing the heat between batches to prevent burnt and raw inside churros.
More Cinnamon Sweet Treats
- Easy Cinnamon Bread (No Yeast)
- Homemade Donut Holes
- Cinnamon Toast Cake
Did you make these homemade Churros? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Churros
Equipment
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil or canola oil or corn oil, for frying
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
Topping
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon optional
Instructions
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Fill a large pan with 2-inches of oil. Heat over medium heat to 360-365°F.
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Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
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Carefully add the vanilla extract and flour and reduce the heat to low. Stir until mixture a ball forms. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 4 to 5 minutes.
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Once slightly cooled, mix in the egg. The mixture will be slightly thicker than mashed potatoes.
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Transfer dough to a sturdy piping bag fitted with a large star tip (such as Wilton 8).
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Once oil has reached 360-365°F, carefully pipe a 3 to 4-inch line of the dough into your oil (keep the tip close to the oil to prevent splashing and use a knife or kitchen shears to snip the dough from the tip).
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Fry 2-3 churros at a time for about 90 seconds. Use tongs to flip them over and cook for an additional 90 seconds until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate once cooked and cool for one minute.
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Combine sugar and cinnamon for topping in a shallow bowl. Roll the warm churro in the sugar mixture. Enjoy warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Mexican
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I am supplying food for a bay shower with a Mexican theme. I want to have churros as part of the desserts. How far in advance can I make them?
Hi Carol, these churros should last 2-3 days if stored in an air tight container. Send our congratulations to the new parents! We hope they enjoy these ❤️
First time making churros was so easy thx for the recipe
Glad you enjoyed them, Mary!
Thank you for sharing your recipe! It was a hit at our party. This churros with chocolate ganache is wonderful tasting. It has a great favour, I’ll be adding this healthy recipe to my successful list!
I used to make these in college. The MN State Fair was canceled as an understandable health precaution, but I was going to miss my fried foods! This went off without a hitch except that my outsides were crispy and the insides were almost cooked enough, but still raw. I think that means I need to cook longer at a lower temperature next time? I used an Ateco #9 star tip, which is definitely on the thicker side. I tried cutting them into nuggets instead of long sticks to even out the cook time, but maybe that wasn’t it. Any expertise I would love!
Perhaps if your oil were just a little bit cooler it would help.
Can you make the dough ahead of time?
I haven’t tried making the dough ahead of time but I do think it would work. If you refrigerate the dough, be sure to let it come to room temperature before cooking/piping the churros.
Heyyyy it came out really well thank you very much ❤️❤️
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Ruhini! :)
Could you fry them in bacon grease?
That’s an interesting idea, Lauren! We have never tried frying them in bacon grease, but would love to hear how that turns out for you!
Hi Samantha! I can’t wait to try this yummy churros recipe! May I know if I can wait till the dough has cooled before transferring them to the piping bag? Thank you! :D
Hi Candice, you want to make sure the dough is cooled in Step 4 before mixing in the egg (to prevent it come cooking when added). So it should be cooled when adding to the piping bag, hope that helps!
These were so GOOD. 39 weeks pregnant and had a serious craving for fair food. This was a huge jackpot for me. My husband and children also enjoyed them. Thank you so much for sharing. I will definitely be sharing.
So happy we could help Jamie!
You have inspired me to do so much baking and cooking so thanks so much for that
So glad you can provide you with these yummy recipes Niamh! I hope you’re having fun baking and cooking.
Excellent and so easy!
Samantha, I’ve been trying so many new recipes during this quarantine and yours is the best by far! Hubby eats these churros as fast as I can make them! Great recipe! Thanks!
So happy to hear that April! And that will definitely keep you busy, you are going to be a churro making machine in no time!
These were so delicious! My piping tip was a bit small so the churros turned out a little twiggy at first, but after an adjustment the size was perfect. They were so wonderful!!
I also tried them in an air fryer but the lack of oil made them a bit dry.
Twiggy or not, I am sure they were delicious Mariam!
Is the dough supposed to be super hard? I had a really hard time using any type of tip on a piping bag, I resorted to cutting a hole in a ziplock bag.
The dough should be firm but not really hard.
How do you fix this type of problem? Can I add something to make it softer?
As I haven’t had this problem, it’s hard to say. You could try adding a bit more liquid.
When measuring the flour, did you spoon it into the measuring cup? Scooping the flour from the container can sometimes pack it and add a bit extra which could make the dough too firm (more info on measuring flour here). I hope that helps!
can you make churros in a new-er air fryer oven with a consistent temperature
I haven’t tried it yet Bob, but in theory, I think it would work. If you try it, please let us know how it worked out!
can the churros be frozen?
While they could be frozen, I think the quality would degrade. I definitely think these are best enjoyed fresh. Enjoy Joyce!
May Churros be BAKED; as in our home we RARELY fry any food.
Egg Rolls ?
I have only tried this recipe as written Joan. If you do bake them, let us know how it works for you!