Are you hungry for a dessert with a little sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar? Churros are so delicious and don’t need lots of different ingredients. I bet you already have all the ingredients in your cupboard!

Churros are something often seen at a fair or theme park. They’re easy to eat while walking around and enjoying a day outdoors. So what is a churro anyway?

What are Churros?

Churros are a dessert that originated in Spain and Portugal (maybe even China originally) and are popular around the world. They are especially popular in the Southwestern USA. They are a fried dough pastry, similar to a funnel cake, but unlike a funnel cake, churros have a cool star shape and often come in long strips.

Churros are slightly sweet, slightly crispy and fried until golden brown. They are tossed in cinnamon and sugar and sold as a street food around the world, much like a pretzel. They can be served by drizzling in caramel sauce, chocolate, or dipped in hot chocolate.

How to Make Churro Batter

Making churro batter is a lot like making a roux. To make it you will need Milk, Water, Butter, White Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Salt, All-Purpose Flour, and 1 Egg. Pretty simple right?!

But how you combine these ingredients is 1 of 2 steps to making churros that need a little bit of attention and clarity. First, combine the milk, water, butter and sugar in a medium sized stock pot and heat on medium. Continue to stir and allow the butter and sugar to completely melt.

Once the sugar is completely melted, remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla extract. While still hot, but removed from the heat, add the flour and whisk thoroughly and vigorously.

Last, let your batter cool to just warm or even room temperature before adding the egg to the batter. You don’t want the egg to cook, so let your batter rest for a few minutes before finishing the batter by adding the egg.

Once you blend your egg into the churro batter, your batter is ready! Now you will want to get your oil ready for frying.

What Type of Oil Should You Use to Fry Churros

Vegetable oil is the best oil for frying churros because it’s light in flavor and perfect for high heat. If you prefer, peanut oil is a good choice too. What you don’t want is to use an oil like olive oil that’s not intended for frying.

To prep your oil, use a medium stock pot and fill it around halfway with oil. Turn the heat to medium and place a small amount of batter in the oil as a “test.” Once your batter turns golden brown, it’s ready to be used! At this time, you will likely want to turn you heat down to medium low.

How to Fry Your Churros

When your oil is ready, place your churro batter in a piping bag with a large star tip. Your churros can be super long, medium length or short. What will help you decide how long to make your churros is how will you remove the finished golden brown churro from the oil?

Using a slotted spoon? You may want your churros to be small.
Using tongs? You can make them any size – just be sure they are done when you pull them from the oil.
Using a fry basket? Go crazy and do what you want!

Your churros will take just a few minutes to fry and will likely need to be flipped halfway through cooking time or around 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove them from the oil when they are crispy and golden brown and place them directly on a paper towel.

While still warm and drizzling with oil, roll your churros through cinnamon and sugar. Serve warm. I wrapped mine in craft paper as an easy way to serve them! This is how they would look if I had grabbed mine at a state fair! If you want to cute it up, you can use this printable paper to wrap your churros.

How to Serve Your Churros

Churros are the perfect vessel for all of your favorite dips. They are perfect with a homemade caramel sauce or dulce de leche. They are delicious when dipped in a chocolate sauce too.

You can also serve your churros as a side dish to Hot Chocolate like this.

One of my favorites is a Churro Ice Cream Sandwich. To make one, your churro will have to be a solid and round shape, but you can easily dip your churros in a Rose Ice Cream like this.

The possibilities are endless! Think jams, chutneys, dessert drinks, ice cream, and more.

Whatever you choose, serve your churros warm and crispy golden brown for the most lovely dessert!

Need even more dessert ideas? Scroll down for some of our favorites. Got questions about how to make or serve this recipe? Ask us in the comments. And for now happy eating!