These Churros are crispy outside, soft and fluffy inside, with a sweet cinnamon punch. Whole milk and butter make them rich and tender. Plus, I’m sharing two amazing dipping sauces with you!
Homemade Churros
My family loves when I make cinnamon-sugar donuts from scratch, but I’m always more excited about making cinnamon-sugar churros. They are easier and quicker—no yeast or rising needed.
Making churros from scratch might seem intimidating, but my goal today is to convince you that it’s not! With a few ingredients and basic kitchen tools, you’ll be making delicious churros in no time!
Churro Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted for better control of flavor.
- Whole Milk: Adds richness and moisture.
- Water: Balances the batter for the right consistency.
- Salt: Brings out the flavors!
- Cinnamon: For that classic churro flavor.
- White Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps with texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure.
- Large Eggs: Adds richness and helps with binding.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a hint of sweetness and depth of flavor.
For Frying and Coating
- Vegetable or Canola Oil: Perfect for frying thanks to the high smoke points.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a deeper caramel flavor to the coating.
- Ground Cinnamon: Essential for the coating mixture.
How To Make Churros
- Dough Prep: Mix milk, water, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a pot. Heat until butter melts, then add flour. After cooling slightly, mix in vanilla and eggs.
- Heat Oil: Warm oil in a deep fryer or pot to 350°F. A candy thermometer is very helpful for getting the right temperature.
- Cinnamon Sugar Mix: Combine white and brown sugars with cinnamon.
- Frying: Fill a pastry bag with dough and pipe strips into hot oil. Fry until golden, then drain.
- Finish & Serve: Roll in cinnamon sugar. Serve hot, with chocolate sauce or dulce de leche.
Quick Tip
What piping tip is best? I recommend the Wilton 1M Open Star Tip. Smaller tips result in thinner churros that cook rapidly, becoming crispy without a soft inside. Using heavy-duty or cloth pastry bags is advised to prevent splitting due to the dough’s heat and pressure.
How To Serve Churros
These are typically a street treat, so you’d pick up a churro (or some bite-sized ones), that are often drizzled with sauce by vendors. The perfect snack to munch on as you stroll!
But at home? Just lay them out on a plate with a dipping sauce on the side and dig in! For an extra treat, pair them with ice cream. Trust me, Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches are a game-changer!
However you choose to serve them, keep in mind that these treats are best enjoyed while they’re fresh, warm, and crispy.
Churros FAQs
Why Are My Churros Raw Inside?
The oil might be too hot. Lower the heat if they are cooked outside but raw inside. Use a candy thermometer to keep the temperature right.
How Long Do Churros Last?
- Churros are best fresh, right after frying and coating with cinnamon sugar.
- Refrigerate dough for a day; let it warm to room temperature before frying.
- For pre-fried churros, skip the sugar, store in an airtight container, and reheat at 350°F for 3-5 minutes before adding sugar. Eat within 1-2 days.
What Does A Churro Taste Like?
Churros are sweet, crispy on the outside, soft inside, and coated in cinnamon sugar. They taste like a cinnamon-spiced, buttery pastry or donut.
Tips For Success
- Use a Candy Thermometer: Keep the oil at 350°F for perfect frying.
- Don’t Crowd the Pot: Fry only 4-6 churros at a time to maintain temperature.
- Smooth Dough: After adding flour, use a spatula to press down and remove lumps.
- Immediate Sugar Coating: Coat churros in cinnamon-sugar while warm.
- Make Sauces Ahead: Prepare sauces before frying churros. If they thicken, microwave briefly.
- Avoid Over-Mixing: Mix eggs until just combined for soft churros.
- Safety First: Pipe dough gently to avoid oil splashes.
More Cinnamon-Sugar Treats:
- Cinnamon Bread with a crunchy cinnamon top
- Air Fryer Donuts only four ingredients
- Snickerdoodle Cookies soft and chewy!
- Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe no kneading the dough!
- Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread with a vanilla glaze
Churros
Equipment
- Open star tip
- Candy Thermometer
- Piping bag cloth/canvas recommended
Ingredients
- Dulce de Leche Sauce see note 1
- Chocolate Sauce
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Churros
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1-1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- Vegetable oil or canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- Mix ingredients listed under “Cinnamon Sugar Coating” in a bowl.
- From the “Churros” section, heat butter, milk, water, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a medium pot over medium-high heat, stirring until the butter melts, then bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, add flour, and stir vigorously for 1 minute. Remove pot from heat.
- Mix dough with a silicone spatula until smooth without overmixing, about 1 minute. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is integrated.
- Transfer dough to a piping bag with an open star tip.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed large pot to 350°F, ensuring consistent temperature with a candy thermometer (see note 2). Set out a plate lined with paper towels.
- Pipe 3–4 dough strips (3 inches each) into the oil, cutting ends with kitchen scissors.
- Fry churros until golden brown, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels briefly, then generously coat in the cinnamon-sugar mix. Continue frying remaining dough, ensuring consistent 350°F oil temperature. Avoid frying more than 4 at a time (see note 3).
- Serve hot with sauces. Churros are best enjoyed immediately.
Video
Recipe Notes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup full-fat, regular sweetened condensed milk
- In a medium pot, heat 1 cup cream and 1 cup dark brown sugar. Stir while sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a slow boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces down to 1 cup (~10 minutes)
- Once it has reduced, mix in ½ cup sweetened condensed milk and stir until everything is well combined. Let stand at room temperature to thicken while making the churros. Serve the sauce warm and re-warm in the microwave if it starts to get too thick.
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chopped dark chocolate baking bar (or semi-sweet)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 15-second bursts, stirring between, until melted and smooth. Serve the chocolate sauce warm and re-warm in the microwave if it starts to get too thick.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can these churros be baked instead of fried? Or do you have a recipe for Baking them?
may i ask if the measurement in your recipes; are they in US measurement cups or metric or some other? much appreciated! love your blog!
US Measurement cups 🙂 Thanks Max!
Those churros look tasty,buy they’re noy exactly spanish ones. Here in Spain, we eat them three ways: just fried; with sugar or with hot chocolate. But we don’t use to eat them with sugar and hot chocolate at once. But I’ve never done churros at home, so I will try yor recipe, thanks for sharing!
*but *your.
Thank you so much for sharing! I appreciate that! 🙂 And I hope you love these!