Have you ever been at home on a Wednesday and thought, “You know…what I really need right now is a fresh, hot churro!”? If hopping over to Disneyland just isn’t happening and Costco is too crowded (do they still serve churros at Costco? We haven’t lived near one in way too long), never fear. You can make them at home. And even though it involves making your own French pastry dough, it’s super easy, like way easier than homemade doughnuts. True fact: you are never more than 30 minutes away from fresh, hot churros. All from stuff you already have in your kitchen. Just let that sink in for a minute.
To get started, you’ll need to make a Pâte à Choux. That’s exactly what you need to tell people–“Oh, I’m just in my kitchen whipping up a Pâte à Choux!” Because it sounds super impressive. But really, it’s just a simple pastry dough made from butter, milk, flour, and eggs.
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, milk, and salt and cook over medium heat until the butter melts. Whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides into a glossy ball.
Remove from heat. Add 1 egg to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until completely combined, then repeat with each egg, not moving onto the next egg until the previous egg is completely mixed. It may be on the thin side, more like a batter, but just let the dough just hang out for about 15-20 minutes (and even if it stays thin, it will work just fine.) You can also do this step using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Pour about 3″ of oil into a large skillet, pot, or Dutch Oven. Heat the oil over medium heat to 325 degrees F (use a candy or instant read thermometer to keep the temperature in check.)
Preheat oven to the lowest setting.
While the oil is heating, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt (if desired) in a pie plate.
I’m pretty sure the world would be a happier place if more cinnamon sugar was involved. When the oil is almost ready, transfer the dough to a pastry bag (disposable ones here, re-usable one here) fitted with a large star tip (like open 1M or larger).
Squeeze about 3″ of dough into the hot oil and repeat, not crowding the pan (you’ll have to fry the churros in a few batches). Cook for about 3-4 minutes on one side or until golden brown,
then flip and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes on the other side (or until the other side is also golden brown.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and place the plate in the oven. Repeat frying until the dough is gone.
When all the churros have been cooked, toss them in the cinnamon-sugar mix and serve immediately. Makes about 24 3″ churros. If desired, serve with dark chocolate ganache for dipping.
Homemade Churros
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Peanut oil or other oil with a high smoke point
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and milk and cook over medium heat until the butter melts. Whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides into a glossy ball. Remove from heat. Add 1 egg to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until completely combined, then repeat with each egg, not moving onto the next egg until the previous egg is completely mixed. It may be on the thin side, more like a batter, but just let the dough just hang out for about 15-20 minutes (and even if it stays thin, it will work just fine.) You can also do this step using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Pour about 3" of oil into a large skillet, pot, or Dutch Oven. Heat the oil over medium heat to 325 degrees F (use a candy or instant read thermometer to keep the temperature in check.)
- Preheat oven to the lowest setting.
- While the oil is heating, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt (if desired) in a pie plate.
- When the oil is almost ready, transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (like open 1M or larger). Squeeze about 3" of dough into the hot oil and repeat, not crowding the pan (you'll have to fry the churros in a few batches). Cook for about 3-4 minutes on one side or until golden brown, then flip and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes on the other side (or until the other side is also golden brown.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and place the plate in the oven. Repeat frying until the dough is gone.
- When all the churros have been cooked, toss them in the cinnamon-sugar mix and serve immediately. Makes about 24 3" churros.
Don’t forget the dark chocolate ganache!
Questions & Reviews
I made these with my kids for family night. They were delicious and so easy. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
I have to make quite a few of these for a dinner party. Have you ever made them a few hours in advance and warmed them up in the oven? Do you think it would work? Thank you!
I’ve never deep-fried anything before, but these may tempt me to try it.
I’m wondering though, what do you do with the oil after you are done with the frying?
I am a little confused as to why this Mexican recipe has a french ñame.
I found this interesting, churros may actually have originated in China… hmmm 🙂
“A churro is a fried-dough pastry—predominantly choux—based snack. Churros are popular in Spain, France, the Philippines, Portugal, Ibero-America and the Southwestern United States. In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado or café con leche. The origin of churros is unclear. One theory is they were brought to Europe by the Portuguese. The Portuguese sailed for the Orient and, as they returned from Ming Dynasty China to Portugal, they brought along with them new culinary techniques, including modifying the dough for You tiao also known as Youzagwei in Southern China, for Portugal. However, they modified it by introducing a star design because they did not learn the Chinese skill of “pulling” the dough (the Chinese Emperor made it a capital crime to share knowledge with foreigners). As a result, churros are not “pulled” but rather extruded out through a star-shaped die.
Another theory is that the churro was made by Spanish shepherds, to substitute for fresh bakery goods. Churro paste was easy to make and fry in an open fire in the mountains, where shepherds spend most of their time.”
Yum!If you are lucky enough to live where you can find Mexican grocery stores with bakeries……you are in luck. And try their other pastries….not overly sweet like we are accustomed to from our usual bakeries.
I put in 3 eggs instead of 4 and the batter kept its shape quite well. YUM!
My first thought was also “how do you pronounce Pâte à Choux” so thanks for clearing that up! I feel like pronouncing food in French makes it so much more glamorous. Which is why I now call meat loaf “pain de viande”. Mondays got gourmet. Can’t wait to make these Kate!
Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried adding a tablespoon or two of sugar to the dough? I know eclairs and churros and stuff get their sweetness from the topping, but it always kind of bothers me that the base is so utterly unsweet. I may try adding sugar next time but wonder if it would do something to the texture or structure of the dough. I just thought I’d check so I don’t repeat a mistake someone else has already made.
I LOVE cinnamon sugar crusted objects! Dang, I’d forgotten about churros even though I do see the baseball bat sized ones at Costco every time I go in. They’re just not on my radar for some reason. But my husb loves them, and I have made pate a choux before, so maybe I can overcome my aversion to frying with these little beauties. Thanks for the lesson!
I couldn’t wait to make these, so I just whipped up a batch! The dough was definitely runny, it was literally oozing out of the icing tip, and all my churros look like alphabet letters, frog legs, or sea creatures, but they’re absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely make these again, but maybe I’ll try letting the dough sit for a while so it cools off, maybe that will make it less runny? Now I don’t have to go back to disney world to have churros!
Yeah, you can do it either way–the only reason for waiting is cosmetic purposes, but they’ll be delicious either way! So glad you tried them and they were delicious!
I still remember my first churro at Disneyland when I was 12. Way too long between churro’s for me. You’ve changed my life with this recipe. Who knew it could be so simple?
I’m crushing on these so bad! I love churros, I just haven’t summoned the courage to make them.
Thank you for this! Looks simple and my kids will love it!
I’m dying. I want one of these right now!
This looks so easy – must try!
So, just so I don’t sound like a noob (as my teens would say) how do you pronounce Pâte à Choux?
Yes, Costco still sells churros: I bought one last weekend. I will definitely be making this recipe!
Pat-a-shoo. So you’ll sound awesome when you tell all your friends. 🙂