Churros with Chocolate Sauce Recipe (VIDEO)

Churros with chocolate sauce are the most perfect treat! Deliciously crispy on the outside while soft and chewy inside, these cinnamon-sugar dusted homemade churros can be served with creamy chocolate... or something else. Discover how to serve them at a party! 🙂

 

Raise your hand if you are crazy about churros? Both of mine are up in the air. 🙂

But did you know how you can serve them at a birthday party or at any other fun celebration? Keep reading and watch our video!

You will have an AHA moment! 

Churros with Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Have you always wanted to make churros at home? Now you can! It’s a really fun cooking project and not nearly as complex as you might think.

I’ll walk you step-by-step through my favorite classic churro recipe so you’ll be making them in your own kitchen with confidence.

What are Churros?

Churros are originally from Spain and became a hit in Mexico and South America, including Brazil. You’ll usually find churros in cafés, in the mall, and sold by vendors on street corners.

In the U.S., you can enjoy churros at Mexican and South American restaurants and they are also a very popular Disney World and Disneyland treat. This is a beloved and nostalgic snack!

They might be best known as a long stick shape with ridges, but they can also be made into a loop shape, small bite-sized nuggets, or even shaped into hearts.

Churros are also made into so many fun variations, like OREO churros, and there is even a churro inspired breakfast cereal.

Make them gluten-free by using GF flour. Moreover, they can be vegan too!

In fact, this easy churros recipe itself is vegan—you’ll just want to leave out the chocolate filling. I’ll also show you below how to bake or air fry churros for a lightened-up version. Let's have a churro party, shall we?

Are Churros Like a Donut?

Churros are often compared to donuts because they are a fried pastry. However, they are closer to a cream puff than a donut because they are made with a choux dough, just like cream puffs.

The thing that makes churros unique is that they are typically piped from a bag into hot oil to deep fry, then coated in sugar and cinnamon and often special fillings are added.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make our churros with chocolate sauce:

• Water – water is the main moisture in the churro dough.
• Granulated sugar – a small amount of the sugar will be added to the dough for a mild sweetness. The rest of the sugar will be mixed with the cinnamon to coat the fried churros.
• Salt – salt actually brings out the sweetness and balances the flavors.
• Oil – you’ll need just 2 tablespoons in the actual dough and the rest will be used for deep frying the churros.
• All-purpose flour – very basic all-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe. But you can use a gluten-free one.
• Ground cinnamon – the cinnamon adds that familiar warm spice to the churros.
• Ground nutmeg – we love a pinch of nutmeg added to the traditional cinnamon-sugar mixture for an extra special hint of flavor. 
• Heavy cream – the heavy cream will be heated and become the base for the rich and smooth chocolate dipping sauce.
• Semisweet chocolate chips – for the chocolate sauce, I prefer to use semi-sweet chocolate. It has just the right blend of sweetness and strong chocolate flavor to create a balanced sauce.

How to Make Churros with Chocolate Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar, salt, and oil. Bring to a boil, stir, and remove from heat. Mix in the flour for about 30 seconds until it forms a ball of dough.
2. In a fryer, heat oil to 375° F (190° C). Put the dough in a churrero or a piping bag with a LARGE star tip attached. Twist and close the bag.
3. Hold the bag or the churrero upright and straight over the hot oil fryer (so the churros come out straight), then squeeze out an appropriate length of dough (about 7 inches or 18 cm each ).
4. After it is squeezed out, separate each churro from the piping bag using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors and let drop straight into the hot oil.
5. Fry them until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes per batch), turning occasionally to achieve a uniform color on all sides (do not fry more than 4 or 5 churros at a time because the temperature of the fryer will decrease and this will affect the final product).
6. Remove the churros from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and place on a shallow baking pan lined with paper towels to drain. If you have used a piping bag, the churros won't have a hole.
7. Optionally, let them cool a bit and hold the churros upright; then, make a central hole lengthwise from the top almost through to the bottom using a wood skewer (DO NOT MAKE A HOLE IN THE CENTER because we won't fill in our churros).
8. In another baking sheet, pass the churros in the cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar mixture to coat while they are still warm. Reserve!
9. Serve dipped with chocolate sauce (see how to make below). Or serve pipped on top with store-bought chocolate frosting and dulce de leche using a star nozzle. Then sprinkle with colorful sprinkles.
10. If you want to, place a couple of mini Oreos or mini candy bars on top as seen in one of the images. Enjoy!!!

To prepare the chocolate sauce:

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat or heat in the microwave. Pour cream over chocolate in a glass bowl.

Let stand for about 30-40 seconds. Whisk the mixture well until smooth. For a dairy-free version, use vegan chocolate and plant-based milk.

How to Bake Churros in the Oven

• While deep-fried churros are yummy, it’s OK that some may prefer to bake them. To do this, simply follow all of the steps to make the churros except for the deep frying.
• Instead, pipe the churro dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Bake them at 400° F for about 20 minutes until they’re golden brown.
• Let them cool slightly before filling with the chocolate sauce and rolling in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

How to Air Fry Churros

• Of course, you can make churros in the air fryer! For this method, you’ll need to add 4 eggs to the dough. To do this, transfer the hot dough to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Add one egg and beat the dough right away with an electric or stand mixer until the egg has been incorporated into the dough.
• Repeat this with the remaining three eggs (one at a time), then scoop the dough into a piping bag with a large star tip.
• Instead of piping the dough into the hot oil, you’ll pipe it right onto the air fryer basket.
• Make as many churros at once as will fit in the fryer basket with a bit of space between each, then coat the tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Close the air fryer and cook the churros until golden brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time.
• Allow the churros to cool slightly, then fill each with the chocolate sauce and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Can I Make the Dough in Advance?

Yes! You can make the dough the day before you plan to fry the churros. This saves time when you are ready to have churros since all you’ll need to do is fry (or bake or air fry) them and then add the filling and topping.

For this, make the churro dough as normal, then place it in a food storage container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature before cooking the churros.

Fillings

Although this chocolate-filled version of churros is super tasty, you may want to try some other delish fillings. Here are some ideas:

• Melted guava paste
• Dulce de leche
• Peanut butter
• Nutella
• Vanilla pastry cream
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Melted guava paste and cream cheese -- which is known as a Romeo and Juliet in Brazil.

Toppings

Here are some toppings to try:

• Whipped sweet cream
• Dulce de leche
• Chocolate frosting
• Sprinkles
• Ice cream
• Fresh berries
• Chopped nuts
• Buttercream frosting

How to Store Leftovers

While churros are always best when eaten fresh, you can store leftovers to eat later.

Place them in a zip-top bag or an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, bake on a cookie sheet in the oven at 375° F for 5-8 minutes until hot.

More Churro Inspired Recipes You Will Love

• Churro Trifle
• Churro Blondies
• Dulce de Leche Churro Truffles
• Churro Popcorn (Weight Watchers/7 Minutes)
• Mini Churro Donuts
• Easy Churro Cupcakes 

 

PIN & ENJOY!

NOTE: The original post was published on February 11, 2013.