Spanish Churros

During a trip to Spain, I fell in love with the light and crispy texture and barely sweet flavor of Spanish Churros (covered in decadent chocolate sauce, of course!). When I couldn’t find the same texture and flavor anywhere I looked in the States, I recreated the recipe myself.

The dough is incredibly simple, made with just flour, baking powder, salt, and boiling water, and once pushed through the churro mold, it fries into beautifully crisp, lighter-than-air churros, ready to be sprinkled with sugar, dipped, and devoured. If you’ve been on the hunt for an authentic egg-free Spanish churro recipe, you’re about to be in churro heaven!

Differences Between Spanish Churros and Mexican Churros

Before I went to Spain, I had only ever enjoyed Mexican-style churros, which are delicious in their own right, but much denser and chewier. While Mexican churros typically use egg and butter in the dough for a softer, bread-like interior, Spanish churros are naturally vegan, using just flour, baking powder, salt, and water, which makes the texture incredibly light and airy.

The other big difference between the two is in the toppings. Straight out of the deep fryer, Mexican churros are often rolled in cinnamon sugar, so each bite is spiced with warm sweetness. Spanish churros rely less on sugar. They sometimes get a light sprinkle of plain sugar, or leave the sugar out entirely, getting all their sweetness from a rich chocolate dipping sauce.

How to Make Spanish Churros

Ingredients

Process

1. Pour oil into a tall sided pot and place over medium heat. Preheat oil to 350˚F. Place flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
2. Add boiling water to flour mixture.

3. Stir together with a wooden spoon until mixture is fully combined, with no dry spots. Cool for a few minutes.
4. Push dough into a churro maker with a medium star insert.

5. Pipe 6 inch long churros directly into the hot oil, snipping the ends off with scissors, before piping another churro. (Pipe a few churros at a time)
6. Fry churros for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

7. Transfer Spanish churros onto a paper towel lined baking sheet, topped with a cooling rack, and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat frying and sprinkling sugar with remaining dough.
8. Once all churros have been fried, transfer them all onto a platter. Serve with chocolate sauce for dipping.

Tips for the BEST Spanish Churros

• Make sure your water is boiling before adding it to the dough. This is what activates the starches in the flour to create the light and crispy texture these churros are known for. Just hot or lukewarm won’t cut it; it has to be boiling.
• A single-use gadget doesn’t always seem worth it, but trust me and use a churro maker. The dough is very stiff, and while you can use a piping bag fitted with a star tip, it’s a lot harder than it needs to be. If you don’t want to use a churro maker, you can also roll the dough into thin, long snakes by hand, snip them into 6-inch pieces, and carefully transfer them into the hot oil.
• For the best results, monitor your oil temperature and keep it at 350°F. If it cools too much, your churros will absorb too much oil and become greasy instead of crispy. If it gets too hot, the outside will burn before the dough inside cooks. To prevent the oil temp from dropping, work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
• To help the sugar stick to the churros, sprinkle it while the churros are still hot.

Can Churros Be Made Ahead of Time and Reheated?

Churros are best when eaten fresh, hot from the fryer, but with a couple of adjustments, you can make them up to two days ahead of time.

To store churros for later, take them out of the oil and let them cool completely according to the directions, without adding the sugar. Once cool, store them in a single layer in an airtight container or storage bag at room temperature for a day or in the refrigerator for up to two days.

When you’re ready to serve the churros, preheat the oven to 350˚F and place them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until they’re hot and crispy again. Sprinkle with sugar as soon as you take them out of the oven.

We DO NOT recommend reheating churros in the microwave, as it makes them soft, greasy, and chewy rather than light, crisp, and airy.

What to Serve with Spanish Churros?

In Spain, churros are traditionally served with a rich chocolate sauce (try our spicy chocolate sauce with or without the chili powder!), but you can’t go wrong with any of these sweet pairings:

• Homemade Chocolate Sauce
• Homemade Milkshake
• Cajeta (similar to dulce de leche and caramel)
• Nutella
• Whipped cream
• No Churn Ice Cream
• Marshmallow Fluff

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