Quick and Easy Sauce to Dip Churros in
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These delicious, golden churros are fried and dusted in cinnamon and sugar! Serve the churros with quick, easy-to-make dulce de leche that requires no hot water bath or pressure cooker!
If you make these churros you absolutely must serve them with something delicious to drink! I recommend hot chocolate or coffee when you feel like being warm and cozy, or ice-cold horchata when you want to cool down!
This post is sponsored by Bob's Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own. Ihighly recommend using Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour to get consistent results with these churros! It's a premium, organic baking flour milled from the highest quality wheat.
What are churros?
Churros are fried pastries that are dusted with cinnamon and sugar. They've become popular in the United States by way of Latin America, but they're said to have origins in Spain and Portugal. Churros are a well-known street-food in cities like Lisbon, Barcelona and Madrid.
Churros are similar in taste and texture to a cruller, which is a light, airy donut. Unlike crullers though, churros are usually shaped like sticks, but I have seen people shape them into horseshoes, rings and hearts!
Churro dough is a form of choux-pastry, which combines water, flour, fat and sugar over low heat. After the dough has cooked and cooled, eggs are mixed in one at a time. The dough is then transferred to a piping bag with an open star tip and piped into hot oil.
Why this recipe is special
Because it's two classic recipes in one! Crisp, golden churros dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and sweet, creamy dulce de leche (essentially a milk-based caramel).
These churros call for a touch more flour than other recipes, which helps the churros keep their shape without compromising the soft texture.
As for the dulce de leche, you won't need to spend hours stirring, nor will you need a water bath or pressure cooker. You will need condensed milk which helps bypass the longer cooking time.
Frequently asked questions
Can churro dough be made ahead of time?
Yes! Make the dough and place it in a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. The pastry dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Can churros be frozen?
Yes. Fry them and let them cool and wrap them in plastic wrap. Place them in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat the frozen churros by baking them at 375°F for 10-15 minutes. You can dust them in cinnamon/sugar once they come out of the oven.
Can you bake churros or make churros in an air fryer?
I don't recommend using an oven or air fryer for this recipe (unless you're just warming them up). This recipe was specifically developed for frying. A quick Google search will bring up air-fryer or baked versions.
Ingredients
We only need a few basic ingredients to make these churros! Refer to the recipe card at the bottom for specific quantities and measurements.
- unsalted butter
- 1 cup water – tap water is fine
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- kosher salt
- quality all-purpose flour – I recommend this one from Bob's Red Mill
- 4 large eggs
- vegetable oil or canola oil for frying
- cinnamon and sugar – for dusting
- dulce de leche ingredients – sugar, sweetened condensed milk, butter, vanilla extract
Tools needed
Here are some items that I highly recommend for making churros:
- hand-held or stand mixer
- 16-inch piping bag – this is important since the dough for this recipe is a little on the thick side. You'll need to apply some pressure to pipe the dough out. For this reason I don't recommend using a ziploc bag because it may burst while you're squeezing.
- 1M piping tip – this is also known as an 'open star piping tip'. Metal is recommended for piping dough into hot oil, but I have a plastic one and it's fine as long as it doesn't touch the oil.
- kitchen scissors – you'll need these to snip the churro once you've piped it in the oil. I explain how to do this in the directions below.
- plate lined with paper towels – for draining the oil
How to make churros
Steps 1-4: Preparing the dough
- Step 1: Melt the butter in a 3.5 quart saucepan. Add the sugar, water and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Step 2: Add the flour and turn the heat all the way down. Whisk quickly using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. A mass of dough will form. It's ok if the dough is a little lumpy, it will smooth out when you add the eggs.
- Step 3: Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool. You can beat the dough using the paddle attachment(s) of your mixer so it cools faster. Let the dough cool until it's just warm to the touch. Do not proceed to the next step while the dough is still hot!
- Step 4: Add the eggs one by one to the dough and mix until each egg is fully incorporated into the dough. You'll know when to add the next egg because the batter won't look slimy once the eggs are incorporated.
Steps 5-9: Piping and frying churros
- Step 5: Transfer the churro dough to a large piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip. Leave 4-5 inches of space at the top of the bag. Don't overfill it! Twist the top of the bag and secure it with a bread tie. Set it aside.
- Step 6: Fill a pot or deep skillet with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 325°F.
- Step 7: Pipe 2-3 churros at a time into 4-inch long strips. Hold the pastry bag with one hand (after you've piped the churro) and use your free hand to snip the churro with a pair of clean kitchen scissors. Fry for 1 minute on each side, or until the churros are golden-brown on all sides.
- Step 8: Transfer the churros to a plate lined with paper towels and fry the remaining batches.
- Step 9: Keep the churros warm in a 170°F oven while you prepare the dulce de leche. You'll dust the churros in cinnamon/sugar after.
How to make dulce de leche
- Step 1: Heat the sugar over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan or 2-quart saucepan. Stir constantly using a rubber spatula. Within a few minutes the sugar will start to liquify and turn amber in color. Keep stirring until the sugar fully dissolves into a brown-colored syrup.
- Step 2: Turn the flame down low and add the sweetened condensed milk (keep stirring as you're adding it) and then add the butter and vanilla extract. The caramelized sugar will start to harden and bubble when you add the ingredients. Keep stirring, the mixture will become smooth again after 5-7 minutes.
- Step 3: Carefully transfer the dulce de leche to a small bowl or mason jar. Let it cool slightly.
Dust the churros in cinnamon/sugar and serve
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon together on a plate or in a shallow baking dish. Set aside.
- Remove the churros from the warm oven (they need to be warm so the cinnamon/sugar sticks to them). Place the churros in the dish one by one and spoon the cinnamon/sugar over them. Make sure to get all sides. Gently tap or shake the churros to remove any excess cinnamon/sugar.
- Serve the churros with warm dulce de leche.
Substitutions and variations
This recipe (although awesome) is by no means the end-all-be-all of churros. Feel free to experiment with the following substitutes:
- It might be tempting to use milk instead of water for the churro dough but it just isn't necessary. In fact, I think using milk makes the churros a bit soggy and they won't hold their shape as well. Save your money and just use tap water!
- If you can find store-bought dulce de leche, by all means go for it! It can be hard to find depending on where you live, but it's usually sold in a squeeze bottle or can. Not gonna lie, store-bought is amazing and the best part is it doesn't harden.
- Switch up your dipping sauce! Chocolate or Nutella are delicious options.
- Make mini churros by piping the churros into 2-inch strips rather than the full 4-inches
Storing and reheating leftovers
Store leftover churros in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. To reheat, place them on a baking sheet and bake them at 375°F for 5-7 minutes.
You'll have plenty of leftover dulce de leche so you'll need to store it in the refrigerator in a mason jar with a lid, or bowl covered in plastic wrap. It will be good for up to 2 weeks. To reheat, place it in the microwave for 30 seconds or reheat in a double boiler.
Top tips for making churros with dulce de leche
Follow these tips for success!
- Make the dulce de leche at the end so that it doesn't harden or thicken. You can keep the churros in a 170°F oven while you make the dulce de leche. This will keep them nice and warm so that the sugar/cinnamon sticks to them.
- It's really important to properly measure your flour. Always spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and level the flour off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
- It's very important to let the dough cool before adding the eggs. If you don't, the heat from the dough will scramble the eggs and you'll have to throw the dough away and start over.
- Don't overfill the piping bag! It's important to leave 4-5 inches of space at the top so your batter doesn't come out while piping. If you need to re-fill the bag with the remaining dough later, you can.
- For perfect looking churros, cut the ends off with kitchen scissors right before dusting them with cinnamon/sugar.
You'll love these other dessert recipes!
- Mini Donuts – Cape Verdean Donetes
- Pudim de Leite – Cape Verdean Style Flan
- Cinnamon Rolls Soaked in Tres Leches
- Key-Lime Pie with Butter-Pecan Crust
Churros with Dulce de Leche
These delicious, golden churros are fried and dusted in cinnamon and sugar! Serve the churros with quick, easy-to-make dulce de leche that requires no hot water bath or pressure cooker!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 churros 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Latin
Churros
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups quality all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups vegetable or canola oil for frying
- ½ cup sugar plus 2 teaspoons cinnamon for dusting the churros
Dulce de leche
- ½ cup sugar
- 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Make the churros
- Melt the butter in a 3.5 quart saucepan. Add the water, sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once the water/sugar mixture starts to simmer, add the flour and turn the flame all the way down. Stir quickly until a mass of dough forms.
- Transfer the hot dough to the bowl of your stand mixer. Allow the dough to cool. You can speed up the cooling process by mixing the dough on slow speed for 4 minutes using a paddle attachment.
- Once the dough is just warm to the touch, add 1 egg at time. Let each egg incorporate fully into the dough before adding the next. Once the dough no longer looks wet and slimy add the next egg. Repeat this process until you've added and incorporated all the eggs.
- Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip. Make sure not to over-fill the piping bag. You want to leave about 4 or 5 inches of space between the dough and the top of the piping bag. Twist the bag, secure it with a bread-tie and set aside.
- Fill a pot or deep skillet with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 325°F.
- Hold the tip of the piping tip about 1-2 inches above the oil. Pipe 2-3 churros at a time into 4-inch long strips. Hold the pastry bag with one hand (after you've piped the churro) and use your free hand to snip the churro with a pair of clean kitchen scissors. Fry the churros for 1 minute on each side, or until they turn golden brown on all sides.
- Transfer the churros to a plate lined with paper towels and fry the remaining batches.
- Place the churros in a 170°F oven while you prepare the dulce de leche. You'll dust the churros in cinnamon/sugar after.
Make the dulce de leche
- Heat ½ cup sugar over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan or 2-quart saucepan. Stir constantly using a rubber spatula. Within a few minutes the sugar will start to liquify and turn amber in color. Keep stirring until the sugar fully dissolves into a brown-colored syrup.
- Turn the flame down to the lowest setting and add the sweetened condensed milk (keep stirring as you're adding it) and then add the butter and vanilla extract. The caramelized sugar will start to harden and bubble when you add the ingredients. Keep stirring, the mixture will become smooth again after 5-7 minutes.
- Once the mixture is completely smooth, carefully transfer it to a small bowl or mason jar. Let it cool slightly.
Dust the churros in cinnamon and sugar and serve
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon together on a plate or in a shallow baking dish. Set aside
- Remove the churros from the warm oven (they need to be warm so the cinnamon/sugar sticks to them). Place the churros in the dish one by one and spoon the cinnamon/sugar over them. Make sure to get all sides. Gently tap or shake the churros to remove any excess cinnamon/sugar.
- Serve the churros with warm dulce de leche.
Notes
- I recommend making the dulce de leche at the end so that it doesn't harden or thicken. Keep the churros in a 170°F oven while you make the dulce de leche. This will keep them nice and warm so that the sugar/cinnamon sticks to them.
- Choux-pastry can be tricky. It's really important to properly measure your flour. Always spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and level the flour off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
- It is very important to allow the dough to cool before adding the eggs. If you don't, the heat from the dough will scramble the eggs and you'll have to throw the dough away and start over.
- Don't overfill the piping bag! It's important to leave 4-5 inches of space at the top so your batter doesn't come out while piping. If you need to re-fill the bag with the remaining dough you can.
- For perfect looking churros, cut the ends off with kitchen scissors right before dusting them with cinnamon/sugar.
Keywords: churros, choux pastry, fried, cinnamon, sugar, Mexican, Latin American, Portuguese, Spanish, dulce de leche, doce de leite
Food safety
A few safety tips for making this recipe
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Use a cooking thermometer to properly measure oil temperature.
- Never leave the churros unattended while frying.
- Always have good ventilation when frying foods.
- Don't ever touch caramelized sugar with your hands and do not taste the dulce de leche while it's hot! Instead, wait until it cools down to taste it.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov
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Source: https://www.crumbsnatched.com/churros-dulce-de-leche/