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Churros

A cooked flour dough pipes into crisp ridged churros, which take a warm cinnamon-sugar coating and a quick chocolate dip.
Golden ridged churros coated in cinnamon sugar sit beside a bowl of glossy chocolate dipping sauce.

Churros get their crisp shell from a cooked flour dough that pipes cleanly through a star tip. Fry them in small batches, coat them while warm, and bring the chocolate dip to the table alongside.

Cook the flour before adding eggs

The hot water and butter hydrate the flour quickly, while a short return to low heat dries the dough enough to hold its shape. Let it cool until warm before beating in eggs so they blend smoothly instead of setting against the pan.

Use the star tip for ridges

A large open-star tip gives the churros defined ridges and lets the dough release in a controlled strip. Fill the bag partway, hold it over the oil, and cut each piece with dry scissors while directing the tip away from you.

A star-tip piping bag forms a ridged churro strip over a deep pot of hot oil.
A ridged strip of churro dough is piped carefully into the heated oil.

Keep the oil steady

A thermometer makes frying more predictable: oil that is too cool can leave the centers heavy, while oil that is too hot can brown the outside before the dough cooks through. Leave room between pieces and let the temperature recover before adding another batch.

Coat them while warm

A brief drain lets excess oil fall away, and the remaining warmth helps cinnamon sugar cling along the ridges. Serve promptly with the glossy chocolate sauce while the shells are crisp.

Cinnamon sugar clings to crisp churro ridges beside a smooth chocolate dip.
Finished churros show crisp ridges under an even cinnamon-sugar coating beside chocolate dip.

Churros

12 churros
45 minutes total

Ingredients

  • •  1 cup water
  • •  4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • •  1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • •  1/4 tsp fine salt
  • •  1 cup all-purpose flour
  • •  2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • •  4 cups neutral oil for frying
  • •  1/2 cup granulated sugar for coating
  • •  1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • •  4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • •  1/3 cup heavy cream
  • •  1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

  1. Prepare the cinnamon sugar

    Stir the coating sugar and ground cinnamon together in a shallow bowl until the cinnamon is evenly distributed, then set the bowl beside a wire rack.

    Look for: The sugar is evenly tan with no concentrated cinnamon patches.

  2. Make the chocolate dip

    Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Warm the heavy cream just until steaming, pour it over the chocolate, wait until the chocolate softens, then stir in the vanilla until glossy; keep the sauce warm.

    Look for: The sauce is smooth and glossy, with no visible pieces of chocolate.

  3. Boil the dough liquid

    Combine the water, butter, dough sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

    Look for: The butter is fully melted and bubbles cover the surface.

  4. Cook and cool the dough

    Take the pan off the heat, add the flour all at once, and stir firmly until no dry flour remains. Return it to low heat and stir until the dough pulls into a smooth ball and leaves a thin film on the pan, then transfer it to a bowl to cool until warm, not hot.

    Look for: The dough forms one ball and a light film remains on the saucepan.

  5. Beat in the eggs

    Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing completely after each addition until the dough is thick, smooth, and glossy. Fit a piping bag with a large open-star tip and fill it halfway with dough.

    Look for: The dough holds ridges but slowly falls from a spatula in a broad ribbon.

  6. Heat the frying oil

    Pour the neutral oil into a heavy, deep saucepan, keeping the oil below one-third of the pan's capacity, and clip on a frying thermometer. Heat over medium to 350 F; keep the pot attended, use dry tools, and keep a metal lid nearby in case the oil flares. Never use water on hot oil.

    Look for: The thermometer reads 350 F and the oil is not smoking.

  7. Pipe and fry the churros

    Pipe short strips of dough carefully into the oil, cutting each with dry scissors and directing the tip away from you. Fry in uncrowded batches, turning with a spider or slotted spoon, until deeply golden and crisp; adjust the burner to keep the oil near 350 F and let it recover between batches.

    Look for: The ridges are evenly deep gold and the churros feel crisp when lifted.

  8. Drain and coat

    Lift the churros from the oil with the spider, let excess oil drip back into the pan, and set them briefly on the wire rack. While still warm, roll them in the cinnamon sugar until every ridge is coated.

    Look for: The coating clings to the ridges without pooling in wet clumps.

  9. Serve and cool the oil

    Serve the churros warm with the chocolate sauce for dipping. Turn off the burner and leave the frying pot in place until the oil is completely cool before handling or storing it; if oil catches fire, turn off the heat if safe and cover the pot with its metal lid, never water.

    Look for: The churros are warm and crisp, and the burner is off.