Make the Perfect Churros, at Home!

Though they trace their heritage back to Spain, golden-fried churros are stalwarts of Mexico’s cuisine. They can vary in size and shape, but most are straight batons served hot from the fryer, with a relatively smooth appearance, golden and crunchy with a touch of creaminess at the center. While warm, they’re rolled in crystalline sugar (and, for lots of churreros, cinnamon).

Here’s the recipe: https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/churros/

There are many home-style churro recipes floating around that direct you to make silky cream puff (pate a choux) dough and pipe it through a pastry bag. That’s not the traditional dough of street vendors and churrerías. Their dough is simpler (basically just water and flour), and it’s so stiff you have to put it through a churro press (or cookie gun). Their dough is the one that makes those incredibly delicious, classic churros that I love. Their dough is the one I’m giving you here, with one small twist. I like to add a touch whole wheat flour to give the dough a hint of nuttiness.

Most cookie guns come with a star tip that can be used for churros. Online, you can easily buy an inexpensive plastic churro press which works very well with this recipe, though the churros it presses out are a little larger and more deeply lobed than what I think is ideal. No one will quibble, however, once they take a bite.

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00:00 Rick’s Intro to Churros
03:06 Making the Dough
07:24 Extruding the Dough
08:27 Frying the Churro
10:24 Seasoning with Cinnamon Sugar and Chocolate