Spanish Churros & Chocolate Sauce
Heat the water, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until the butter is melted, remove the pot from the heat, add the flour, and mix until it forms a dough ball. Let it cool to room temperature, mix in the eggs with an electric mixer, and pipe the dough with a large star tip onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Fry the pieces in oil heated to 375°, only one third up the side of the pot, until just golden brown, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Melt heavy cream with chocolate chips in the microwave for dipping.
Few treats are as joyful as a plate of fresh churros — crisp and ridged on the outside, tender within, dusted in cinnamon sugar and made for dunking in thick, rich chocolate sauce. This is the stuff of Spanish cafés and festival stalls, and making them at home is easier than you might think. Fry a batch, set out a bowl of warm chocolate, and you have a hands-on, celebratory dessert that gathers everyone happily around the plate.
The Churro Dough and Fry
Make the choux-style dough, pipe it into ridged lengths, and fry until deep golden and crisp. Piping through a star tip gives churros their signature ridges, which crisp beautifully in the oil — keep the frying temperature steady so they cook through and turn golden without absorbing too much oil.
Cinnamon Sugar and Chocolate Sauce
Roll the hot churros in cinnamon sugar and serve them with a bowl of thick, rich chocolate sauce for dipping. Toss them in the sugar while still warm so it clings, and make the chocolate sauce thick enough to coat — that warm churro dragged through rich chocolate is the whole glorious point.
Spanish Churros & Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Heat 2 cups water, butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, vanilla and salt in a deep sauce pot over medium-high heat until the butter is melted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the flour.
- Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour into the wet ingredients until it forms a dough ball. You want everything mixed together well.
- Let the dough cool to room temperature, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use an electric mixer to combine the dough with the eggs.
- Transfer the dough (in batches) to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Chill until you are ready to fry.
- Mix together ½ cup sugar with ground cinnamon in a bowl. Transfer this mixture to a sugar shaker.
- Heat heavy cream with chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, cooking 1 minute at a time.
- Stir in between cooking, until all the chocolate is melted.
- Heat the oil in a fryer or deep pot to 375°. Remember to make sure that the oil only comes one third up the side of the pot. The oil will bubble up when you add the churros. Cut the piped dough into 4 to 6-inch long pieces. (Basically, churros can be as long as you like as long as they fit into your fryer).
- Place the dough into the hot oil.
- Use a slotted spoon to gently move the churros in the oil. Cook until just golden brown.
- Transfer the churros to a paper towel lined baking sheet.
- Generously sprinkle the hot churros with cinnamon sugar.
- Serve with hot chocolate for dipping.
The Heart of the Table
A plate of churros with chocolate is festive, hands-on joy to share — it turns dessert into a happy, communal moment. There is a warm, celebratory generosity in setting out something meant to be dipped and devoured together, the kind of treat that brings people close and turns an evening into a party.
The Art of the Host
Keep the frying oil at a steady temperature so the churros crisp without burning, and toss them in cinnamon sugar while hot so it sticks. Serve them fresh and warm with the chocolate sauce alongside — they are at their very best straight from the fryer.
Neighborly Grace
- The Preparation: Churros are best fried fresh, but you can make the chocolate dipping sauce ahead and warm it before serving. Have everything prepped so the frying is the only last-minute step, and serve them hot for the ideal experience.
- The Pour: A cup of strong coffee or a glass of Spanish cava suits the festive spirit; for a non-alcoholic pairing, a rich hot chocolate to drink alongside the dipping sauce doubles the indulgence.
- The Vibe: Serve them fresh and warm with the chocolate sauce for dipping at a party or a festive dessert. These are joyful, hands-on treats — crisp and cinnamon-dusted, made to bring the fun of a Spanish café right to your table.