I feel like if you have a food blog, no matter how long you’ve been doing it for, a homemade churro recipe is some sort of rite of passage. Everyone has a version of it, including myself, and so it’s clear that we all have a soft spot for them. What’s not to love though? Deep fried pieces of dough coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a chocolate sauce for dipping? It’s the perfect dessert. So how does one make a perfect treat even better? That’s a tough one because churros can’t be made better, let’s be honest. I have however, decided to turn them into Churro Cookies for the holiday season. Each year I try to come up with a new and exciting holiday cookie. Like last year’s Babka Cookies for instance. I love those. These Churro Cookies have all the elements we love from the classic fried treat but without all of the hard work. No deep-frying required? Sign me up.
Let’s start by making the cookie dough, which is a very basic butter cookie dough. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
*Tip: You want to make sure that your butter is VERY soft. Not to the point of being melted, just super super soft because this will make the piping out of the dough a lot easier. If the butter isn’t softened enough, you’ll have a very stiff dough and you won’t be able to pipe out the dough.**
Add in the egg (again, make sure the egg is at room temperature as well) and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until just combined. Transfer the dough to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
**Note: The dough won’t come together into one large mass necessarily and that’s okay. It’ll look more like clumps but it should hold together when you squeeze it with your hands.**
Pipe out the dough into 3 or 4-inch logs on the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave about 2-inches of space in between each. Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
**Note: I like to use a star tip so as to create that classic churro look with ridges. Because the dough is stiff, you want to use a sturdy cloth piping bag and not the disposable kind. If all else fails, you can just roll the dough into 1 inch balls and bake them as circular cookies. They won’t look like churros but they’ll still taste great.**
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on baking sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and chili powder (if using). In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with 1/2 cup hot water. This mixture will be runny.
Working with one at a time, carefully dip the top of each cooled cookie into the glaze mixture and then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture to fully coat. Place on a baking sheet or a wire rack and continue dipping the rest of the cookies.
**Note: Allow to sit for about half an hour so that the the glaze and topping fully set before serving or eating the cookies. I know that seems like a long time but I promise it’s worth it.**
At this stage you can serve them as is, or you can make a super chocolate sauce for dipping. What’s a churro without chocolate sauce? If you don’t plan on serving them right away, you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To make the chocolate dipping sauce, heat the cream over low heat or in the microwave until hot. Pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 5 minutes before stirring until melted and smooth.
**Tip: You can jazz up the chocolate sauce by either adding a splash of peppermint extract, or a bit of cayenne pepper, or you can add some orange zest for a little zip.**
Either dip each of the cookies into the chocolate and allow to set before serving or arrange the cookies on a large platter with the dipping sauce on the side for dipping and dunking as you eat.
One note I want to say that I didn’t bring up earlier and should’ve of is that although the chili powder is optional in the cinnamon sugar mixture, I highly recommend it. It’s only a small amount and honestly you can’t taste the heat at all. It’s just adds a nice balance of flavor along with the cinnamon. I promise.
If you make the sauce ahead of time, you can keep it in the fridge and then just rewarm either in the microwave or in a pot over very low heat. Although honestly, reheating would probably take longer than if you were to just make it right before you plan on serving the cookies.
If you’re a fan of classic deep-fried churros, then these churro cookies are a must this holiday season. Maybe you’re not participating in a cookie exchange as you normally would, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t make yourself cookies to enjoy. These should be on top of your to-do list….I say that humbly of course. Let me know below if you have any questions or comments, and as always, stay safe out there.
Churro Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
Topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of chili powder optional
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Chocolate Sauce:
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until just combined. Transfer the dough to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe out the dough into 3 or 4-inch logs on the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave about 2-inches of space in between each. Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on baking sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and chili powder (if using). In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with 1/2 cup hot water. This mixture will be runny.
- Carefully dip the top of each cooled cookie into the glaze mixture and then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture to fully coat. Place on a baking sheet or a wire rack and continue dipping the rest of the cookies. Allow to sit for about half an hour to fully set before serving.
- To make the chocolate dipping sauce, heat the cream over low heat or in the microwave until hot. Pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 5 minutes before stirring until melted and smooth. Either dip cookies into the chocolate and serve or arrange cookies on a platter with the dipping sauce on the side. Enjoy!
well even if other sites have made their versions of churros, I’ve never seen a churro cookie before, so thank you, very creative!