How to cook churros (recipe and step by step)

Surely you have ever wanted a good cup of hot chocolate with churros.

It is a good option for breakfast, especially in cold weather (although it can be eaten all year round!). But have you ever tried homemade churros? Would you dare to prepare them yourself?

In this article we show you how to make churros, step by step. As you will see, it is a fairly simple, easy and quick recipe to prepare. Also, once we have the churros, we can accompany them with chocolate, or with what we like the most.

Churros: what are they, ingredients and where to buy them

Before explaining how to make churros step by step, let's explain what they are. Churros can be eaten for breakfast, for a snack, for dessert…

It is a kind of sweet; they are elongated strips made of flour cooked with oil. Its main ingredients are only 5: water, flour (which is usually wheat), salt or sugar and oil. This product is quite popular in countries like Belgium, Spain, France, Portugal and Latin America.

For the churros to be the most appetizing, the ideal is that they are crunchy, sweet (but without going overboard) and not too greasy (although for colored tastes).

On the other hand, it is typical to accompany churros with a cup of hot chocolate, although they can also be accompanied with milk, cocoa milk, etc.

The churros can be bought in churrerías (where other types of sweets are also sold), but also in some cafes or farms. However, if you really want to enjoy the taste of good homemade churros, here we explain how to make churros step by step!

How to make churros (step by step)

How to make churros? We explain it to you through a few simple steps. First, but, we are going to know the necessary ingredients to cook it.

Ingredients

These ingredients are indicative, and will be used to prepare between 15 and 20 units of churros (depending on their size):

• 10 g of butter (a dessert teaspoon)
• 250 ml of water
• 150 gr of wheat flour
• Oil (ideally sunflower, seed or mild olive) (the amount of oil required is high, about half a liter)
• Sugar
• Salt

Recipe Steps

Once we have the ingredients, we can start preparing our churros. For it, follow the steps below on how to make churros.

1. Put the water on medium heat

The first step will be to put the water (250 ml) in a saucepan. We also add the teaspoon of butter and a pinch of salt. We put it over medium heat.

2. Prepare a bowl of flour

On the other hand, we prepare a bowl with the wheat flour (150 gr). To add it to the bowl, but, we previously passed it through a strainer. This will prevent it from clumping.

3. Mix the water and the flour

The third step will be to wait for the water to start to boil. When this happens, we will pour it over the flour and mix it well (with a spoon, for example). We will mix until we get a more or less homogeneous dough, ideally without lumps of flour.

4. Let the dough rest

The fourth step on how to make churros is as follows: we will let the previous dough rest, between 15 and 20 minutes. We will do this so that its temperature decreases.

5. Incorporate the dough into a pastry bag / churrera

Once the 15-20 minutes have elapsed, we put the dough in a pastry bag or in a churrera. If we opt for the pastry bag, it must be strong enough (for example, thin plastic ones break more easily).

Ideally, the sleeve has a star-shaped nozzle (to make the shape of the churros). One tip to prevent the dough from coming out is to pinch the sleeve behind the nozzle. On the other hand, we must compact the sleeve well to avoid air remaining in the dough.

6. Press the churrera / pastry bag

Little by little we are making the churros with the pastry bag (if we have opted for this option), or with the churrera.

How do we do it? Pressing the sleeve or the churrera gently and leaving the result on the paper (which can be oven or vegetable). We try to prevent the churros from sticking together. If we need to cut them, we can simply use scissors.

7. Put the churros in oil

The next step to make churros is to put plenty of oil in a saucepan. We put it over medium-high heat. Ideally, the oil should reach approximately 170-180º (avoiding smoking, as this would imply that the churros have burned).

To check the temperature, we can introduce a piece of dough into the oil; If it browns very quickly, we lower the heat, and if it takes time to get painful, we raise the temperature a little. If the temperature is not high enough, the churros can become very oil-soaked.

8. Fry the churros

The next step will be to gradually introduce the churros into the saucepan. After about 2 minutes (per side), and when they acquire color until they get a golden tone, we remove the churros, draining them from the oil. Next, we leave them on a plate (ideally on kitchen paper, so that it absorbs the excess oil).

9. Sprinkle and enjoy

Finally, once drained, hot and on the plate, we can already say that we have our churros ready! We can also, if we wish, sprinkle sugar on top to give them a sweeter flavor.

We can accompany them with hot chocolate (hot chocolate), with hot milk alone, with a coffee with milk... This is already a matter of preferences. Now yes, enjoy!

Some tips on how to make churros

Now we know how to prepare churros. However, so that they are the most delicious and we avoid burning or hurting ourselves, We bring you some tips to apply during its preparation.

1. In relation to the churrera

Ideally, we squeeze the dough well when introducing it into the churrera (keep it compact, avoiding the entry of air). We must be careful with this and prevent the dough from exploding because it may still be hot.

2. In relation to oil

Before placing the churros in the oil, we must ensure that it does not smoke, because then the churros (or us) will burn.

3. In relation to the churros

If we want some crunchy churros, we must get them to be golden brown on the outside. To do this, we can assess the temperature of the oil, preventing it from burning or becoming too oily (with lower temperatures). The ideal is a medium / high heat, about two minutes on each side of the churro.