Easy homemade Churros recipe with Vanilla Icing for Dipping Sauce. Cinnamon-sugar coated strips of fried dough dipped in vanilla icing. These simple, homemade churros are crisp on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.
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Churros are typically dipped in chocolate sauce or hot chocolate (Churros con Chocolate) but I'm fond of dipping them in vanilla icing like it's American cousin, the doughnut!
Is Easy Churros with Vanilla Dipping Sauce a shortcut recipe?
The short answer is no, but that doesn't mean they are difficult to make and they are made in a heavy saucepan, not a deep fryer! I do have a shortcut for the icing, though!
Icing shortcut: Melt a 16-ounce tub of vanilla icing in the microwave in a bowl for 30 seconds on HIGH.
Most of my recipes have shortcuts in them and fairly quick and easy. Sometimes, I share recipes that have special meaning from my Southern childhood and in this case, I'm sharing a family tradition of my own.
Some recipes are just worth a little extra time and this is one of them! This recipe still falls under the "easy" but not quick category.
What are churros?
The history seems to be a little fuzzy. Most claim that churros are a Spanish descendant of a Chinese pastry. Others say the Portugese brought them back to Iberia from China where it gained its star-shaped edge and sweetness in Spain. Read more about the history of churros here.
Churros are actually pretty easy to make but I rarely deep fry so it worked out perfectly to use the same pot of oil that I used for the doughnuts the week before. I just let the oil cool, covered it, and put it in the refrigerator until Churro time the next week.
Churros are usually served with a chocolate dipping sauce but my girl loves to dip them (and everything else) in vanilla icing. It was her special summer recipe choice, so what did I do? I made vanilla icing, of course!
Traditions!
I am big on traditions and not just during the holidays. For as long as I can remember, every summer I let my kids pick out something special for me to bake for them. In the summer, I had more time to spend on recipes that typically took longer than others such as cinnamon rolls, cheesecakes, layer cakes, or experimenting on something they've always wanted to try but I'd never made before.
One summer, Grayson chose Homemade Krispy Kreme Copycat Doughnuts and Corinne chose Churros with Vanilla Icing Sauce. I'll have to admit, I was pretty excited about eating both of these!
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Churros with Vanilla Icing for Dipping
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Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup salted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 5 cups shortening or vegetable oil
- Cinnamon Sugar:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine water, sugar, salt, and butter in a medium saucepan. Place over medium high heat until butter is melted; bring to a boil.Remove from heat and add flour all at once, stirring vigorously until all the flour is blended in and the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let cool 4 to 5 minutes.
- Heat shortening or oil to 360° over medium high heat.Prepare cinnamon sugar by combing sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag.Prepare vanilla icing by combining powdered sugar, half and half, and vanilla in a small bowl.
- Meanwhile, add one egg to flour mixture and stir vigorously until egg is incorporated.It will look like the egg is just sliding around but it will incorporate fairly quickly. Add second egg and vanilla and stir vigorously until egg is incorporated. You can do this with a stand mixer, but it’s just more to wash.Spoon dough into a large pastry bag fitted with a large 1M or #4 star tip.
- With your dominant hand, squeeze about a 5-inch rope right over the hot oil. With your other hand cut it off with scissors. Fry 1 to 1 ½ minutes on each side or until lightly browned then flip with tongs. Using your tongs, repeat the process frying 3 or 4 at a time. As you remove them from the oil, let excess oil drain back into the pan.Immediately place the churro into the bag of cinnamon sugar gently tossing to coat.Place the sugar coated churros on wire racks. Serve warm with vanilla icing or achocolate sauce if you prefer the more traditional dipping sauce.
Jessica
These came out excellent. This is my go-to churro recipe from now on.
Kathleen
I'm so glad you loved them! They really are easy to make! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and rating the recipe 5 stars!
Brenda Mcmillen
Churros are a favorite of mine. I will try the vanilla as a dip the next time I make them, which will probably be this weekend.
Kathleen
I love how they are less intimidating and time consuming than yeast donuts!
Leslie Nichole
Mmmmm churros. I love the name of your blog!
gritsandgouda
Thank you! So glad you like it.