Pumpkin spice adds festive fall flavor to homemade fried churros. Served with a rich chocolate dipping sauce, these pumpkin spice churros are dangerously addicting!
Jump to:
I've been wanting to learn how to make churros for a while now, and this recipe is a total winner. Churros - like all fried foods - do take a little bit of time to prepare, but I think you'll be surprised by how uncomplicated homemade churros are to make.
These churros inspired by the classic Spanish dessert but they include a special ingredient: pumpkin spice! I love all of the pumpkin spice treats this time of year but wanted to make something a little bit out of the ordinary. So many of you have told me that you love classic recipes with a fun twist, so I decided to put a fun fall spin a traditional Spanish dessert to create these pumpkin spice churros!
Like any good churro, you'll find that these pumpkin spice churros have a perfectly crisp outside with a deliciously chewy inside for a perfect blend of texture in every bite. Unlike traditional churros, which are rolled in cinnamon sugar, pumpkin spice churros are rolled in a mixture of pumpkin spice and sugar for extra spiced flavor. Plus, we'll add some pumpkin spice to the dough, too! Lastly, we'll dip the churros in a creamy chocolate sauce before serving. The sweet-spiced coating on the churros pairs beautifully with the rich chocolate flavor. The recipe makes 40 small pumpkin spice churros, which sounds like a lot, but I could easily have eaten them all in one sitting!
How to Make Churros from Scratch
- First, prepare the pumpkin spice sugar topping by combining granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a shallow dish. Set this aside for later.
- Next, prepare the churro dough. Combine water, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil before reducing the heat. Add flour and pumpkin pie spice and stir until dough forms and comes together. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Once the dough has cooled slightly, add the egg and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a star piping tip (I recommend using Wilton 1M).
- Now it's time to fry the churros! Heat vegetable oil to 350°F. (Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of your oil, and adjust the heat as necessary while cooking to maintain an oil temperate of 350°F.) Carefully pipe the dough into the oil in 4-inch strips. Cook the churros until they're golden brown, about 4 minutes, carefully turning them with fry tongs so that they brown evenly on all sides.
- Quickly blot the cooked churros on a paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess oil before rolling the hot churros in the pumpkin spice-sugar mixture, then place the coated churros on a wire cooling rack.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough until all churros are cooked and coated with the pumpkin spice sugar.
- To make the chocolate dipping sauce, place the chocolate in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan, then add it to a heat-proof bowl with chopped chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
- Serve the churros immediately, while still warm, with the chocolate dipping sauce.
Be sure to read the recipe all the way through before beginning, because I do recommend some special tools for making this recipe. You'll want to use a star-shaped piping tip and piping bags for shaping the churros, and I recommend a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of your oil when frying. (The products linked here are the ones that I used and recommend.) Also, be sure to read the notes at the end of the recipe for some additional suggestions and tips!
Troubleshooting Homemade Churros
Your churros should have a nice, crispy outside and a moist (but fully cooked) inside. The temperature of your oil makes a big difference in the texture of your churros.
- If your churros are golden on the outside but underdone on the inside, your oil is too hot, causing the outside to cook quickly without giving the inside a chance to cook properly. In this case, reduce the heat of your oil.
- If your churros are chewy, they need to be cooked a bit longer so that the outside has time to crisp up. You may need to reduce your oil temperature slightly if cooking the churros longer so that the outsides don't burn.
- If your churro is crispy throughout, it's overcooked. Try cooking your churros for a shorter time or reducing the temperature of your oil.
More Fall Dessert Recipes to Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! And don't forget to subscribe to ALWAYS EAT DESSERT for even more baking inspiration and tips.
PrintRecipe
Pumpkin Spice Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: about 50 minutes (about 4 minutes per batch plus time for the oil to heat up)
- Total Time: about 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: about 40 4 inch churros 1x
Description
Pumpkin spice adds festive fall flavor to homemade fried churros. Served with a rich chocolate dipping sauce, these pumpkin spice churros are dangerously addicting!
Ingredients
for the pumpkin spice sugar topping:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
for the churros:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- vegetable oil, for frying
for the chocolate dipping sauce:
- 4 oz. chocolate baking bar (semisweet or bittersweet), chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Prepare the pumpkin spice sugar topping. Add the sugar and pumpkin pie spice to a shallow dish. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Make the churro dough. In a large saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Add flour and pumpkin pie spice and stir continuously with a rubber spatula until dough forms and comes together. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the dough and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed just until the mixture is blended and smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a star piping tip (I recommend using Wilton 1M).
- Fry the churros. In a large skillet with deep sides, add about 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of your oil, and adjust the heat as necessary while cooking to maintain an oil temperate of 350°F.
- Carefully pipe the dough into the oil in 4-inch strips, using a clean pair or scissors to cut the ends of each strip. Cook no more than 5 churros at once so that they don't become overcrowded in the oil. Cook the churros until golden brown, about 4 minutes, carefully turning with fry tongs so that they brown evenly on all sides.
- Coat the churros. Quickly blot the cooked churros on a paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess oil before rolling the hot churros in the pumpkin spice-sugar mixture. It's important to roll the churros in the sugar mixture immediately, while the oil is still hot, so that the sugar sticks to the churros. Place the coated churros on a wire cooling rack.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough until all churros are cooked and coated with the pumpkin spice-sugar.
- Make the chocolate dipping sauce. Place the chocolate in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate and let sit for one minute to let the chocolate melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
- Serve the churros immediately, while still warm, with the chocolate dipping sauce.
Notes
Storage: Churros are best when served fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
You'll want to use a pastry bag or piping bag for this recipe. A plastic storage bag is not a good substitute; it isn't strong enough and is likely to bust open at the seams when you try to pipe the dough. I used Ateco disposable piping bags.
The star-shaped piping tip is not a must, but it will give your churros the classic ridged edges. I used the Wilton 1M piping tip.
Your churros should have a nice, crispy outside and a moist (but fully cooked) inside. The temperature of your oil makes a big difference in the texture of your churros. If your churros are golden on the outside but underdone on the inside, your oil is too hot, causing the outside to cook quickly without giving the inside a chance to cook properly. In this case, reduce the heat of your oil. If your churros are chewy, they need to be cooked a bit longer so that the outside has time to crisp up. You may need to reduce your oil temperature slightly if cooking the churros longer so that the outsides don't burn. If your churro is crispy throughout, it's overcooked. Try cooking your churros for a shorter time or reducing the temperature of your oil.
The chocolate sauce will thicken as it cools, so you'll want to prepare it immediately before serving. If it cools and you'd like to soften it, add ½ tsp. vegetable oil to the mixture and heat (on the stove or in the microwave) very briefly on low heat until the mixture is smooth again.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: Spanish
Keywords: pumpkin spice churros, homemade, from scratch, chocolate dipping sauce
This post was updated in July 2021 to provide an improved user experience.
Leave a Comment