Churros Recipe {Disney Copycat} - Belly Full (2024)

Published: March 25, 2021Author: Amy

The ever popular Disney Churros are easy to make at home with only a handful of pantry ingredients! Light and tender on the inside, with a crispy outside, and coated in cinnamon-sugar, they are the absolute best treat!

Other Mexican desserts we love include our Tres Leches Cake and Sopapilla Cheesecake.

What is a Churro?

Churros are a deep fried pastry made from an unsweetened dough, coated in cinnamon-sugar. They can be made long and thin or short and thick, always with distinctive grooves from end to end, resembling a cruller donut.

They’re super popular in Mexico and all across the United States, and especially all over the Disneyland Parks where long lines form just to get your hands on one.

Disney Churro Recipe

Even if you’re unable to go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of their iconic foods. We make their Dole Whip and this Churros recipe all year round, we love them so much.

While they might look intimidating to make, churros are fairly easy. Here are the items you’ll need:

• Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
• Wet ingredients: water, whole milk, eggs, unsalted butter, and vanilla.
• For frying: vegetable oil.

Tips for the Best Homemade Churros

Here are a few tips to make sure your churros are perfect!

• Cool the dough before adding in the eggs: If you add the eggs to the hot dough, it could scramble them. Transferring the hot dough from the pot to a bowl and beating for a couple minutes with an electric mixer helps cool it down. It’s also best to use cold eggs, which will help cool down the dough.
• Shaping them: Classic churros are made using a star piping tip, which helps achieve those crisp edges. We use a large open star Ateco 829. If you don’t have a piping tip, simply use a plastic bag with one of the corner tips cut off. It won’t look the same, but will still taste delicious. We prefer 3-inch churros, but if you want that real authentic Disney park experience, cut the dough into much longer strips (but not too long or they won’t fit in your pan.)
• Proper oil temperature: Try to keep the oil temperature at 360 degrees F – lower than that and the churros might be soggy, but too much higher you run the risk of them burning on the outside before the inside is cooked. A candy thermometer is the best way to control it. If you don’t have a thermometer, keep your stovetop burner set to medium-medium high heat and adjust if necessary.
• Pay attention to the color as they fry: Having the right oil temperature is important, but so are your eyes! Use the golden brown color as a guide to let you know when each side is done.
• Fry only a few at a time: Adding too many churros to the oil will lower the temperature of the oil, so only fry 4 to 5 at a time.
• Drain the churros on paper towels: Let the churros drain on paper towels for about 10-15 seconds before you add them to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. The sugar will clump if you add them while still wet and oily. On the other hand, if you let them dry completely on the paper towels, the sugar won’t stick very well.

How to Make Churros

Here is a brief summary. Scroll below to the detailed printable card for the complete recipe and don’t miss the video for visual help!

1. Make the dough: Combine the ingredients for the dough in a medium saucepan. Let the mixture melt and come to a rolling boil, stirring frequently. Then, reduce heat to low. Add in flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until incorporated and the mixture forms a thick, smooth ball and appears to dry out.
2. Cool down the dough: Immediately transfer dough to a large bowl and beat on medium speed with a hand mixer for a couple minutes to cool the mixture slightly.
3. Beat in eggs: Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until fully combined. It should appear smooth and creamy.
4. Transfer dough to a piping bag: Spoon dough into a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (we used an Ateco 829.)
5. Heat oil: Add 2 inches of oil to a large skillet and heat until a temperature of 360 degrees F is reached. Holding the pastry tip close to the oil to prevent splashing, carefully pipe 3-inch strips of dough over the skillet, cutting the end with kitchen scissors, and drop into the hot oil. Repeat until churro bites fill skillet without over-crowding. Fry churros until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side, turning with tongs, as necessary.
6. Drain on paper towels: Transfer churros to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain for about 15 seconds.
7. Combine cinnamon and sugar: In a medium shallow bowl, whisk together cinnamon and sugar.
8. Dust with the cinnamon-sugar: Toss to coat in the cinnamon-sugar while they’re still warm.
9. Enjoy! Serve these right away while they’re warm and crispy.

How to Store Churros

• To Store: As with any deep fried food, it’s best to serve these homemade churros right away while they’re warm and crispy. That said, if you have any leftover (not likely! HA.) make sure they’ve cooled completely, then store in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• To Freeze: You can also freeze them by placing on a baking sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freeze-safe plastic bag. They’ll keep up to 1 month.
• To Reheat: To bring them back to life a bit, you can place them on a baking sheet and pop them in a 400 degree F oven for about 10 minutes. If frozen, allow them to thaw first.
• Make Ahead: you can make the dough up to 1 day ahead. Keep it stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, then bring it back to room temperature before frying.

Churros Recipe Video

Dip the Churros!

Churros are so good simply dusted in cinnamon-sugar, but if you want to take them up another notch, dip them in these:

• Chocolate Sauce
• Caramel Sauce
• Raspberry Sauce
• Whipped Cream

I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onFacebook,Instagram,Pinterest, andYouTube!