If you like chocolate, you’ll love these baked chocolate churros. They’re soft on the inside bluet crispy on the outside with a sugary cinnamon coating.
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What makes these churros con chocolate so good?
While I do love hot fried churros from the street vendors, it's hard to beat a batch of homemade churros! I prefer to bake own churros since I personally don't like the fuss of hot oil, a deep fryer, or a candy thermometer. It's SO much simpler and makes clean up a breeze.
These churros y chocolate are extra special though because they have double the chocolate. The churro itself is packed with chocolate flavor and coated in a chocolate cinnamon sugar mixture, but the rich chocolate sauce on the side takes it to a whole new level! It's like a fudgy brownie in churro form.
Prefer the classic churro? Check out my vegan and gluten free baked churros too!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - this is melted into the water and provided the churros with moisture. Coconut oil or dairy free butter will also work.
- Sugar - a little white sugar is used in the dough and then some is used as the coating. Coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener can be used as well.
- Flour - this is the base of the churro dough. You can substitute with gluten free 1:1 flour or a combination of almond flour and tapioca flour (see below section for details)
- Cacao - this is how we add that deep chocolate flavor in these choco churros. Cocoa powder will work too.
How to make this churros recipe gluten free
This recipe is made with all purpose flour but you can also substitute with the same amount of gluten free 1:1 flour or use 1 cup almond flour and ¼ cup tapioca flour to make gluten free churros.
How to make chocolate churros
You will need a small saucepan for the dough and a piping bag with a large star piping tip to pipe the churros onto a baking sheet.
Step 1 : Heat the water with the butter and sugar
Combine water, butter, and sugar to a sauce pan or pot and heat over medium heat until it reaches a rolling boil. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula to prevent burning.
Step 2 : Stir in the flours
Reduce the stove to low heat and add in the flour and cacao powder. Stir into the liquid. until the flour is well incorporated. The dough will look sticky and spongy which is okay. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
Step 3 : Add the egg and vanilla
Add the egg and vanilla to the bowl with the dough and mix with a hand mixer or with a spatula. Mix well until the egg is fully incorporated and soft dough is formed.
Step 4 : Pipe onto baking pan
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with the dough. Place some parchment paper down on a baking pan and pipe long churro strips about 6 - 8 inches long onto the sheet. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to snip the end of the churro.
Bake in the oven until the edges begin to turn a darker brown.
Step 5 : Toss in sugar coating
While the churros are baking, mix together the sugar, cacao, and cinnamon in a shallow bowl until the sugar turns a light brown color.
Once the churros are done, immediately place them, one-by-one in the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Use a spoon or your hands to roll each churro in the coating well. Place in a basket or tray and repeat with remaining churros.
Step 6 : Prepare the chocolate dipping sauce
When ready to serve your fresh churros, melt some chocolate and coconut oil in a small bowl in the microwave in 10 second intervals. Stir well with a spoon and repeat until the chocolate is thin and runny.
How to serve
Churros are traditionally best served warm. If needed, you can warm them up slightly in the microwave. Serve the melted chocolate sauce in a small bowl alongside the churros and enjoy.
Storing recommendations
Make sure the churros have cooled all the way before storing. It's best store churros for later without the cinnamon sugar coating. This allows you to warm them up again and then coat with the sugar mixture so they taste super fresh!
Place the cooled churros in an airtight container with a paper towel on the bottom. The paper towel helps to keep the moisture in the container. Store the container at room temperature out on the counter (they will stiffen up in the fridge).
When ready to enjoy, heat the churros in a toaster oven or in a preheated oven (350 F) for 2 - 3 minutes until warm. Toss in the cinnamon sugar coating and enjoy!
Tools needed to make this recipe
Churros are a lot simpler to make than you might think, especially if you bake them instead of frying. Here is what you need:
- Saucepan to boil the liquids
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon for mixing
- Large separate bowl to mix in the egg
- Hand or stand mixer
- Piping bag with a large star tip
- Baking sheet with parchment paper
- Shallow bowl for the sugar coating
Frequently asked questions
No, traditional churros are not vegan due to the butter and egg. If you're looking for a vegan recipe, check out my vegan and gluten free churro recipe.
Both! A good churro should be soft and chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Spanish churros are typically coated in a simple sugar coating while Mexican churros usually have cinnamon as well.
For more chocolate desserts, check out my:
PS : If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star review and comment below! Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on all tasty recipes here at The Fit Peach!
Recipe
Easy Baked Chocolate Churros
Ingredients
For the churros
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoon butter - sub with oil or dairy free butter if needed
- 1 tablespoon sugar - sub with coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener if needed
- ½ cup flour - see notes for gluten free alternative
- 2 tablespoon cacao powder - cocoa powder will work too
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the coating
- ¼ cup sugar - sub with coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener if needed
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder - cocoa powder will work too
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the chocolate dipping sauce
- ¼ cup dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Add the water, butter, and sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to prevent burning.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the flour and cacao powder to the saucepan. Stir well to incorporate the flour. It’s okay if a few clumps remain. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the bowl and mix well with a hand or stand mixer or use a spatula to incorporate. The dough should be soft and somewhat sticky.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with the dough. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and pipe long churros about 6 - 8 inches long onto the sheet. You should be able to get 2 rows of 8 churros on a large baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 19 - 21 minutes until the edges of the churros turn a dark brown.
- While the churros are baking, prepare the cinnamon sugar coating. Use a shallow bowl or plate and mix together the sugar, cacao powder, and cinnamon until the white sugar turns a light brown color. Right as the churros are coming out of the oven and still hot, place each one into the shallow bowl and coat with the mixture. Repeat with all the churros until all of them are coated.
- In a separate small bowl, heat the dark chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave for 10 second intervals until the chocolate is melted and thin and runny. Pour the melted chocolate into a small bowl.
- Serve the churros warm with the side of melted chocolate and enjoy!
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