There’s good reason certain confections like tres-leches-ish rice pudding and homemade churros are popular Latin American desserts. Aside from their cinnamon-sugar coating, churros are commonly revered for their crisp yet chewy texture. However, preparing the dough and frying these treats one by one requires a lot of effort. Luckily, you can make whole batches of delightfully crunchy churros in an oven or air fryer.
While you can still save leftover tortillas to make sweet and easy snacks, who knew homemade churros can be made without a pan full of oil? Simply prepare any standard churro recipe by combining the majority of your dough over the stove. Then, use an open-star piping tip and pipe the churros evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
To ensure these authentic delights come out nice and crispy, place an additional pan with one cup of boiling water on the lowest rack of your oven during baking. The water makes your oven a moist and steamy environment. Thus, the insides of your churros cook perfectly before their exterior hardens and dries. Bake your churros at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for no longer than 25 minutes. Once they finish baking, feel free to turn off your oven and leave them inside for an additional minute or two. The extra oven time gives the churros a crispier exterior.
How to make churros in an air fryer
Aside from your oven, an air fryer is another sufficient appliance you can use to make churros. Thanks to an air fryer’s convection-style heating system, air circulates throughout the cooking process, which in turn makes your food extra crispy.
To make churros in an air fryer, follow the same recipe and directions for the oven method until your churros have been piped evenly onto a lined baking sheet. From there, either refrigerate the entire baking sheet for an hour or place it in your freezer for 30 minutes. The rest time in a cold environment firms up the texture of your churros and makes them easier to transfer to your fryer basket. Once successfully transferred, add a bit of cooking oil with a fryer-safe spray bottle or pastry brush. This small amount of oil helps your churros develop a crunchy, golden-brown exterior. Cook the churros for up to 12 minutes between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Whether you prepare these crunchy delights in your air fryer or your oven, while they’re still hot, roll the churros in a decent amount of cinnamon sugar. Serve these tasty confections with melted chocolate, Nutella, or caramel sauce. Believe it or not, you can even use maple syrup to turn olive oil into a delicious caramel topping.
