I love churros!
Although originally from Spain, they are a very popular treat in much of South America, including in Brazil. The difference is that in Brazil they are not dipped in chocolate sauce but rather are stuffed inside with either a chocolate sauce filling or with other filling flavors such as guava sauce, dulce de leche, etc. They are often sold and enjoyed as a dessert snack on the streets, at mall quiosks, or in cafés.
Churros have come to be one of my children’s favorite snacks. They love their mild sweetness and, of course, their delicious crunchiness. Besides being economical and a real crowd-pleaser, they are perfect to eat with a cup of milk – just like cookies.
To make these Spanish doughnuts tastier, I have added vanilla bean to the original recipe. Since they are filled with chocolate sauce (Brazilian-style) instead of dipped in it (Spanish-style), I am categorizing these churros as Brazilian Inspired.
I hope you enjoy them with a good cup of café com leite (café au lait).
xx
Vanilla Bean Churros filled with Chocolate Sauce
Yield: 16 churros
Segment: Brazilian Cuisine (Inspired)
For the churros:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 vanilla bean pod, split in half lengthwise*
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 quarters (about 2 liters) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar to roll the churros in
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A pinch of ground nutmeg*
- Chocolate sauce (recipe follows)
* These ingredients are not part of the original recipe. They can be omitted if desired.
These churros –when not filled with the chocolate sauce — are both dairy-free and vegetarian. You can fill them with a berry sauce instead.
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar, salt, and oil. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the pot with a small spoon, and then add the scraped-out pod to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir, and remove from heat. Remove the split vanilla bean pod and discard. Mix in the flour for about 30 seconds until it forms a ball of dough.
2. In a fryer, heat oil to 375 F (190 degrees C). Put the dough in a churrero or a piping bag with a large star tip attached. Twist and close the bag. Hold the bag or the churrero upright and straight over the hot oil fryer (so the churros come out straight), then squeeze out an appropriate length of dough (the length of the churros should be slightly longer than the index finger of the hand, approximately 9 cm). After it is squeezed out, separate each churro from the piping bag using a sharp knife and let drop straight into the hot oil.
3. Fry the churros until golden brown, turning occasionally to achieve an uniform color on all sides (do not fry more than 4 or 5 churros at a time because the temperature of the fryer will decrease and this will adversely affect the final product). Remove the churros from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and place on a shallow baking pan lined with paper towels to drain. If you have used a piping bag, the churros won’t have a hole. Let them cool a bit and hold the churros upright; then, make a central hole lengthwise from the top almost through to the bottom using a wood skewer. Pass the churros in the cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar mixture to coat while they are still warm. Place the chocolate sauce in a plastic bottle with a fine tip and pipe the sauce into the hole in the churros. Serve warm. Enjoy!!!
For the Chocolate sauce:
Yield: About 3/4 cup
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3-1/2 ounces (99 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate in a glass bowl. Let stand for about 30-40 seconds. Add butter and whisk the mixture well until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Place into a plastic bottle with a fine tip. Pipe into the churros while still warm.
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I love churros! Such an amazing dessert.
Thanks, Natalie! I agree with you…I made 16 of them and they disappeared quickly.
These things are so good! I love your version stuffed with chocolate, who doesn’t loved stuffed things especially with chocolate! Yum.
Nazneen xx
Thanks, Nazneen!!!
My family and I love churros. These filled ones are very Brazilian-style…
Ummmm…churros…I like churros so much, as well as my son and my husband. Here in peru are very popular, and we have different sizes, the ones that are not filled are smaller so you can dip into hot chocolate, and big ones that are filled with chocolate souce, manjarblanco (dulce de leche) and “crema pastelera”..
Churros filled with chocolate, dulce de leche, guava sauce, or leche condensada, etc are the way that we eat in Brazil.
They are so delicious… Thanks for stopping by, Nydia! Have a happy Valentine’s day! xx
Beautiful churros! I love them and I always get them while in Disneyland. Your chocolate sauce version is fantastic looking.
Thanks, Lokness!
In Brazil, we eat churros filled with chocolate, guava sauce, dulce de leche, etc instead of plain or dipped in a sauce.
I have added vanilla bean to the original recipe making them tastier…
What a luscious treat for your family! I have not had the pleasure of tasting a homemade churro and am fixated on the chocolate sauce! A lovely post!
Thanks, Deb!
Churro is one of my family’s favorite treats. My children cannot have enough of it.
I have to confess that neither can I.
We love our churros here in southern Arizona too!
You have an amazing collection of recipes! I’ll be back often.
Nice to ‘meet’ you on Google+
Thanks a lot for having welcomed me on Google and visiting me here, Gwen!!!
I do appreciate a lot. Anytime that you want to visit me here, you are very welcome.
Wishing you a happy V-day!
Oh Denise…I remeber the churros recheados from Brasil…and I could never find it here
Yours look awesome…I so wish I lived near you so I could steal some of this beauties.
Hope you are enjoying your week and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks a lot, Juliana! Your visits always make me happy.
I wish we live near each other b/c I’d love to invite you to eat churros accompanied by our cafezinho brasileiro.
Wishing you a very happy V-day!!! xx
I love the chocolate sauce, these churros look impossible to resist!
Thanks, Laura! I am glad that you like the churros with chocolate sauce.
Your visits make me happy…
These churros are such cute little desserts! Love their shape.
Thanks, Julia! My family is crazy for them…
Oh Denise, just love your chocolate filled version. Here in Southern California we had only plain chrurros dusted with cinnamon sugar. Have to try your recipe soon!
Thanks both Judit and Corina! I do hope you try this recipe…This is the way that we eat churros in Brazil. We fill them with chocolate sauce, dulce de leche, guava sauce, or sweetened condensed milk, etc instead of having them plain or dipped in a sauce. I love churros so much that I enjoy eating them in any form.
Thanks so much for stopping by!!! Wishing you a great night.