In a small bowl, whisk together½ cup granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon in a medium-sized casserole dish. Set this aside. You'll use this for coating the churros later.
To make the batter: Add 1 cup water, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and 5 Tablespoons salted butter into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Then stir in 1 cup all-purpose flour. You will need to stir this for a minute or so, until it is smooth and thickened. It will start to pull away from the pan and almost look like play dough.
Transfer the thickened batter to a large bowl and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Once the churro batter has cooled some, use a hand mixer to beat 1 egg into the batter until well combined.
While the batter is cooling, pour 4-6 cups vegetable oil for frying into a large pot to use for deep frying. You want the oil to be about 2 inches deep.
I highly recommend starting your oil on medium heat and using a candy thermometer to check the temperature to make sure it heats to around 350 - 360 degrees fahrenheit. This is important because if the oil gets too hot, you will quickly fry the outside of the churro but the inside will not cook fully and you will end up with a burnt outside and gooey, undercooked middle.
Place a paper towel on a plate next to the pot for draining the churros later.
Place the churro dough into a piping bag with a star or flower tip. This batter is VERY thick. You must use a sturdy piping bag - see my notes below.
Pipe churros into 4-5 inch long ropes, directly into the hot oil, using scissors to cut the batter. Don't overfill the pot or they won't cook evenly - work in batches. I find it helps if you have someone helping with this part if possible.
It should take about 5 minutes to fully cook. Turn them once during cooking to make sure both sides get browned evenly.
Immediately as you remove each churro from the oil, roll it quickly on the paper towel. Then place it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, toss to coat, and place it on a cooling rack.
Continue with the rest of the churros. Serve immediately with caramel and/or chocolate sauce.
Video
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) for the answers to the most common questions.
Important note: You need to have a sturdy piping bag for this. I don’t recommend using a plastic baggie or thin disposable piping bags. The batter is almost the consistency of play dough, it's very thick so it will easily bust a thin piping bag when trying to push the batter through the piping tip. A reusable, silicone piping bag is really best (I learned that the hard way!)
Please note: the video text is wrong. You need to allow the pastry batter to cool BEFORE adding the egg.
You can easily double this recipe to have more on hand or keep for later.
These can be frozen, see my tips on how to do that.
Use a candy thermometer to make sure that you maintain a consistent temperature. Or use an electric fryer.