Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Churros Recipe
Air fryer churros are lighter than traditional churros thanks to the use of an air fryer (that's right—no deep frying involved in this recipe!). They are crunchy, airy, and dipped in lots of butter and cinnamon sugar!
Ingredients
For the Choux Pastry
- 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, straight from the fridge, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) whole milk, straight from the fridge
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) water
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, straight from the fridge
For the Cinnamon Sugar Churro Coating
- 1 cup (7 ounces or 198 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Equipment
- an air fryer with a wire basket
- cooking spray
- a stand mixer with a paddle attachment
- a piping bag with an open star tip
- kitchen shears
Instructions
For the Air Fryer Churros
- Prep the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 375°F for at least 10 minutes while you make the choux dough. Generously spray the air fryer's wire basket with cooking spray.
- Simmer the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, mixing continuously with a wooden spoon, until the butter melts completely and the mixture is combined. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
- Add the flour and cook until glossy and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the flour all at once. Continue to mix until the mixture has a paste-like consistency, about 2 minutes, then cook over medium heat, mixing quickly and continuously, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean, 1 to 2 minutes. The dough should be glossy and smooth, but not dry.
- Transfer the dough to a stand mixer and beat in the eggs. Use a rubber spatula to immediately scrape the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low for 30 seconds to release some heat, then add the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg only after the previous one has been fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Once the eggs are fully incorporated, increase the mixer to medium-high and beat for an additional 15 seconds.
- Pipe the churros. Use the rubber spatula to scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Use the piping bag to pipe 4 ½ to 5-inch long churros, each between ¼- to ½-inch thick, directly on the air fryer basket, with 1 to 1 ½ inches of space in between each.
- Air fry the churros. Air fry the churros for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Place the air fryer basket on a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool slightly, then transfer the churros with your hands or a stiff metal spatula to the wire rack.
- Make the cinnamon sugar coating and coat the churros. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Pour the melted butter in a shallow bowl. Working quickly, dip a churro into the butter to coat, then place in the bowl with the sugar. Toss to coat and place on a serving plate. Repeat with the remaining churros.
- Serve and store. Serve immediately. The churros are best immediately after assembling, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To re-serve, toast in the air fryer for 5 to 10 minutes until warm and crispy.
Notes
- Save yourself some dishes! For the choux pastry, you can measure out the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt in the saucepan. For the cinnamon sugar topping, melt the butter for the coating in a shallow bowl. No need to dirty any extra dishes!
- The choux dough doesn’t pipe very neatly—that is, the dough likes to stick to the end of the piping tip even when you’re done piping. To prevent this, use kitchen shears or a paring knife to slice off the dough. Don’t pull the piping bag upwards as you do so—that will cause churros to thin out and taper on one end. Simply pipe the churro, hold the piping bag over its end point, slice the dough, then pull the bag up and away. Confused? Don’t worry. This advice will make more sense as you pipe the churros, I promise!
- This recipe instructs you to dip a churro into a bowl full of melted butter, then into a bowl of cinnamon sugar to coat it. As you do so repeatedly, the bowl of cinnamon sugar will start to clump from the butter. It’s annoying. The best way to handle it is to split the cinnamon sugar into smaller batches to prevent the whole thing from clumping. I’d start with about a quarter of the total cinnamon sugar in the bowl, then keep replenishing it with more as it starts to clump. You can also rub your fingers into the sugar to break up any major clumps. Also, if you have food service gloves, now is the time to use them—this step is pretty messy!
- To make the best air fryer churros, work in batches. My air fryer basket could only handle 12 to 14 churros at a time. I ended up making 4 batches total. I’d coat each fresh batch with the cinnamon sugar topping and serve them, before proceeding to pipe new churros and repeat the whole process.
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