How To Make Heart Shaped Churros
I have wanted to make churros for forever! I’ve been putting it off for far too long! Why? Well I never deep fry anything; I don’t have a fryer & frankly deep frying scares me a little.
What made me finally make them? My niece of course! She tried her first Churro last year & loved them. I knew she would because she’s crazy over all things cinnamon & sugar like me. We were at Downtown Disney last month & if you’ve ever been to Disneyland or Disney World then you know they sell the best looking churros on every corner practically. Anyways she got one of course. Then I started thinking I could make those. When I told her we could make homemade ones she was super excited. Ever since that moment she begged me to make them for her so I finally caved & made them. But not before doing tons & tons of research because I wanted mine to be awesome. I’m really excited to share this recipe with you because I think they are just as good as the Disney churros!
With Valentine’s Day coming up I decided to make heart shaped ones. I’m kind of obsessed with heart shaped recipes this month in case you can’t tell. ;) Now I couldn’t find anywhere on the internet on how it was done so I’m posting some of the steps so you can easily make them.
I tried a large open star tip & a closed star tip. The closed star tip worked the best for hearts (the open star worked best for sticks). When I used the open star tip they didn’t hold their shape very well. You can use a Wilton 2D tip or an Ateco 852 tip I have both. I used the Ateco 852 but the Wilton 2D is almost the same size.
I’m not going to lie. The dough is really thick! You’re going to have to put a little muscle into it to squeeze the dough out but if I can do it then I have confidence that you can to. I’m pretty scrawny. ;) I used Wilton disposable decorating bags which I love because I can throw them away when I’m done with them, it makes cleaning up a lot easier. You also want to wait a good 10-15 minutes for the dough to cool down before you place it in the piping bag or it will be too hot to work with.
I think the trick is to pipe the dough out onto a baking sheet, parchment paper, or baking mat while the oil is heating up. The dough will hold its shape as it sits & it makes it so much easier to work with. To make the heart shape I piped out two 5-6” strips of dough using the Ateco 852 Closed star tip. I snipped the ends with scissors. Then I lightly pinched the two pieces together at the top, made a heart shape, & lightly pinched the dough together at the bottom.
Then I used a spatula to transfer it into the hot oil.
I found that 350 degree oil worked the best for me. Once the oil got to the right temperature I was able to keep the burner on Medium heat. I used a candy thermometer which was super helpful. It took 8-10 minutes for the oil to heat up. Then when I cooked each churro they were done in less than 5 minutes. I only cooked 2 at a time; my sauce pan wasn’t very big. You have to be careful that they don’t stick together. I used a slotted spoon to push them apart a few times.
I used a slotted spoon to remove them when they were lightly golden brown. Next I put them on a paper towel then quickly transferred them to the cinnamon & sugar mix to coat them. (If you don’t do it while they are warm it doesn’t stick as well).
I made half a batch of hearts & half a batch of churro sticks. If you want to make sticks instead of heart shapes the Wilton 1M open star tip worked really well. They were crisp on the outside & soft inside. Well that’s it; I think I’ve shared all my tips with you on how to make the perfect heart shaped churros!
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- Oil for frying (enough to fill your saucepan to 2”)
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- For the Coating:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Combine water, sugar, salt, & oil in a saucepan on stove top. Bring to boil & remove from heat. Add flour & stir until all the flour is incorporated.
- Set aside & wait about 10-15 minutes for it to cool down.
- Prepare cinnamon & sugar mix for coating (I used a pie plate).
- Also have a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil.
- Fill a medium sized saucepan with 2” of vegetable oil. If you have a candy thermometer clip it to your sauce pan. Heat oil for frying to 350 degrees. (If you don't have a thermometer you can test the oil by putting a small piece of dough in, if it starts to brown in a minute or two it should be hot enough. I used a medium heat setting once the oil had reached 350 degrees).
- Fill your pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the dough (I put half the dough into the bag).
- While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up pipe out 5-6” strips of dough onto parchment paper or a non-stick mat.
- Scoop up your dough with a metal spatula & add to oil when it’s hot. Fry for about 2-4 minutes or until it’s starting to turn light golden brown around the edges (you may need to flip it once). Remove with slotted spatula or spoon. Place on paper towels to drain & then transfer to cinnamon & sugar mix & roll to coat or use a spoon & sprinkle it over the churro.
Some people like to dip their churros in a caramel sauce or a chocolate sauce. Here’s a caramel recipe: Easy Caramel Sauce
Here is a recipe for Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
-Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate melts.
(page contains amazon affiliate links)
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
I shy away from deep frying, too, but there are few times it’s worth it! Your churros look scrumptious!!
Thanks!
I’ve been putting this off for a while too! I need to just do it. I love the heart shapes of these.
You should definitely do it! It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Thanks!
These look so awesome! I must admit I might get stressed out piping the dough and frying it, but it would be so worth it. I love these :)
Thanks Megan!
These are so cute! Deep frying totally intimidates too, but your step by step instructions seriously makes it look doable! I definitely have to try!
Thanks Michelle! I’d love to hear how they turn out for you if you try them!
These are so festive!! And fabulous. I am such a sucker for churros!
Me too! :) Thanks Joanne!
My middles came out uncooked. I don’t have a frosting tip so I just cut the tip off a ziplock bag. They were pretty thin and I used a thermometer for the right tempature. Should I have cooked them longer than 4 minutes. The color was a golden brown. I just didn’t want to burn them.
Hi Analicia, I’m sorry to here the middles were under cooked. A star tip really helps to make them thinner & cook faster because of the shape. If your not using a star tip then they probably need to be cooked a couple minutes longer & if you have a candy thermometer that really helps so you can keep the oil temp. steady.
hi they look love ly will be my first try how long will they keep whant to do them for a market
Hi Riette, They are best eaten when they are still warm since they are a deep fried food.
It was really hard to pipe. We went through all of our piping bags trying to pipe this out. I think it was to thick. Any suggestions?
The dough is thick but I’ve never had a bag break on me. I use Wilton brand bags. Did you use a Ateco 852 tip or Wilton 2D? Having a large tip helps to push the dough out easier. Also did you let the dough cool completely before placing it in the bag? The only things I can think of that would make the bag break are the brand of bags used, the size of the tip, and if the dough was cool enough.