Air Fryer Churros Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Make your own churros at home using this pate a choux dough and cinnamon sugar. These are cooked in the air fryer and are healthier than a fried churro!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: curros

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Dorothy Kern

Cost: $5

Equipment

Air Fryer

Ingredients

2 cups (474ml) water
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

COATING

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter , melted
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

Place water, 2 tablespoons softened butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted and stir occasionally until mixture boils.
Turn off the heat and remove pan from the stove. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. A thick paste will form. Make sure to do this off the heat and off the stove, so that the mixture can cool as you stir it.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit 1 minute to cool. Attach the paddle attachment and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (work fast to avoid cooking the eggs). You can also use a large bowl with a hand mixer but work fast.
Place the churro batter in a large pastry bag fitted with a star or 1M tip.
Pipe churros in desired size and shapes straight onto the air fryer basket. (This recipe makes approximately 60 3-inch long churros or 25 7-inch long churros.) If the dough sticks to the tip you can use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut the dough at the piping tip.
Spray the churros with nonstick cooking spray. This will help them brown.
Air fry them at 375°F until golden-brown, depending on size this will take about 10 minutes depending on your air fryer. Watch the first batch to make sure they don't burn and so you'll know how long they take to cook.
Stir together sugar and cinnamon while the churros are frying. Toss hot churros in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve right after frying for best taste.

Notes

This recipe has been changed from the original due to issues. The new recipe has been tested multiple times and is slightly adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Storing and making ahead: Churro dough can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator, but dough needs to come to room temperature to pipe easily. These are best served immediately while hot – they will soften as they cool. If you want to make them ahead of time, don’t coat them. Air fry to crisp them up and coat with cinnamon sugar right before serving.

To avoid the “eggy” taste you must: Make sure to remove your pan from the heat before mixing in flour. This will cool off the dough enough that you will avoid cooking the eggs. Transfer to mixing bowl and allow to sit for 1 minute. Mix in the eggs quickly, so that they do not cook.

Nutrition