Pumpkin Churros – Pumpkin choux dough is fried up in hot oil and then tossed in cinnamon sugar.
Churros are one of those treats that taste incredible homemade. They aren’t dried out from being in a warmer all day, like they tend to be at amusement parks. When they are fresh from the fryer, they are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
I made this classic version with Mexican chocolate sauce a few years back. Now it’s time to pumpkin-fy these beauties! Other than the pumpkin puree substituted for water and a few spices added, the process is almost identical to making my classic one.
Making the pumpkin churro dough
The churro dough is a wet dough made from water, pumpkin puree, spices, butter, flour, and eggs. It’s the same dough used in cream puffs and eclairs, but instead of baking, the dough gets fried.
A key distinction between churro dough and bread doughs is the wetness of the dough. It’s too wet to handle by hand so it gets piped into it’s shape before it’s dropped into the oil. You can also pipe the dough straight into the oil.
Frying the churros
For these churros, we first pipe the dough onto parchment paper. Each rectangle of parchment hold 4 strips of piped churro dough. Then, gently lay the parchment into the hot oil to let the churros fry for about 30 seconds and then remove the parchment paper from the oil. it gets fried for about 2 minutes per side and then removed to drain off the excess oil.
Finally, the churros are tossed in cinnamon sugar and served warm.
Tips & Tricks
- Shape them ahead of time. To make the churros uniform in size, I shape the dough on parchment and then place in the hot oil. If you don’t care about the shape, you can pipe the dough straight in the oil, either in circles or in strips.
- Cook the full time. The orange color of the dough will trick you into thinking the churros are done sooner than they actually are. Cool them the full time, even if they look ready sooner. Adjust the next batch of churros as needed.
- Monitor oil temp. You really need a thermometer to help monitor the temperature of the oil. This is the one I have and it’s been pretty great for me. I love that it’s digital.
- Drain on a rack. The worst thing you can do after frying anything is to let it cool without letting the excess oil drain off. I always use a raised cooling rack to ensure the oil has somewhere to go.
Pumpkin Churros
Ingredients
For the churros:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 6 tablespoons butter unsalted, cut into pats
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 quarts canola oil for frying
Instructions
For the churros:
- Measure 4 5.75×8 inch rectangles on parchment paper and cut them to size. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin puree and water together over medium-high heat until it boils. Immediately add all of the flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, all the ginger, cloves, and nutmeg and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir over heat until a dough forms. Remove from heat and transfer dough to a medium bowl to cool down for 3 minutes.
- Once slightly cooled, add 1 egg to dough and stir vigorously until combined into dough. Repeat with rest of eggs, one at a time. In a large Dutch oven, heat about 3 inches of oil over medium heat. Add a candy thermometer to monitor the oil temperature. Once the oil reaches 375°F, it’s ready for frying.
- Transfer mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Spread out all 4 rectangles of parchment paper. Slowly pipe 4 strips of dough onto each rectangle, making sure to keep the strips about 1 inch away from eachother. Repeat on all rectangles of parchment.
- Slowly place one rectangle with piped dough into hot oil. Place another right next to it. Do not add more than 1 at a time. Let the dough cook with the parchment for 30 seconds or until you can gently slide off the parchment. Discard parchment paper. Keep cooking for 2 minutes, flip, and cook for 2 minutes longer. Monitor the oil temperature to ensure it doesn’t go lower than 350°F or higher than 385°F. Remove the cooked churros and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat the process until all the dough has been fried.
- Place the sugar to a shallow bowl and mix with remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Toss the churros to coat in the cinnamon sugar, no more than 2 at a time. Serve warm.
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I’ve never made churros before, but this pumpkin version looks absolutely amazing! I just want to reach through the screen and grab one. These would be so much fun to make for Halloween! Eternalwigs
I love churros but pumpkin churros….even better! A delicious fall treat!
I’ve never made churros before but this pumpkin variation is right up my alley! Looks sooo good! I want to reach into my screen and grab one. I think these would be so much fun to make for Halloween!
These churros sound amazing for my Fall baking. I plan to make them for Thanksgiving dessert as something different than all the classics.
These were easy to make, delicious, and my kids loved helping to make them so it was a win all around. Since I didn’t have nutmeg or cloves, I used a pumpkin spice blend I had in the pantry and they came out wonderful.
Oh my these sound heavenly!’ Pumpkin churros? Now that’s Fall in a nutshell!
These were amazing! I LOVE churros and adding pumpkin and all the spices was a brilliant idea! I definitely should’ve made a double batch.
I’ve always wondered how to make churros at home, and now I know it 😉 Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe!
How gorgeous are these!!?? I love how tasty they are and the flavor is irresistible. Total winner here! Adding these to my Halloween menu.
These pumpkin churros were everything! I loved how crisp they were and the family loved that they weren’t the same boring old churro recipe.
I love this idea for pumpkin churros! It’s such a creative idea. My husband is obsessed with churros, so i can’t wait to make this for him!
I love churros and pumpkin so I’m definitely going to love these
I love the pumpkin and cinnamon sugar together. And you’re right! Way better homemade
Never tried using pumpkin as churros! Just in time for Halloween, kids will love this!
Delicious and flavourful treats. Adding pumpkin to churros was brilliant
Love this pumpkin spin on churros! Perfect for the fall time.
Woo hoo! Just when I thought I’d had everything pumpkin possible, I found this. I can’t wait to make these.
Oh this recipe is really interesting! I love churros and I love pumpkin, so is a win win situation. Can’t wait to try it, I’ll let you know how they turned out and maybe send you a picture…if there’s some leftovers of course ^^
I’m making these pumpkin churros asap! I love everything, pumpkin, and your recipes always rock, so I cannot wait to fry these cuties!
Yes please, I just love pumpkin treats. These look so amazing!