Churro cookies combine a simple vanilla cookie dough with a cinnamon sugar coating and a molten chocolate filling. The taste is absolutely reminiscent of a churro dipped in chocolate sauce! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Gourmet Churro Cookies
Inspired by the famous Spanish pastries, my churro cookies are the newest addition to my gourmet cookie collection. While they may require a few more dishes and patience than your average cookie, but they are well worth the extra effort, and I can’t wait for you to try them!
Since churros are often served with a chocolate ganache dipping sauce, I knew I wanted to include that element when developing this recipe. I used the same technique from my chocolate lava cookies and stuffed it inside and the result is oh-so decadent. I mean, just look at that shiny, melty, chocolate center 🤤
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- All the churro flavor without any deep frying! These cookies may involve some chilling and rolling, but there’s absolutely no frying required.
- Huge, gourmet-style look and taste. Bring these churro cookies to a bake sale, and they’ll fly off the table!
- Can be made in advance if you don’t want to do everything at once. I include instructions for how to do this below.
- They make for a great dessert anytime, but especially for Cinco de Mayo or a taco Tuesday 🌮
What You Need
None of these ingredients should surprise you, but I want to highlight a few of the important ones before we start baking.
- Egg + egg yolk. An extra yolk helps enrich the dough to give it something of a choux pastry feel (which is what churros are made of). Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they combine into the dough easily.
- Cinnamon & sugar. Classic churros are rolled through cinnamon and sugar before serving, so that of course that was an essential element for churro cookies in order to have an authentic taste.
- Cornstarch. This prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven and provides a light, tender texture. By adding this stability to the dough, it also helps keep the filling from spilling out of the cookies, which is crucial!
- Vanilla. A hefty pour of vanilla flavors the dough and really adds to that churro flavor. Homemade vanilla extract works well here.
- Chocolate. Use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. I used couverture chocolate in my video, but a chopped baking bar (semisweet or 60%) will work just as well.
- Heavy cream. This is used to make the ganache filling for the cookies. “Whipping cream”, “heavy whipping cream”, or “double cream” will work just fine here.
SAM’S TIP: If you forget to set your eggs out ahead of time, use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Churro Cookies
Make the Chocolate Filling
- Microwave the chocolate and cream in 25 second intervals until smooth. Let cool for until scoopable (you can put your bowl in the fridge to speed up this process).
- Scoop dollops onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer to chill.
Prepare the Cookie Dough
- Cream the butter and sugars together until well combined and fluffy.
- Stir in the eggs and vanilla so they are evenly incorporated.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients. This is a dry dough, so it’s very important to add the dry ingredients gradually; otherwise, you will have a very hard time getting the dough together. I typically add them in four parts.
- Use a spatula to check for any dry pockets in the dough. It will be stiff, but make sure it is evenly moist and combined.
Assemble the Cookies
- Scoop and roll ¼ cup of dough into a ball, then make an indent in the center with your thumb.
- Add a ganache dollop into the indentation and fold the dough around it. Make sure no chocolate is poking through, or that will leak out in the oven. I recommend pulling out 2-3 chocolate dollops at a time; if you pull them all out, they will start to soften before you get a chance to add them to the dough.
- Roll through cinnamon sugar, then place on a wax paper lined plate. Repeat with the remaining dough, then place all dough balls in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
SAM’S TIP: Churro cookies are super fragile when warm, so I recommend letting them cool a bit before enjoying. This will also save you from burning your mouth on that molten chocolate center!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can pause after assembling the cookie dough and keep the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure to keep the dough in an airtight container if in the fridge and wrapped in plastic wrap if in the freezer. Cookie dough from the freezer will likely take several minutes longer to bake, just keep an eye on it.
If you plan to eat them all within two days, then you can keep your churro cookies at room temperature. Any longer than that, and you’ll want to stick them in the fridge in an airtight container.
I suppose you could, but I really recommend trying this recipe as written at least once. You could also try using the filling from my cheesecake stuffed cookies if you want a different filling (makes me think of a sopapilla cheesecake cookie that way!)! Note that the cookies will need to bake for less time without the filling, and I highly recommend at least preparing some ganache for serving on the side!
I can’t wait to hear how you like my churro cookies! If you try them, please leave me a comment and review below–I really appreciate your feedback ❤️
Enjoy!
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Churro Cookies
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Servings: 16 large cookies
Calories: 399kcal
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Instructions
For the chocolate filling
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In a microwave-safe, medium-sized mixing bowl, combine chocolate and heavy cream. Microwave on high for 25 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir well, and microwave for another 25 seconds. Whisk well until completely smooth. If not yet smooth, return to the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth.
6 oz (170 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate bar, ⅔ cup (157 ml) heavy whipping cream
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Allow chocolate to cool for at least 10-15 minutes or until it is firm enough to be scooped and hold its shape (you can refrigerate it to speed this up). Meanwhile, line a plate or small baking sheet with wax paper.
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Once chocolate is firm, scoop into Tablespoon-sized dollops (15g) and drop onto prepared baking sheet. Transfer to freezer while you prepare your cookie dough, at least 15 minutes.
For the churro cookie dough
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Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
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In a large bowl using an electric mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cups (100 g) granulated sugar
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Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until well-combined.
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3 ⅔ cups (450 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
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Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet (I do this in about 4 parts, stirring until just combined after each addition), stirring until completely combined.
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Scoop ¼ cup of dough (65 grams of dough) and roll between your palms to make a smooth ball. Use your thumb to press an indent into the center of the dough. Take one chocolate dollop from the freezer, press into the indent, and cover over completely with the dough. Roll between your palms again to create a smooth ball with no chocolate showing through the dough.
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Whisk together sugar and cinnamon for topping. Roll dough ball through the mixture, coating all sides evenly. Place dough balls on a wax paper lined plate and place in freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon
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Once dough balls are done chilling, place on prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2” (5cm) apart.
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Bake on 375F (190C) for 12-13 minutes, until edges are just barely beginning to turn light golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before carefully (they’re fragile when warm!) removing to a cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying. Beware that the chocolate is very hot when warm!
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or tightly wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1large cookie | Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 521IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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