Description
Celebrate the holidays with festive Christmas Tree Churros, crispy fried dough circles stacked to resemble a tree, coated in cinnamon sugar, and topped with rich chocolate ganache and colorful sprinkles for a delightful treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough and Sugar Coating
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (100 g plus 25 g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- Cooking spray
- Vegetable oil, 4 to 6 cups for frying
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (85 g)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Decoration
- Red and green sprinkles and/or white nonpareils
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring butter, water, and 2 Tbsp sugar to a boil. Stir in vanilla extract, then remove from heat. Add flour and salt, stirring vigorously until thickened, about 30 seconds. Let the dough cool for 10 minutes.
- Incorporate eggs: Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully blended into the dough.
- Prepare baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it with cooking spray. Using cookie cutters or a ruler, trace circles of different sizes (3 circles each of 2 1/2", 2", 1 1/2", and 1" diameter).
- Pipe churro dough: Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the batter over the traced circles as instructed: largest circles with a 1 1/2" gap in the center, medium circles with a fingerprint-sized gap, and smallest circles fully filled. Add 3 dollops about the size of Hershey’s Kisses. Freeze the sheet until firm, for 2 hours or overnight.
- Heat oil for frying: Pour vegetable oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of 3 inches and heat over medium-high until a thermometer reads 375°F (190°C).
- Make chocolate ganache and cinnamon sugar: Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Microwave heavy cream until small bubbles form, about 1 minute, then pour over chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds and stir until smooth. In another bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.
- Fry churros: Fry the largest churro circles first, turning once, for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain excess oil and toss in cinnamon sugar. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Repeat for remaining churros and fry the Hershey’s Kiss-size dollops for about 1 minute.
- Assemble and serve: On a serving platter, stack churros from largest to smallest (2 1/2" at bottom, then 2", 1 1/2", 1") to form a tree shape. Top with smallest circles and spoon chocolate ganache over each tree. Decorate with red, green sprinkles, and white nonpareils.
Notes
- Freeze churro dough firmly to hold shapes well during frying.
- Maintain oil temperature at 375°F for crisp churros without absorbing excess oil.
- Use a large star piping tip to create the characteristic churro ridges for crisp texture.
- If you don’t have cookie cutters, use a ruler and a knife to trace and pipe dough shapes.
- Churros are best served fresh; ganache adds a rich contrast to the cinnamon sugar coating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
