Description
Celebrate the holidays with these festive Christmas Tree Churros, golden fried dough rings stacked and decorated with cinnamon sugar and a luscious chocolate ganache topping. Perfect for a sweet centerpiece or a fun dessert treat for 8 servings.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
Frying
- Vegetable oil, 4 to 6 cups, for frying
- Cooking spray for greasing
Toppings and Decorations
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Red and green sprinkles and/or white nonpareils, for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare dough mixture: In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring butter, water, and 2 tablespoons sugar to a boil. Stir in vanilla extract, then remove from heat and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until dough thickens, about 30 seconds. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Incorporate eggs: Using a handheld mixer set to medium speed, add the eggs one at a time to the cooled dough, beating well after each addition until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Prepare baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease lightly with cooking spray. Use cookie cutters or measure and trace 3 circles of 2 1/2 inches, 3 circles of 2 inches, 3 circles of 1 1/2 inches, and 3 circles of 1 inch diameter.
- Pipe churro batter: Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the churro batter over the traced circles as follows: largest circles with a 1 1/2 inch space left in the center, medium circles with a fingerprint-sized space, and the smallest completely filled. Pipe three dollops about the size of Hershey's Kisses on the sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Heat oil for frying: Pour vegetable oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375°F, measured with a deep-fry or instant-read thermometer.
- Make ganache and cinnamon sugar: Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Microwave heavy cream until steaming and bubbly, about 1 minute. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit 30 seconds, then stir until smooth and melted. In a separate small bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with ground cinnamon.
- Fry churros: Fry largest churro circles in batches, turning once, until golden brown on each side, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels briefly, then toss in cinnamon sugar. Transfer to a wire rack over a baking sheet. Repeat frying remaining churros and Hershey’s Kiss-size dollops (which take about 1 minute to fry).
- Assemble Christmas trees: Arrange three 2 1/2 inch churros on a platter. Stack a 2 inch churro on each, then a 1 1/2 inch churro, and then a 1 inch churro. Top with the smallest churros. Spoon 2 to 3 spoonfuls of chocolate ganache over each churro stack and decorate with red, green sprinkles, and white nonpareils.
Notes
- Make sure dough cools before adding eggs to avoid scrambling.
- Freezing the piped dough ensures the churros hold their shape when fried.
- Use a thermometer to maintain oil at correct frying temperature for crispy churros.
- Toss fried churros promptly in cinnamon sugar for even coating.
- For a dairy-free version, substitute heavy cream with coconut cream for the ganache.
- The Hershey’s Kiss-size dollops fry faster, watch carefully to avoid burning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
