Brown Butter Churro Donuts are dipped in melted butter, rolled in a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating, and dunked in chocolate dipping sauce. Ready in less than 20 minutes, these baked donuts are perfect for Cinco de Mayo or any day you’re craving churros but don’t have time to make them.

Baked Churro Donuts

Churros are generally deep fried, but who has time to deep fry these days? Not me… at least not often enough to satisfy my churro cravings! So I decided to get creative and turn them into a baked churro donuts! They might not taste exactly like a churro… but they’re equally delicious! And the fact that they’re ready in 20 minutes makes them a winner in my book. Warning: between the fluffy donuts, cinnamon sugar, and gooey chocolate, you’ll be craving these a lot!

Ingredients for Churro Donuts

• Unsalted Butter: If you’ve never made brown butter before, don’t fret. Making it is just as easy as melting butter, and it adds incredible depth of flavor to recipes.
• All-Purpose Flour: I don’t suggest subbing any other variety of flour in this recipe, especially nut flours, which will not work. A 1 for 1 GF flour may work, but I haven’t tasted this so I cannot confirm.
• Salt: A tiny dash balances the sweetness in the recipe and also enhances all of the other flavors. It will not make your donuts taste salty.
• Baking Powder: Our rising agent, this ingredient helps puff up the donuts in the baking pan. Do not sub for baking soda.
• Ground Nutmeg: Adds a subtle spice that will leave everyone wondering “what’s that delicious flavor?”. In a pinch, you may omit this without substituting anything in its place.
• Ground Cinnamon: Gets combined with granulated sugar to create the delicious cinnamon sugar coating.
• Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture to the churro donut batter. Dark brown sugar may be used if it’s what you have on hand.
• Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and crunch to the cinnamon sugar mixture. Do not sub with brown sugar.
• Egg: Use a large egg and bring it to room temperature before use.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds its own unique flavor and also enhances all of the other flavors in the recipe. If you don’t have nay on hand, it may be omitted without substituting anything in its place.
• Sour Cream: Full-fat works best. If you cannot find sour cream, full-fat Greek yogurt is the best replacement. Do not use a flavored yogurt.
• Chocolate: Because the donuts are already quite sweet, I suggest using semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate. Milk chocolate and white chocolate should be avoided as they will yield a cloyingly sweet donut.
• Heavy Cream: Aka whipping cream, this ingredient should not be replaced with milk.

Special Equipment for Churro Donuts

• You’ll need a donut pan for this recipe. Click here (affiliate link) to check out the one I’ve been using for the past 5 years! It’s a total workhorse and very affordable.
• Non-stick baking spray is the best way to grease your donut mold. If you can’t find non-stick spray, you can butter and flour the mold, just be sure to get every little nook and cranny so your donuts don’t stick to the donut pan.
• A ziplock bag or large piping bag is the easiest way to fill the donut molds. Although you can technically spoon the batter into the molds, it’s much easier and neater to pipe. If you want the donuts to be uniform in size and shape, I recommend the piping method.

How to Make Baked Churro Donuts

• Prep Baking Pan: Spray a 6 mold donut pan with non-stick spray and set it aside until needed. This is also a great time to preheat your oven to 350!
• Brown the Butter: Cook butter until it’s turned golden brown and smells slightly nutty. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Make Donut Batter: In a large bowl combine ingredients, begin sure to mix until just combined. Once you’ve added the dry ingredients, be sure not to over mix. This will cause dry donuts, and no one wants that!
• Fill Donut Molds: Using a spoon or piping bag, evenly distribute the donut batter among the molds. Don’t stress if they’re not perfectly even, just do your best here!
• Bake Donuts: These donuts only need about 10 to 11 minutes in the oven. You’ll know they’re ready when they’ve puffed up and they spring back when lightly pressed.
• Cool Donuts: Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before gently turning them out of the pan and onto a cooling rack.
• Cover in Cinnamon Sugar: Melt the butter and pour it into a small bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Dip each donut in butter then covered completely in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Dip in Chocolate: You can dunk half of each donut in the chocolate dipping sauce, or use a spoon to drizzle it in a zigzag pattern on top of each donut. Allow the chocolate to set if desired. You may also skip the chocolate completely, if desired.

How to Store Churro Donuts?

Churro donuts are going to be tastiest the day they are baked, but will keep, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature, for up to 2 days. I do not recommend freezing these donuts.

More Baked Donut Recipes:

• Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
• Banana Bread Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting
• (Gluten Free) Brown Butter Eggnog Snickerdoodle Donuts
• Red Velvet Donuts
• Coffee Cake Donuts with Vanilla Glaze
• Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Donuts

Brown Butter Churro Donuts

Ashley Manila

Baked, not fried, these bakery-quality Brown Butter Churro Donuts are ready in less than 20 minutes.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 6 baked donuts

Ingredients

 

For the Brown Butter Churro Donuts:

• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until browned (see post for more on this)
• 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until browned (see post for more on this)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Chocolate Coating:

• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

 

For the Brown Butter Churro Donuts:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Generously spray a 6 mold donut pan with non-stick spray; set aside.
• Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium-heat. Cook butter, stirring frequently, until it's turned golden brown and smells slightly nutty. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon; set aside. In a separate medium-sized bowl combine the browned butter and brown sugar; beat well. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the sour cream.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, being sure not to over mix.
• Spoon or pipe the donut batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before gently unmolding them and transferring them to a cooling rack.
• In the meantime, make the cinnamon sugar coating.

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

• Melt the butter in a small pan over medium-heat, stirring frequently, until it's turned golden brown and smells slightly nutty. Once melted and browned, transfer the butter into a wide, shallow bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

For the Chocolate Coating:

• Place chocolate in a wide and shallow heat proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium-heat. Bring to a boil, watching very carefully as it will happen fast. When the cream has come to a boil, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow the cream and chocolate to sit for minute, then whisk completely smooth. Let the ganache cool for a few minutes before you dip the donuts.

Assembly:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• When the donuts are cool enough to handle, dip them in the melted butter, being sure to coat both sides and the edges, then roll the donut in the cinnamon sugar mixture. One at a time, carefully dip one side of each coated donut in the melted chocolate. When lifting the donut out of the chocolate, allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chocolate covered donuts onto the prepared baking sheet after dipping each one. Serve at once.

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