Churros
Sticks of fried dough, ridged and dusted with sugar, eaten dipped into a cup of thick hot chocolate — Spain's classic breakfast and after-hours treat.
Churros are a simple flour-and-water dough piped through a star nozzle into hot oil, where they fry into ridged golden sticks, crisp outside and soft within, then rolled in sugar. They are less a dessert than a ritual: dunked into a cup of thick, almost pudding-like drinking chocolate for breakfast, for the mid-afternoon merienda, or at the churrería at the end of a long night out. The thicker, softer, often smoother cousin is the porra.
How it's served
Hot and sugar-dusted, with a cup of thick drinking chocolate for dipping (chocolate con churros). A breakfast, merienda or end-of-night order rather than a restaurant dessert.
Regional variation
Porras are a thicker, softer, often smoother relative made with a touch of raising agent. Some regions fill churros with chocolate or dulce de leche, though purists take them plain.
- Origin
- Spain
- Etymology
- Often traced to the horns of the churra sheep, whose shape the looped dough is said to resemble.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between churros and porras?
Both are fried dough dipped in chocolate. Churros are thinner and crisper with sharp ridges; porras are thicker, softer and smoother, usually made with a little raising agent so the inside stays fluffy.
When do Spaniards eat churros?
For breakfast, for the afternoon merienda, or after a night out — dipped in thick chocolate. They are a snack and a ritual more than a sit-down dessert.