Caramel apple season is upon us, and seeing as I can’t leave well enough alone, today I’m sharing a new twist on this classic fall treat: Mini Roasted Apple Churros with Salty Caramel Dipping Sauce.
I should actually call these churros “churritos,” due to their miniature, cute-as-heck size. Even though they are small, these babies pack tons of autumnal flavors thanks to the inclusion of tart roasted apples and warmly spiced sugary coating. To make them even more decadent, I fashioned the churro dough the same way cream-puff dough is made, making for a crisp exterior and light, custardy interior with bits of apple throughout for a truly swoon-inducing combo. The finishing touch is a deep, salty caramel dipping sauce. (I’ve also included a quick version in the tips section if you don’t want to have a go at homemade caramel saucing.) Get ready to become addicted!
First, let’s make the caramel sauce by combining sugar, water and butter in a pan, bring it to a boil, and cook until it becomes deep, golden brown. When we start, it’s pale and not quite ready.
Once it’s deep brown and delicious, add the cream. It’ll get crazy steamy and bubbly so get ready to take a step back! Then once it calms down a bit, stir ‘til the caramel is smooth. Pour the sauce into a heatproof jar and set aside.
Next up, we make the churro dough. It’s a simple mixture of butter, water, salt, and flour, oh! And eggs (not pictured), plus the essential addition of roasted apples.
Combine the water, butter and salt in a saucepan, bring it to a boil and stir in the flour. Cook the dough, stirring, until it balls up and pulls away from the pan. Scrape the dough into a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Let it hang out a minute while we crack three eggs and separate one.
Then, add the eggs one at a time, beating them in vigorously before adding the next. Last, add the lone yolk and repeat.
Once we have a batter, fold in the apples!
Transfer the churro batter into a pastry bag, using a closed star tip to pipe the churros.
We are going to fry these churros in canola oil. To make the churros, pipe batter straight into hot oil, cutting with scissors to release the dough into the oil.
The churros take a hot bath in the oil for just about three minutes. They kind of roll themselves around like sweet little logs of dough, but you can feel free to get them a nudge if they get stuck on one side.
Finally, they get dusted with a fragrant cinnamon-ginger-sugar mixture while still hot. Welcome to yum town.