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.
Ingredients
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Caramel Dip
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1cup sugar
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1/4cup water
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1/4cup salted butter
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1cup whipping cream
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1teaspoon coarse sea salt
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Roasted Apples
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2apples, peeled, diced (about 2 cups)
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3tablespoons sugar
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1/2teaspoon ground ginger
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1/2teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Churro Dough
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1/2cup unsalted butter
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1cup water
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1/4teaspoon salt
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1cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
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3whole eggs
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1egg yolk
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Frying Oil
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Coating
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3/4cup sugar
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1teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/2teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
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1To make Caramel Dip, in 1-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and the salted butter until well combined. Heat to boiling. Continue to boil 10 to 15 minutes, without stirring (don’t do it!), until mixture becomes deep, golden brown. Remove from heat; immediately stir in whipping cream until smooth. Stir in coarse sea salt. (If there are lumps or the caramel is not combining, gently heat while stirring until smooth.) Pour into heatproof bowl or jar; cool to room temperature.
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2To make Roasted Apples, heat oven to 400°F. Toss Roasted Apples ingredients until coated; spread in even layer in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Roast about 25 minutes or until apples are tender and begin to caramelize around edges. Remove dish from oven to cooling rack; cool to room temperature.
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3To make Churro Dough, in 2-quart saucepan, heat unsalted butter, 1 cup water and the salt to boiling. Add flour all at once; stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until dough becomes a ball and no longer sticks to saucepan. Remove from heat; scrape dough into large bowl. Cool several minutes. (I use this time to crack the eggs and separate the one egg.) While mixture is still warm, beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time, until completely combined before adding the next. Fold in cooled apples.
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4Heat several inches canola oil in another 2-quart saucepan to 350°F. (I used about 4 cups, making the oil about 4 inches deep in the saucepan.)
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5In shallow bowl, stir together Coating ingredients; set aside. Line plate with paper towels; set near frying oil.
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6Fit decorating bag with large closed-star tip. Fill bag with churro dough. Pipe 1- to 2-inch-long ropes of dough into hot oil; fry 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Remove from oil to paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly; toss immediately in coating. Serve warm churros with caramel dip.
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