These perfectly spiced apple cider churros are the best sweet to whip up now that local apple cider is gracing your grocery store aisles. Just in time for fall: light and airy apple cider churros with salted caramel sauce for dunking!

Apple Cider Churros with Salted Caramel Dipping Sauce

After having a hot churro on the streets of Madrid at 3 in the morning, I thought no other churro could compete with a classic cinnamon sugar churro. And don’t get me wrong, churros with chocolate sauce will always have a place in my heart, but these apple cider churros with caramel sauce are giving classic churros a run for their money. They’re perfectly spiced, salty-sweet, and the best unique dessert for Fall.  They taste exactly like an apple cider donut, but are perfectly dip-able, sweet, and super easy to make!

What are apple cider churros?

Apple cider churros are classic churros with a little extra autumnal apple cider kick. Made with cinnamon sugar, fresh apple cider, and salted caramel, these churros taste exactly like an apple cider donut in churro form. They have a crunchy exterior with a melt in your mouth center that pairs perfectly with a salted caramel sauce.

They’re basically the perfect Fall sweet to whip up next time you’re looking to knock the socks off of a friend or just treat yourself to a decadent fried sweet.

Tips for the best fall churros

I always thought churros were a fancy fried confection only to be enjoyed at fairs, abroad, or at bougie restaurants, but we’re about to prove you wrong. Churros are shockingly easy to make  and taste just as delectable at home as they do out a restaurant. Follow these 3 tricks and you’ll feel like you’re eating gourmet churro every time.

• Make sure your oil is the right temperature: With fried foods it’s important that your oil is hot enough to give you a crisp, crunchy shell on the outside with a soft interior. If you have a cooking thermometer you’ll want your oil to be about 375°F. If you don’t have a thermometer–no worries! You can test that your oil is hot enough by flicking a droplet of water into your oil and seeing if it bubbles up and pops.
• Serve them warm: Donuts are best served warm and churros are no exception. While these dippable fried donuts are still delicious at room temperature they’re other-worldly fresh out of the fryer. If you do choose to make these ahead, we recommend heating them up in the oven or in the microwave to serve them!
• Don’t forget the salted caramel sauce: The salted caramel dipping sauce is a nonnegotiable here. It cuts the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar and takes these apple cider churros from good to SO DAMN GOOD you’ll have zero leftovers.

How to make salted caramel sauce:

Our famous homemade caramel sauce recipe is one of the most loved recipes on the site. And with good reason. It’s salty, sweet, easy to make, and pretty much the perfect complement to any drizzle-able dessert. We love it as layer in cake, drizzle over the top of brownies, and pour over ice cream. But, we also love to use it as an ingredient itself.

Luckily we broke it all down for you to take out any guess work. You can find our homemade caramel recipe tutorial here! You won’t need to use the whole batch for these churros, but it’s never a bad idea to have a little extra caramel in the fridge!

Happy apple cider churro eating my loves! Enjoy every last cinnamon sugar-y bite!

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Original post:

Everyone knows apple season. Whether that means going to an orchard to pick a bushel full or buying fresh Jonagolds at the supermarket, getting fall apples is a wonderful thing.

Just as wonderful as the apples themselves are all the delicious apple treats that appear right around the same time. From apple pies to apple muffins, apple desserts are a total hit.

So I decided to take all the flavor of apples & spice and tuck them into a soft and heavenly fried dough. The result? Apple cider churros.  

Now, I am obsessed with thick and fluffy churros. In fact, I have a phrase when describing my churros. It’s pillowy clouds. As in, these apple cider churros taste like pillowy clouds of fried goodness.

They’re the lightest churros I’ve ever eaten and the only churro recipe that I will ever need. And best of all, they’re a cinch to make.

Today I’m off to Vermont for a little getaway with Ambitious Kitchen. I won a photography contest and we’re being treated to a two day stay in the countryside! I’m so excited. Follow along on snapchat for all the details (username: sarahfennell).

Wishing you all a happy start to your week.