Last weekend I really wanted a churro (crispy fried dough covered with cinnamon and sugar) but I don’t love deep frying things at home and Disneyland is completely out of the question during these times. Then I had an epiphany. With a proper waffle batter that produces a crispy exterior and soft, fluffy interior, I could maybe brush on butter all over it and quickly coat in cinnamon and sugar. But that would be too messy and blotchy with the cinnamon/sugar coating. After looking around the web, I found an intriguing recipe. The author uses a pastry dough, Pâte à Choux, that is a fairly simple dough used to make cream puffs, eclairs and profiteroles. I’ve made cream puffs multiple times before and am familiar with the dough, so I thought I’d give it a try. The main idea that drew me to this recipe was that this type of dough typically uses a lot of eggs and butter making it more rich and flavorful than a simple buttermilk waffle batter. Genius. And when fresh out of the waffle iron, the cinnamon and sugar sticks to the waffles with no extra butter needed since there is so much in the batter already. I help it along by sprinkling the cinnamon mixture over each waffle divot, then turn to coat the edges of the entire waffle.

The result? Light and crispy exterior crust with a soft, fluffy, buttery, eggy center that almost melts in your mouth. The cinnamon/sugar coating tops it off and makes me think of a more delicate, non-fried version of Disneyland’s Churros. This tastes the best served warm and fresh from the waffle iron.

I used a Belgium waffle iron, but I don’t think greasing the waffle iron was necessary for me since there is so much butter in the batter, but feel free to grease it if you feel your waffle iron needs it. For waffles that were sitting out on the counter for a bit and cooled down, I toasted it in a 350° F degree toaster oven for about 4 minutes or until it was hot. The interior wasn’t as soft as freshly made, but was still good! Leftover waffles that were coated with the cinnamon mixture and stored in an airtight container overnight in the refrigerator was toasted the same way (350° F degrees for about 5 minutes or until hot) produced a crispy crust, but, again, had a drier interior. That was quickly solved by spreading on some Nutella over the top and it was like a whole new dessert. Definitely recommend topping it with something like Nutella, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream for either fresh churro waffles or reheated leftover waffles. This recipe makes a TON of batter. I was able to get about 9 waffles, but the amount will always vary depending on how much batter is used per waffle and how large your waffle iron is. If just making at home for a small family, I would suggest halving the recipe to get roughly around 4-5 waffles.

Here is a quick little video I made for Instagram with the end showing the inside of the waffle! If you give this recipe a try, let me know in the comments below how you liked it!

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Churro Waffle

This pastry dough, Pâte à Choux, is a popular versatile dough used for cream puffs, eclairs and profiteroles. It's very easy to make and cooking it in a waffle iron eliminates any worry about it collapsing or not creating an air bubble in the center while baking as you would normally if making typical cream puffs and the like. These waffles have a light and crispy crust with a fluffy, eggy, buttery center that almost melts in your mouth. Coated with cinnamon and sugar mixture for a super delicious treat that reminds me of a delicate, non-fried version of Disneyland churros. Recipe adapted from cookingwithbooks.net.

Makes: 8-10 Belgium waffles (depending on size of waffle iron and how much batter used per waffle)

Recipe is easily halved!

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups cold water
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 16 TBLS) unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp kosher salt (use less if using table salt)
• 8 large eggs

Coating:

• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Make Batter: In a saucepan, add water, sugar, butter, and salt. Heat on medium heat until it comes to a quick boil.
• Add all the flour. Quickly stir to combine (it will be thick) and cook for 2 minutes while continuously stirring. If using a stainless steel pot, a light film will form at the bottom of the pot at this point.
• Transfer batter to a stand mixer bowl and spread out the batter around the bowl a bit and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
• With the paddle attachment, turn on mixer to low speed. Add eggs one at a time allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding another. Repeat until all eggs are added and incorporated. The batter is done when it is smooth and no lumps remain.
• Tip: If no stand mixer, steps 3 to 4 can be done in a regular mixing bowl. This is very easy to mix by hand or hand mixer.
• Cook Waffle: Preheat your waffle iron. Meanwhile, prepare sugar and cinnamon mixture and place on a plate; set aside.
• Once waffle iron is preheated, scoop about ½ cup of batter into center and cook waffles per machine instructions, about 3-5 minutes each or until top crust is medium golden brown color.
• Coat Waffle: Once waffle is finished cooking, use tongs to remove waffle and immediately place hot waffle on plate of sugar/cinnamon mixture. Flip and pick up some mixture to sprinkle in the waffle divots. Flip back to first side and sprinkle some in divots. Lift waffles with tongs and coat the edges of the waffle.
• Rest Waffle: Place hot coated waffle on a cooling rack for just 30 seconds to 1 minute before serving to help crisp up the crust.
• Serve: Best served warm and fresh from the waffle iron. Can top with Nutella, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Recipe Notes

• Make ahead: Make the batter ahead of time and store in an 18″ pastry bag or an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. No need to warm up the dough before cooking on waffle iron, but dough is easier to dish/squeeze out when it sits out on the counter for 15 mins or so.
• Reheat: To reheat a cooked and sugar coated waffle, bake at 350° F degrees for about 4-5 minutes or until hot. If it was a day old, refrigerated (chilled) waffle, coat it with more sugar/cinnamon mixture right after baking. The center will not be as moist as freshly made, but we like to spread Nutella over the top of these reheated ones.

Tried this recipe?
Mention @_thelittleruby. Also, rate and comment below!

Tried this recipe?
Mention @_thelittleruby. Also, rate and comment below!

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