Name: Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2 people
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup water; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil; 2 quarts vegetable or canola oil, (for frying); 2 scoops ice cream, (your favorite flavor); 2 Tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon, (ground)

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Surprisingly easy to make, these decadent churro ice cream sandwiches are crispy and covered in a cinnamon-sugar coating. Use your favorite ice cream between two homemade churro spirals for one of the most irresistible desserts you will ever have!

Churros are one of my all-time favorite sweet treats. I thought these Churro Cinnamon Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese were my favorite churro recipe, but then I tried the churro ice cream sandwich at Disney World, and my mind was blown! The first time I tried them, I was hooked. I’m talking insanely delicious! Magic Kingdom started selling churro ice cream sandwiches back in 2018. They consist of a scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two fresh cinnamon-covered churro rounds. When I got home from Disney, I knew I had to re-create these. And they turned out so amazingly delicious, like mind-blowing off the charts, the most delicious ice cream sandwich I’ve ever had!

What Are Churros?

Churros are fried dough pastries that are rigid in texture due to the piping technique used. Once formed, they are deep-fried until crunchy and then rolled in a cinnamon-sugar coating. Churros can be formed into straight lines or coiled into shapes. The origin of churros is unclear. Some say they were introduced in Europe from China by the Portuguese. Others say the churro was made by the Spanish shepherds to substitute for fresh bakery goods. Regardless of where they originated, they are easy to make, require minimal effort, and are out of this world tasty.

Churro Ingredients

You only need six ingredients for making this churro recipe:

For the Churro Dough

Sugar – provides the sweet taste in the dough.
Water – bringing water to a boil helps bind together the sugar, salt, flour, and oil.
Salt – a flavor enhancer also used to cut some of the sweetness.
Canola oil – lubrication and binding agent. Vegetable oil can be used as a substitute.
All-purpose flour – the base ingredient used.
Ice Cream – pick your favorite flavor!!

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

White granulated sugar – provides the sweet taste in the outer coating.
Ground cinnamon – flavor enhancer that should be mixed with the sugar.

How To Make Churros

Here are step-by-step instructions to make Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Step 1: Preparing the Dough

In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, salt, and oil. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.

Then, stir in the flour and mix well.
Once the ingredients are well combined, form the dough into a ball. This step is straightforward and happens quickly, within about thirty seconds.

Remove the dough from the saucepan and form it into a large ball. The dough will be hot, so let it cool on a clean counter for about 15-20 minutes before piping.

Once the dough has cooled, fill a piping bag with the churro dough.
For larger coils, use the Ateco tip #829 in the piping bag. To form smaller churro coils, use an Open Star Tip #1M(2110).
- Expert Tip – Using fun shaped cookie cutters help outline and form the dough into different shapes.

Using a steady hand, pipe the dough into the desired shape and place them on parchment paper.

Step 2: Frying

In a large deep skillet, heat 2 quarts of canola or vegetable oil. Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of the oil.

When the oil reaches 375 degrees, place the churro coil on a stainless steel spatula and place it in the hot oil. Make sure the coil is completely submerged and fry until golden. This takes about 20 -30 seconds.
After that, remove and place on a paper towel to dry. Complete this process for the other three churro coils.

Step 3: Finishing the Churros

In a small bowl, mix the ground cinnamon and sugar and pour it onto a clean surface.
Take the churro coil and coat both sides in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Then, take a scoop of your favorite ice cream and place it on one of the coils.
Place the other churro coil on top of the ice cream.

Now you have a Churro Ice Cream Sandwich! I rolled the ice cream part of the sandwich in some sprinkles to make it more fun!

Expert Tips

Piping the dough – if using a piping bag, tie the filled bag with a rubber band. This ensures the dough doesn’t seep out of the top while piping.
Tips – you can use any tip you want, but I find that the Ateco tip #829 really makes piping easy and provides the rigid churro shape.
Piping tips – When coiling the dough, strive to finish a coil in one clean swipe. If the dough breaks, pick up where you left off and pinch together with your fingers. This makes the churros coils a little more fragile when frying, but you can still get away with a nice coil for your ice cream sandwich.
Tools – Using a metal spatula works well for me. Using metal tongs to deep fry, the coils can be a little more tricky and tend to break the coils. Never use a plastic spatula. It will melt in the oil.
Ice cream– these sandwiches are good with any type of ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry are always a great choice, but I enjoy Mint Chocolate Chip and coconut-pineapple Ice Cream. And pumpkin flavored is also fantastic! You can scoop ice cream directly onto a coil, but using a circle cookie cutter to form the ice cream really helps when styling the sandwich.
Decorating – create more fun by rolling the formed ice cream sandwich in sprinkles. Dipping the sandwiches in chocolate is also amazingly delicious!
Cookie Cutters – Around Valentine’s Day, I pull out the large heart-shaped cookie cutter and pipe the dough. Be creative and use different shapes!

More Sweet Treats!

Craving more sweet treats? Check out these favorites: