One of my favorite things about going places like Disneyland, well, aside from the fact that I am freakishly obsessed with Disneyland, was always the churro stand.
Crispy on the outside, and warm and gooey on the inside. How can anyone not like churros??? Seriously. They are so soft on the inside, I used to be convinced that there was actually a filling. I didn’t quite understand the depths, and amazingness of deep frying. Don’t worry, I get it now. Deep frying = instant texture success. Sad, but true.
However, we all know greasy, oily, deep fried food and I are not besties, and, clearly, I need churros in my life. These things are the real deal. Crispy and cinnamony on the outside, while still gooey on the inside with a hint of pumpkin. Pumpkin + cinnamon = always delicious.
Also, why are all foods in life not served dipped in chocolate? That sounds like the cure for all things bad in the world. War. World hunger. People you don’t like. Just serve them dipped in chocolate.
Okay, don’t dip people in chocolate. That’s weird. I am, at least it’s definitely weird if you plan to eat them. This isn’t Silence of the Lambs or anything. In fact, I don’t even like scary movies. And this has taken a turn for the weird, so um, where was I? Chocolate. Cinnamon. Pumpkin. Churros. Mini. Oh yes, they’re mini. Which means you can eat 10 churros instead of 1. We all know I like to eat in volume, so that is obviously a plus.
Okay, before we get to the recipe, I have to tell you a secret about how I messed these up the first time. I made the bites, all was going well, but then I mixed the butter with the cinnamon sugar instead of dipping and rolling. Needless to say, it was delicious, but not quite what I was going for. Also messy, very messy. However, if you don’t mind mess, and don’t care what they look like, I would say that is an equally delicious way to achieve churro love 🙂
Pumpkin Spice Churro Bites adapted from Erica’s Sweet Tooth yield approx 3 dozen
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- dash pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 egg substitute
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 cup light whipped butter, melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a pan of mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Â Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat sugar and pumpkin together. Add egg substitute and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
- Slowly alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour. Â Mix until just incorporated.
- Use an extra small cookie scoop to fill each muffin tin and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on how small your cookie scoop is), or until just golden brown.
- While the churro bites are baking, melt butter in a small bowl and combine cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish. When churro bites are finished, immediately remove from the pan and dip each bite in the butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
