Pro Tips for Churro Cookie Success Every Time

Achieve bakery-quality churro cookies with these expert baking tips:

• Always Use Room Temperature Ingredients: This is a golden rule in baking, especially for cookies and buttercream. For the cookie dough, ensure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. Softened butter creams smoothly with sugar, incorporating air for a light texture, while cold butter can lead to a lumpy mixture. Room temperature eggs emulsify better, creating a more cohesive dough. Similarly, for the buttercream, room temperature butter and heavy cream will combine seamlessly with the powdered sugar, resulting in a perfectly smooth, velvety frosting free of any lumps. Plan ahead by taking these ingredients out of the fridge about 30-60 minutes before you start baking.
• Ensure Cookies are Completely Cool Before Frosting: Patience is a virtue, particularly when it comes to frosting cookies! It’s absolutely crucial that your cookies have cooled entirely before you apply the cinnamon buttercream. Even slightly warm cookies will cause the delicate buttercream to melt, slide off, and create a messy, unappetizing result. If you’re in a hurry, you can place the baked cookies on a wire rack in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to speed up the cooling process, but always check to ensure they are fully cold to the touch.
• Consider Making the Cookies in Advance: While these churro cookies are undeniably delicious fresh out of the oven, I’ve discovered a delightful secret: they often taste even better the next day! Allowing the frosted cookies to sit in an airtight container for several hours, or even overnight, gives the flavors ample time to meld and deepen. The cookie edges tend to soften slightly, creating an even more tender bite, and the cinnamon flavor from the buttercream truly permeates the entire cookie. If you have the time, this extra step is highly recommended for an enhanced flavor experience and added convenience for entertaining.
• Don’t Overmix the Dough: After adding the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to tough, dense cookies instead of the desired soft and chewy texture. Stop mixing as soon as no streaks of flour are visible.
• Properly Measure Flour: The most common baking mistake is using too much flour. For accurate results, especially if you don’t have a kitchen scale, use the “spoon and level” method. Lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup until it overflows, then level it off with the back of a knife. Never scoop flour directly from the bag, as this compacts it and can add significantly more flour than intended.

Essential Baking Tip: Precision with a Kitchen Scale!

For the most accurate and consistent baking results, I cannot stress enough the importance of using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients instead of relying on traditional measuring cups. While measuring cups can be prone to inconsistencies (especially with flour, which can compact differently), weighing ensures you use the exact amount specified in the recipe every single time. This precision leads to more reliable outcomes, a higher success rate with your recipes, and ultimately, better-tasting baked goods like these churro cookies. An added bonus? Using a scale often means fewer dirty dishes, making cleanup a breeze! I provide gram measurements in all my recipes, and this is the kitchen scale I personally use and highly recommend for its accuracy and ease of use.

For the Cinnamon Cookie Dough

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (100g) light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon (10g) cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

For the Cinnamon Buttercream

• 1 cup (2 sticks or 226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup (60mL) heavy cream

• Prepare the Cinnamon Cookie Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened unsalted butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Add the large egg and egg yolk one at a time, mixing on low speed until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract until just combined.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients in the stand mixer, mixing on low speed until the ingredients are just incorporated and no dry streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Coat and Bake the Cookies: In a small, shallow bowl, combine the ¼ cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon for the coating. Set aside about 1 Tablespoon of this cinnamon sugar mixture to sprinkle on top of the finished, frosted cookies. Using a #24 cookie scoop (approximately 3 Tablespoons), portion out the cookie dough. Roll each scoop of dough between your hands to form a smooth ball, then roll it evenly in the prepared cinnamon sugar mixture until it is completely coated.
• Place the coated dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are spaced at least 2 inches apart to allow for spreading during baking. Gently press down on the top of each dough ball with the palm of your hand to slightly flatten it.
• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when their centers no longer appear wet, and the edges have just begun to turn a light golden brown. Avoid overbaking. Once baked, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5-10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Ensure they are fully cooled before proceeding to frosting.
• Prepare the Cinnamon Buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened 1 cup unsalted butter on medium speed until it is smooth, light, and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all butter is softened and evenly incorporated.
• To the creamed butter, add the sifted powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, the pinch of salt, and ¼ cup heavy cream. Start mixing on the lowest speed to prevent the powdered sugar from flying out of the bowl. Once the dry ingredients are mostly moistened, increase the speed to medium and mix until all ingredients are combined. Scrape the bowl down well with a rubber spatula again.
• Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 2 minutes until the frosting is exceptionally smooth, light, and creamy. If the frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit more heavy cream (½ teaspoon at a time) until the desired consistency is reached.
• Frost and Finish: Once the cookies are completely cooled, use a cookie scoop or a small offset spatula to add a generous dollop of cinnamon buttercream to the top of each cookie. Using the offset spatula or the back of a spoon, gently spread and swirl the frosting to cover the top of each cookie. Finally, take the small amount of reserved cinnamon sugar mixture and delicately sprinkle it over the top of each frosted cookie for that perfect churro finish. Serve immediately and enjoy these delightful, spiced treats!

HI THERE!

I’m Rachel

I’m the dessert lover, recipe developer, and content creator behind Sweet Kitchen Cravings. Here you’ll find classic yet special recipes that are sure to impress your loved ones!