All You Need Is A Piping Bag For Adorable Churro Christmas Trees

If you're someone who enjoys fried confections like doughnuts and funnel cakes, you've probably had your fair share of churros. These Latin American-born cinnamon-sugar delights traditionally comprise a malleable dough made from boiling water, flour, and salt. This partially structured dough is inevitably divided and pushed through a star-tipped piping bag directly into 350-degree Fahrenheit oil until golden brown. While churro dough has evolved throughout the years to include sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract, let's consider ways to upgrade its classic, tube-like shape. You only need a piping bag to alter these elongated, deep-fried strips into something that visually represents a symbol of the Christmas season.

Churro Christmas trees are a fun and simple way to make these deep-fried confections an impressive seasonal treat without a lot of extra work. All you need to do is pipe various-sized dough rings directly onto a sheet of parchment paper, fry, and assemble the cooked rings in sections from biggest on the bottom to smallest at the top. Before you know it, you'll have a platter full of miniature churro Christmas trees. Even though forming rings of churro dough seems simple enough, there are a few noteworthy tips you may want to follow.

Transforming traditional churros into one of your best holiday recipes takes a little finesse. While you can technically pipe your dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, carefully lift the rings, and drop them in oil one by one with your hands, this may lead to distorted shapes, broken dough, and a lot of frustration. To avoid this, use your piping bag to form different-sized dough rings (and small balls) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and then chill or freeze until firm. This way, when you lift your dough pieces and gently drop them in hot oil to cook, they won't lose their designated shapes. However, keep in mind that since you're using chilled or frozen dough, the churro Christmas tree parts may take longer to fry.

Alternatively, if you find yourself pressed for time, cut individual squares of parchment paper, add a bit of oil, and pipe rings onto each one. When it's time to fry, lift each square of parchment and gently drop the pieces into hot oil without touching them. With strategic use of your handy piping bag and ample parchment paper, you're now ready to assemble your churro-inspired trees. You can douse each deep-fried tree with a spoonful of chocolate sauce, a dusting of classic cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or all of the above! 

If you love this idea, you'll be pleased to know there are other creative ways a piping bag can make churros more holiday-friendly.

Now that you know how to form rings of churro dough to make layered Christmas trees, why not go even further and attempt more whimsical shapes? Use your piping bag to easily form churro-shaped candy canes, stars, or simple snowflakes. 

For more intricate shapes — like a five-pointed star — fill in the outlines with extra churro dough. After your dough has been successfully chilled, remove them from parchment paper and fry. Once you get the hang of piping out different shapes, you can make churros into several festive confections. You can even swap out the lemon cream in our churro lemon cream sandwich recipe for peppermint ice cream to create a frozen Christmas dessert everyone will love.

Lucky for you, the fun doesn't stop at piping. If you want to keep things simple, experiment by adding festive warming spices to your churro dough or an extract, like peppermint or almond, for an extra touch of holiday flavor. To finish off your festive treats, add a sugar glaze or chocolate sauce and include some color with red and green holiday sprinkles or sugared cranberries on the side. There are multiple ways to upgrade a classic churro recipe for the holidays.