Raspberry Chipotle Churro Bites with Two Dipping Sauces
When we decided to show off the versatility of Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning, we knew we had to do something sweet. We decided on crispy churros, and then dressed them in Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning whenever possible. We also made the churros small, so they’re shareable and easy to eat.
Dipping sauces bring fun and excitement to a dish, so we served the churros with a seasoned dulce de leche and a sweet-tart raspberry compote that bring out different aspects of the churros. This would also work with a chocolate ganache or white chocolate cream.
Pro tip: Churro dough is stiff. Use a sturdy pastry bag instead of a disposable icing bag to prevent blowouts. To get the right ridged shape, use the 1M sized open star tip.
For the churros:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, diced into small cubes
1 Tablespoon Granulated Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning
1 cup all-purpose (AP) flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the coating:
3 Tablespoons Granulated Honey
1 Tablespoon Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning
For the dulce de leche:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 healthy pinch Kosher Salt
2-3 Tablespoons Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning, depending on taste
For the raspberry compote:
2 cups frozen raspberries
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 Tablespoon Ginger Powder
1 teaspoon Pink Peppercorns, ground
2 teaspoons Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning
1) First, make dipping sauces. Recipes to follow.
2) Make the coating. Whisk Granulated Honey and Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning together. Set aside.
3) Pour 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a deep skillet. Heat to 360°F, and adjust heat as needed to maintain this temperature during cooking.
4) Add water, butter, Granulated Brown Sugar, and Fine Sea Salt to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.
5) Reduce heat to medium low. Add flour and stir with a rubber spatula until dough just comes together. It can have a few lumps in it. Dough should be silky and soft, not tight.
6) Move dough to a large mixing bowl to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning while it cools.
7) Add vanilla extract and egg to the dough. Blend with an electric mixer until the dough comes together into a smooth dough ball. This should happen fairly quickly.
8) Move dough into a piping bag with a 1M tip. Lay out a clean baking tray with parchment over it.
9) Pipe lines of churro dough onto parchment until the pastry bag is empty. Take a paring knife and cut churros to desired size—ours were between 1 and 1 1/2 inches long.
10) Drop churros into hot oil, in small batches so oil temperature does not significantly lower. Cook time for churros of that size is 2-3 minutes. Churros should be golden brown all over and cooked through.
11) Transfer cooked churros to paper towels to drain. Toss in prepared coating while churros are still hot.
12) Continue cooking in small batches until all dough is cooked and tossed in sugar. Serve with dipping sauces.
For dulce de leche:
1) Heat oven to 425°F.
2) Pour sweetened condensed milk into a shallow glass baking dish or pie plate. Cover dish tightly with foil.
3) Put a larger baking dish in the oven. Place dish with milk inside the larger baking dish. Pour water into the larger baking dish, until it comes halfway up the side of the small dish.
4) Bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, checking occasionally to make sure water has not evaporated too much. Pour in more water, if the level is low.
5) Dulce de leche should be golden and have a creamy, caramelly finish. Stir in Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning to taste.
For raspberry compote:
1) Grind Pink Peppercorns in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to your preferred texture.
2) Put raspberries, cranberry juice, Ginger Powder, and Pink Peppercorns (ground) in a small pot or saucepan. Stir to combine.
3) Simmer over a medium-low to medium heat until raspberries have fully broken down and the contents of the pan have reduced by about half.
4) Add Raspberry Chipotle Seasoning and stir well to combine.