We tried the gnocchi churros that have taken social media by storm. They are beautifully crunchy and were a huge hit, not just with children

Do you like churros? The popular Spanish dessert has gained popularity here and has become the star of various food festivals. Preparing it at home is not exactly the easiest, unless you choose the hit of the Internet - its easy version made from ordinary gnocchi. Everyone can make mini churros and you may be pleasantly surprised by the taste.

Sweet Spanish treat

Churros are one of the traditional Spanish desserts. The sweet fried pastry has gained popularity not only for its great taste but also for its texture. Fried churros stand out with their golden brown, crispy surface and soft, chewy center.

Churros take the form of more or less thick long straight or curved sticks, spirals or rings, which are shaped either using a special device/press with a star-shaped attachment or a pastry bag.

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A classic made from batter

Traditional churros are made from a simple dough of flour, water and salt, which is made in a similar way to batter. While in our country we enjoy them with chocolate sauce, in Spain they are often served just coated in sugar, or even on their own as a breakfast pastry. Especially in the winter months they are then served with hot chocolate as an addition, into which they are then dipped.

However, they can be served with just coffee with milk or, conversely, milk caramel sauce. In addition, in Spain, mainly in the Malaga region, they make another, slightly different churros, called tejeringos, which are made from leavened dough or from dough in which the yeast is replaced with baking powder. These are fluffier than churros made from batter. Spanish porras are also similar.

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Instead of gnocchi dough

Churros can take many different forms, and many simpler versions have gradually emerged, allowing you to enjoy the popular treat at home without having to make batter or leavened dough.

One of them is mini churros made from gnocchi. They are interesting mainly because you don't need to make any dough for them, as they are made from ordinary gnocchi, which are used as a side dish. The easiest way is to buy classic Italian gnocchi, which are available in almost every store.

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Churros from a hot air fryer

You can prepare churros from nocturnes in a hot air fryer in no time, achieving the necessary crispy surface and soft center. This is also an opportunity to prepare an interesting dessert in this popular kitchen appliance, which will be especially popular with children.

Moreover, thanks to their small size, these churros gnocchi are also suitable as a great dessert, or perhaps as a treat for a celebration. It is no wonder that these tiny churros have recently gained great popularity on social media and even become a viral recipe. So we had to try them too.

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How do churros made from gnocchi taste?

And how did they taste? Surprisingly, they were really good. After baking, the gnocchi were beautifully crispy on the surface. The cinnamon sugar coating gave them a taste that really reminds us of classic churros, and the chocolate sauce made the whole experience even more intense. The churros gnocchi were the biggest hit with the children, who ate them one after the other.

We used rice gnocchi, which are gluten-free, but you can also use classic potato gnocchi. The advantage of rice gnocchi is their relatively neutral taste, which makes the cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate stand out well.

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Mini churros and gnocchi

We prepared a Nutella topping for the mini churros, for which we used 100 g of Nutella and 40–50 ml of whipping cream. You just heat the cream, add the Nutella and mix everything until smooth. You can add a little more cream depending on the desired thickness. But you can also try the classic chocolate sauce as in the recipe below.

• You will need: 500 g gnocchi
• 50 g chocolate
• 30 g butter
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Melt the butter in the microwave. Place the gnocchi in the basket of the air fryer, pour the melted butter over them and mix well to coat them on all sides.

Bake the gnocchi in a hot air fryer at 200°C for approximately 15 minutes. Shake the basket halfway through baking to ensure the gnocchi cook and brown evenly.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, ideally in 30-second intervals, stirring between each.

Roll the finished gnocchi in cinnamon sugar while still warm. Serve with melted chocolate for dipping.

You can see what regular churros look like in our photo gallery:

Our tip: You can prepare classic churros according to our video recipe.