Bunuelos Recipe | The Raw Recipe

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A Latin American holiday staple, buñuelos are a donut-like dessert covered in cinnamon sugar! They are light and airy with a golden, crispy shell. The whole family will love them!

I love trying to recreate Latin American sweets and desserts. They always taste the best! You will then have to try coquito, arepas or homemade churros!

Recipe Bunuelos

If you’ve never tried buñuelos before, meet your new obsession. It’s a disc-shaped donut commonly found in Spain, Mexico, and Colombia! Their texture resembles a scone but with a light and crispy shell. They have existed since the 2nd century BC. AD, then you to know they must be good, transmitted from generation to generation. Buñuelos are a popular street food at Christmas. With this recipe, you can have fun and enjoy it in the comfort of your kitchen. No vacation needed!

Now you will be need to fry them in oil, but believe me, it’s a lot easier than it looks! It only takes about 60 seconds for your bunuelos to be light and inflated to perfection. From there, all you have to do is dip them in cinnamon sugar! My kids love helping out with this part. Making bunuelos is quickly becoming a new Christmas tradition! I know your family will love this recipe just as much. You might even want to make them all year round! Need more delicious Mexican desserts in your life? Try a homemade flan or tres leches! This tres leches pumpkin is also a great choice for parties.

Ingredients for Mexican donuts

My favorite thing about this recipe is all the basic ingredients it uses. You can find them all in your pantry! Bunuelos are the perfect thing to do when the kids are craving something sweet. If you are looking for measurements, they are all in the recipe card at the end of the article.

• Flour: All purpose works great here! If you’re using a substitute, make sure it’s not high in protein. This will make your bunuelos dense instead of light and fluffy.
• Baking powder: You should add baking powder to your dough as this helps it rise.
• Sugar: A little caster sugar is enough to make your bunuelos pleasant and sweet. You will also want to save some for the cinnamon sugar coating.
• salt: Salt is an essential addition because it boosts all the flavors. It also keeps your bread from tasting bland.
• Egg: This will help tie it all together. I recommend using a room temperature egg so it mixes well with your batter.
• Butter: For moisture and rich flavor! You will want your butter to be softened or at room temperature as well. This will prevent your dough from being lumpy.
• Vanilla extract: If you want your bunuelos to have the best flavor, use pure vanilla extract! In fact, for desserts like these, I always use vanilla that I got from Mexico!
• Hot water: To add moisture to dough.
• Vegetable oil: This is used to fry bread.
• Cinnamon sugar: To coat the bunuelos!

How to Make Homemade Bunuelos

Making bunuelos is a labor of love! My kids always want to help roll out the dough and coat their bunuelos in cinnamon sugar. Even though we make homemade dough here and fry it in oil, the process is much simpler than it looks. You’ll become a pro at making bunuelos in no time!

Preparation of the dough

1. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Add your egg, melted butter and vanilla. Then mix until it looks like coarse flour. Add your water in 1 tbsp at a time, mix and knead until your dough is soft and completely smooth, this should take 3-4 minutes. Then cover the dough with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Roll the dough: Prepare a flat surface with a rolling pin, a plate with paper towels, flour for dusting, a scraper or a knife. Then once the dough has rested, put it on your work surface and cut it into 12 equal balls. Flour your work surface and start rolling out each ball into a thin circle. You want your bunuelo to be as thin as possible without tearing it. The dough should be almost transparent.

Frying

1. Heat the oil: On the stovetop in a large frying pan, heat your vegetable oil to 350℉ (on medium-high heat). Your oil should only be about 1 to 1.5 inches deep, so the amount of oil you use will vary depending on the size of pan you’re using.
2. Fry: Once all your bunuelos are unrolled and ready you can fry them in hot oil until golden brown and crispy, this should take about 60 seconds. You should also flip them halfway through cooking.
3. Coat with cinnamon sugar: Remove the bunuelos from the frying oil and place them on the paper towel lined baking sheet to absorb any excess oil. When all the bunuelos are cooked, you can sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar and enjoy!