Feb 11
2010

Churro Wontons With Salted Butter Caramel Dipping Sauce For Your Valentine

in Dessert, Recipes by Type

Churro Wontons & Salted Butter Caramel Dipping Sauce

I’m blaming this post on a number of people.  My friend Rachel to start with.  She invited a bunch of moms with little girls over to her house to take Valentine’s Day pictures of our girls (she’s a talented photographer).  It was a blast, and her pictures of Bug and Squirrel are TO-DIE-FOR CUTE (proud mama speaking).

Valentine's Day Bug & Squirrel

The problem lies in the fact that she asked us each to bring a little treat/snack to share.  This is a problem because it got the wheels turning, and I started thinking about something yummy to take . . . this is always dangerous.  Now let’s turn our attention to Kamran (The Sophisticated Gourmet) and his drool inducing post on making churros.  I LOVE CHURROS.  Crisp sugary outside, warm soft inside . . . needless to say, Kamran’s post has had me craving churros ever since.  Finally, I had a bunch of extra wonton wrappers on hand after making Paula’s (bell’alimento) super yummy Super Bowls for our Super Bowl party.  The result of these circumstances was me making churro wontons: wontons cut into strips and and made into cute little bows, deep fried until crispy, and then doused with a healthy dose of cinnamon and sugar.  Rachel, Kamran, and Paula—I’ll be sending you this week’s gym bill.

Churro Wontons

But then what to dip them in?  Salted Butter Caramel Dipping Sauce of course. Of course.  The sauce is a marriage of 2 recipes: Smitten Kitchen’s and David Lebovitz’s (from his book The Perfect Scoop), and you probably shouldn’t make any because it is dangerous.  Unfortunately we didn’t finish eating up all the sauce yesterday and so I have leftovers.  Mardi (Eat, Live, Travel, Write) wrote about eating crêpes drizzled with salted butter caramel sauce on a trip to Brittany, France recently.  This probably means I’ll have to make some crêpes to finish off the sauce.  Mardi, I’ll be sending you next week’s gym bill.

Dipping churro wonton in salted butter caramel sauce

Churro wontons are a piece of cake to make.  Just cut your wrappers into thirds,

Cut wonton wrappers into thirds

put 2 of the pieces on top of each other and then cut a slit, about 1-inch long down the center of the wrappers.

Cut a slit down the center of the wrapper

Then pull one of the ends through the slit to make a bow shape.

wonton wrapper bow

Repeat with the rest of your wrappers.  Then deep fry them in some oil,

Deep fry the wonton bows

and finish them off with a shower of cinnamon and sugar.

Shower the wontons with cinnamon and sugar

I know that traditionally when you think of making treats for Valentine’s Day, many people automatically think of chocolate.  I recommend you think outside of the box and make some churro wontons and some salted butter caramel sauce to dip them in.  If crispy sugary cinnamony wontons with buttery caramel sauce doesn’t say love, then I don’t know what does.

Churro Wontons & Salted Butter Caramel Dipping Sauce 2

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Churro Wontons

Makes 45 pieces

30 wonton wrappers
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Oil for deep frying

1. Cut the wonton wrappers into thirds.  Stack 2 pieces on top of each other and cut a slit (about 1-inch in length) down the center of the pieces.  Pull one end through the slit in the pieces to make a bow shape.  Repeat the process with the rest of the wrappers.

2. Mix the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon together and put in a sifter.

3. Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until it registers 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add six to eight wontons at a time; cook until golden and crisp on one side, and then flip them over and cook them until they are golden and crisp on the other side.  Carefully remove them from the oil (take care not to splatter hot oil on yourself!) and set them on paper towels to drain.  Give them a shower of cinnamon and sugar.  Repeat with the remaining wontons.

Salted Butter Caramel Dipping Sauce

Makes about 1 1/3 cups of sauce

1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (salted, not unsalted) butter
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot (aim for using a pot on the larger side to give the sugar room to do its thing) melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring the sugar constantly with a wooden spoon to keep it from burning or melting unevenly.  The sugar is done when it has liquefied and is a dark rich copper color.

2. When the sugar is done, add the butter all at once, and stir rapidly until it has melted, then turn off the heat.  Carefully pour in the heavy cream–the mixture will foam and splatter and bit.  Stir everything together until the sauce is smooth.  Stir in the vanilla extract and kosher salt.  Serve.

* Leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator and brought back to temperature by heating it briefly (about 30 seconds) in the microwave.

{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }

Tokyo Terrace February 11, 2010 at 2:09 pm

This is brilliant! I absolutely love it! I am working on my Valentine’s Day post right now and it is going to be dangerous as well… Wonder who I can send my bill to…? Anyway, lovely post and as always, beautiful pictures of your girls!

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Chaya February 11, 2010 at 2:28 pm

I want this and it is completely doable. I have two packages of wontons to use. One is for savory and the other is for this.

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megan February 11, 2010 at 2:54 pm

I love Churros and these look delicious. The caramel sauce could be useful for many things. Like in the bowl of my spoon. ;) Stumbled!

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megan February 11, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Oh, and I forgot to tell you that the pictures of the girls are ADORABLE!!!

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Donna - Dishy Goodness February 11, 2010 at 3:17 pm

This looks so tasty!! Thanks for the idea! I want to try this out.

Happy Valentine’s Day (a little early)!

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Kat February 11, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Very clever idea. :) I always associate churros with gigantic theme parks, but these are adorable for Valentine’s Day!

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Amanda February 11, 2010 at 3:44 pm

OMG those look and sound amazing!

And those kids – CUTEST ever!!!

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Wendy February 11, 2010 at 3:51 pm

These were so yummy! I was kinda excited to see what you would bring and my expectations were meet :)
P.s. The girls are so cute !!!

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Paula - bell'alimento February 11, 2010 at 4:41 pm

Seriously would you stop making me want to lick my screen every time you post! STOP IT I TELL YOU ; ) These are scrumptious Rachael! & you have outdone yourself with the pics! Fantabulous (& I don’t need to tell you how over the top adorable Squirrel & Bug are) If you’re worried about eating all of these you can just mail them to me, you have the address tee hee ; )

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Frieda February 11, 2010 at 5:27 pm

You have taken two of my fave things and made something yummy out of them. I love, love, love fried wontons and even better, salted caramel!

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Fuji Nana February 11, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Drat. There goes the diet.

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Lana from Never Enough Thyme February 11, 2010 at 5:56 pm

What a great idea! And a good change from chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

And…GORGEOUS children!

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Liz - Meal Makeover Mom February 11, 2010 at 6:55 pm

Mention the world “caramel” and I come running. Your recipe looks amazing. And the photos of your kids dressed in their Valentine’s Day finest are lovely.

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deeba February 11, 2010 at 8:07 pm

Slam dunk delicious…both the wanton and the sauce!
The kids are preciously cute. Beautiful post Rachel!!

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Darina February 11, 2010 at 10:26 pm

Aww, the kids are so cute. And what a delicious treat. Anything with caramel is extra spectacular. Yum!

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Su-yin February 12, 2010 at 12:22 am

Ooooh I remember eating something similar when I was younger, this is bringing back many memories! Such a brilliant idea to use wonton wrappers as it makes it that much simpler to make.

Your girls are so adorable – I love the heart shaped sunglasses, hehe.

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Fearless Kitchen February 12, 2010 at 12:54 am

These churro wontons are simply brilliant!

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foodtale February 12, 2010 at 1:49 am

First I thought it was the one to use for making dumplings. It looks crispy. I might dip it with thai sauce as well.

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the lacquer spoon February 12, 2010 at 2:22 am

Wonton fondue… lovely! Wish to dive for on the freezing day in Tokyo!!

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HoneyB February 12, 2010 at 3:49 am

This is absolutely the best idea I have seen ever! I love this – and the salted butter caramel sauce makes it even more tempting! I have bookmarked this for a special occasion! Thank you!

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Christine @ Fresh Local and Best February 12, 2010 at 6:37 am

Churros in salted caramel? Divine! I love the way you think! You’re adorable girls are so lucky to have such a loving and creative mom!

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Kare February 12, 2010 at 9:43 am

Holy moly. These look like divine little diet busters. Thanks for the idea. :)

(Adorable kids!)

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sippitysup February 12, 2010 at 10:22 am

This looks like a great recipe and a fun way to spend an evening. I am just curious. Why just little girls? GREG

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Snap Happy Girl February 12, 2010 at 10:26 am

Oh my goodness– How yummy does this look?? I may have to try this NOW!

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Fuji Mama (Rachael) February 12, 2010 at 1:00 pm

@Frieda– I actually thought of you and that FABULOUS salted butter caramel ice cream you made when I made this! :D

@sippitysup– Hahaha, good question! My friend has 3 little boys, and so she wanted to have a day filled with girly girly stuff for once. :p

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Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction February 12, 2010 at 6:28 pm

Wow… these look incredible! The churro wantons and the caramel dipping sauce would both be delicious on their own – but combined? Amazing.

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Hélène February 12, 2010 at 9:40 pm

They are so cute in the pictures the babies. The churro with caramel dipping look extremely good.

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tia February 12, 2010 at 10:01 pm

wow, i love the knot, pulling it thru like that. awesome ideas!!!

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Rosa February 13, 2010 at 3:40 pm

What cuties!

That recipe is fantastic!

Cheers,

Rosa

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Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite February 13, 2010 at 4:32 pm

Cute girls – so adorable.

FYI, in my continuing permalink nightmare, the link to the Brittany post is:

http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/2010/01/tastes-of-brittany/

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DianasaurDishes February 13, 2010 at 8:07 pm

Oh my goodness! Those look so dangerous and I have tons of won ton wrappers. Will have to make them soon. Your girls are darling :)

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Diana@Spain in Iowa February 15, 2010 at 7:25 am

Rachel, This is stinkin creative! Oh my goodness, I LOVE it! The caramel sauce is great as well, I would have gone for chocolate, so thanks for opening up another door!!

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Gaby February 15, 2010 at 12:15 pm

how freaking adorable are those girls! omg too cute for words!!! And those little churros – talk about being creative!! I dont know if I could handle the salted butter caramel dipping sauce thou… I might just drink it all before I even get to the churros!

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Ann February 15, 2010 at 12:23 pm

What a fun way to make churros! They bring me back to college in Spain with my dad- though the caramel sauce and wantons are a fun twist. Looking at your pictures makes me want to also add chocolate and then some chopped nuts. I need to find a treadmill just thinking about it…

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Missy J February 16, 2010 at 8:35 am

I made these for Valentine’s Day. SO YUMMY! (I went with the store bought wrappers. Please don’t judge me.) Yummy treats and adorable girly girls – its a Fuji Mama classic!

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chubbychinesegirl February 16, 2010 at 6:12 pm

wonton churros is the best idea ever! love the fusion here =)

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Heather February 19, 2010 at 7:45 pm

My daughter would love these. Oh wait so would I!

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AJ February 22, 2010 at 12:48 pm

I shouldn’t have looked. Well, now I’ll have two uses for wonton wrappers that have nothing at all to do with wontons.

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justcooknyc February 25, 2010 at 10:29 am

very cool idea

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deana March 1, 2010 at 6:35 am

I made these last night for dessert and they were gone in seconds! It was so simple, and the kids helped. Thanks for the idea.

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molly May 10, 2010 at 8:04 am

i made these over the weekend for a party. i was suprised they made it out of the kitchen..i had to keep my boyfriend out of them!! They were a big hit ..thanks!–and i remade the cinnamon roll cupcakes….they were fantastic!

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Kate@Diethood May 21, 2011 at 7:51 am

Oh, your babies are gorgeous!!

Churro wontons … genius! And who doesn’t love that dipping sauce…YUMMO!

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