Disney-Inspired Churro Waffles Recipe

The Mickey Mouse-shaped churro waffles available at Disney's Crystal Palace breakfast buffet (and elsewhere in Disney properties) have become quite the internet sensation. And what's not to love? Waffles are arguably the best breakfast carb, and they're especially delicious when shaped in the likeness of a beloved character and coated in cinnamon sugar. But those Mickey waffles don't come cheap, and moreover, not everyone can just drop everything and take a trip to a Disney breakfast buffet — but that's where this homemade version, courtesy of recipe developer A.J. Forget, comes into play.

At their core, these are just typical waffles. What makes them churro waffles is that after cooking they are brushed with butter and dipped in cinnamon sugar. At first glance that might not seem like much, but they really are delicious. Especially when paired with the strawberry sauce in this recipe, whether you drizzle it over the top or eat them churro-style and dip your waffles straight in. If you really want the complete experience from the Crystal Palace buffet, you can invest in a Disney Mickey Mouse waffle iron. For everyone else, you can just make the traditional Mickey Mouse silhouette with a full-size waffle and two smaller "ears."

The ingredients for this recipe can be divided into a few sections. First, for the strawberry sauce you will need fresh strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Next, for the waffles you will need flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, oil, egg, and milk. Finally, for the cinnamon sugar coating you will need butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Once you have all of these ingredients together, you are ready to begin cooking.

Add all of the strawberry sauce ingredients to a small saucepan over low heat.

Simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries cook down into a thick sauce. Remove from heat.

Stir together the dry waffle ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a mixing bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the wet waffle ingredients (egg, milk, and oil).

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together to form a batter.

Heat the waffle iron and add enough batter to make a full waffle — around ¼ cup for a mini waffle iron.

Cook for around 2 to 3 minutes, or until the waffle is cooked through and the lid pulls easily away. To make the ears for the Mickey Mouse face, use around ⅓ as much batter as you would for a full waffle.

Repeat the process, making enough Mickey faces and ears for 4 total servings.

Stir together the cinnamon and sugar and spread it over a plate.

Brush both sides of the waffles with melted butter and then dip them in the cinnamon sugar.

Once the waffles are coated in cinnamon sugar, they are ready to be served. The strawberry sauce can be spread over the top or used for dipping.

With a crisp crust and a thick dusting of cinnamon sugar, these churro waffles are delicious exactly as they are served — and they're especially dipped in the strawberry sauce in this recipe. But that doesn't mean that it is the only way to serve them. As far as customization goes, the easiest way to make this recipe your own is to play with how the waffles are served.

Churros are often served alongside a chocolate dipping sauce. In Spain it's typical to serve churros alongside a mug of thick hot chocolate for breakfast, but for waffles, the chocolate sauce ought to be a little bit thicker than that. This indulgent chocolate gravy recipe would be perfect either for drizzling over the churro waffles or as a second sauce alongside the strawberry for extra dipping variety.

Another great choice for topping these churro waffles would be a nice dulce de leche. This rich, caramel-ish sauce would make an excellent complement to the cinnamon-sugar flavor of the waffles. You can make dulce de leche at home with a can of condensed milk, or just pick up a ready-to-go can at the grocery store.

Finally, you can always serve them like you would a traditional waffle, with maple syrup. Despite being coated in cinnamon and sugar, a drizzle of maple syrup isn't going to take them over the top (especially for the little ones).

There are a handful of things that seem to be universal to all global cuisines, and doughnuts are certainly one of them. Cultures all around the world have developed their own doughnuts, and the churro is just another form of this universal human obsession with sweet, fried dough.

When it comes to the specific history of churros (as opposed to fried dough treats on the whole), it is a little bit uncertain, as food histories often are. What we do know is that churros came to be the cinnamon-sugar-dusted treats we know today in the country of Spain. What we don't know is exactly how they first ended up there. Some argue that these fried dough snacks first arrived from the knowledge of Portuguese sailors who had traveled to China. Others argue that it was the Moorish occupation of Spain that first brought this particular sweet to Iberia. But there is also evidence that doughnuts of a sort existed in 2nd-century Rome, which was not so very far away. Given the universal love for fried dough, it would be very difficult to nail down exactly how the churro first ended up in Spanish cuisine — but we're just grateful that it did at all.