In Spanish tapas and café culture, fried dough sticks served with thick hot chocolate are called churros.
Churros are made by piping a simple dough into hot oil, where it develops a crisp exterior and cooked interior. They are commonly eaten with chocolate caliente, a thick drinking chocolate used for dipping rather than the thin cocoa drinks familiar in some countries.
Although churros are often associated with breakfast, late-night cafés, fairs, and festivals, they can also appear in casual Spanish snack settings. Their ridged shape comes from the star-shaped nozzle used to extrude the dough.
Porras are a related Spanish fried dough, usually thicker and softer. The two are sometimes treated as interchangeable outside Spain, but they are distinct traditional forms. Churros may be straight, looped, or segmented depending on the region and vendor.