churros!

I have a short history with churros, but a pretty deep one. My first churro was approximately two or three years ago, can you believe that?

 

Mama Inez in West Lafayette, IN she is the one who got me onto them, and let me tell you she knows what's up. I love and curse her for it every day.

Then there was a trip to Mexico last summer where I ate just about as many as I could fit on my plate. Despite the way this photo looks, that statement is indeed true. Also despite the photo, I  never cut my hair to look like a little boy's, its just a bad picture, ok people? Yikes, should I really post this?

Finally there was last weekend, when I had a small little dinner party with and Emily & Rob and some co-workers of Kevin. Flank steak was grilled and tomatillo salsa was made, a la Rick Bayless, Emily brought a delicious salad filled with organic produce from her farm adventures earlier in the day, and yes, oh yes, churros were fried, covered with sugar, then devoured. I might mention it was quite a fun and hilarious kitchen adventure with the girls. Note: if you don't use the star tip to pipe your churros, you might get some pretty great shapes, that after a few Mexican beers you just can't stop laughing about... you get my drift, yes?

Without having made them before, I scoured the recipe sites and went for one of the easier recipes around the interwebs, with a shorter list of ingredients than many (i.e. no eggs or butter included), and though I was worried they wouldn't be as good, they tasted just like perfect little churros to me.

My only few notes of caution are not to make them too thick, otherwise they may not cook enough (mine were about 1/2-inch diameter and perfect) and to definitely eat them within a few hours of frying... day after churros, not so great (sad but true).

So, if you're up for some deep frying, have a hankering for churros like I did, here is a pretty straight-forward recipe to follow with super yummy results. It also doubles super easily, fyi. Comamos!!

 

churros

serves about 4, makes 25-30 small churros (2-3 inches)

recipe adapted from here 

1 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 quarts oil for frying
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball and is smooth. 

In a paper bag or in a plate, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, or deep fryer, heat a few inches of oil to 375 degrees F. With a large star tip (optional), pipe strips of dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. Alternatively, place dough in a plastic ziplock bag and cut tip off so diamter is about 1/2-inch, then pipe strips into hot oil. Fry until deep golden. Drain on paper towels. Shake or roll churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature (same day!)