churros

It's hard to go wrong with fried dough and these churros are no exception. I went to Spain with my family years ago and while the spectacular views and friendly people are hazy memories, I can remember the hot, fresh churros served with thick hot chocolate perfectly. I could have eaten churros at breakfast, lunch and dinner they were that good. I decided to overcome my frying anxiety with these churros because I knew they would be a great addition to my 24x24 party menu.

My frying anxiety comes from when I was in college, I tried to fry my own french fries and I almost lit the entire townhouse on fire. It was my first time frying anything and I poured the oil in a large saucepan and turned the burner on the highest heat. Who knew you couldn't heat oil on the highest heat? I quickly learned when the oil caught on fire and I had to use our fire extinguisher to put it out. Yes, I had a fire extinguisher (thanks mom). I took the pot outside and set it in the grass to cool down, leaving a black burn spot in the yard for at least 6 months. So after holding onto that bad memory for far too long, I decided I needed a deep fryer that does all the work for me. These churros had the crispy cinnamon, sugar outside and sweet dough inside that I enjoyed so much in Spain.

One last note about these churros, pipe the dough onto a metal baking sheet before throwing them in the oil so they stay straight. If you pipe the dough directly into the oil they will curl up. And remember to heat the oil over medium-high heat if you fry these in a pan.

Churros
makes 24 6-inch churros

4 c. water
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
6 quarts of vegetable oil

Heat oil to 375°F. 

In a pot over medium-high heat stir together water, 2/3 c. sugar, and 1/2 c. vegetable oil. Bring to a boil and then take the pot off the heat and stir in the flour. Stir together until the dough forms a ball. Place dough into a pastry bag (I used the giant star tip from Bake it Pretty) and pipe dough on a metal baking sheet before dropping them into the oil. Fry churros until golden, about 6-9 minutes. Drain on paper towels and stir together the 1 c. of sugar and the cinnamon and roll the churros in this cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm.