Saturday, January 2

Churros

I recently found this recipe on a new blog, the sophisticated gourmet. The photos brought me back to disney world where I last had churros, about 15 years ago. I loved the crunchy cinnamon/sugar crust on the hot tender doughnut. Did you know churros are spanish doughnuts? I didn't. Anyways,  I know I hate to bake but this was the type of baking I could actually pull off. It has minimal ingredients and I happened to have all the ingredients in my pantry – except ground cinnamon, which was strange, so I grated some whole cinnamon sticks instead and it turned out absolutely delectable. The only difference between disney churros and mine were the insides. Mine turned out more custardy than airy, but it was still very good. This recipe only made 6 or 7 churros, depending on how short you cut them, so they were gone pretty quickly. These were pretty simple to make, even for an amateur baker like me, so give it a try!

Churros
1/2 cup water
1 oz salted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup flour
1 large egg at room temperature
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Bring water, butter, 1 tablespoon sugar and lemon zest to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2 Remove from heat and stir in the flour, return to heat, and continue to stir until a smooth ball forms. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
3 With a mixer, I used a handheld, on medium speed add the egg and continue to beat until a smooth, about 2 minutes.
4 Heat 2 inches of oil in a pan until hot but not smoking. You can flick some flour in the oil to see if it sizzles, if it does than the oil is hot enough.
5 While the oil is heating, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
6 Spoon the dough into a pastry bag, I used a gallon ziploc bag and snipped the tip. Hold the bag a few inches above the hot oil and pipe a few lines, as short or as long as you'd like. I didn't try and make them look perfect. You can always cut them later if they are too long.
7 Fry the churros until golden brown, turning only once. Drain oil off on a paper towel and roll in the prepared cinnamon sugar mixture.

10 comments:

Leslie said...

mmmm..churros are REALLY big here in Tampa! Sooo good

♥peachkins♥ said...

I soooo love churros!

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

YUM!
Happy New Year!

Emily said...

Gorgeous pictures! I love churros very much.

Faith said...

I love churros, but I never thought of making them at home! They look great!

Soma said...

One of my favorite sweet bites. We buy us some from Costco once in a while.. Beautiful pictures!

kamran siddiqi said...

Ooh! Just saw this linking back to my site! Yours came out beautifully! You baked them? I think I have to try that!

Frying the churros makes them more airy, but I think custardy might be interesting...

Great post! And thanks for linking back to me! :)

Unknown said...

How wonderful that you made your own churros. I would try this, but i am afraid of deep frying. I always burn myself... and once I made a kitchen fire :P

Chef Fresco said...

I would've never thought to try and make churros - and they are simple? They look very tasty!

katie said...

churros churros churros! I ate so many of these when I lived in Spain. But the ones you're making are more Mexican Style than Spanish. Both are grrreeeat.