Sunday, June 14, 2009

Churros

Jen asked me to post this recipe. We were talking about yummy Mexican food while we were at Los Hermanos. I was drooling about churros. Sometimes you just get a craving.

I recommend some specialized equipment for making these. You don't have to have it, but it makes it all so much easier.
1. a spider (a mesh scooper for frying)--you can also use a slotted spoon
2. a 12inch pastry bag--you can use a gallon plastic bag, but watch for breakouts when hot oil splatters on it.
3. a large open-star tip (the kind you would use for frosting a large cake)--you can use this with the plastic bag or with the pastry bag. You can also do it without the tip, but they look less like churros and more like, to quote Hannah, poop.
4. a helper
5. a candy thermometer--this you actually need.

Churros

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. milk
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
3 large eggs
5-6 c. vegetable oil, for frying

1. Stir together cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl (I like a pie plate This makes a ton, I usually reserve the rest for cinnamon and sugar toast, but you may want to reduce it.); set aside. Bring milk, butter, and salt to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from side of pan, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and let cool 3 minutes. Add eggs, and stir until batter is smooth. (I like to transfer to my mixer at this point. It goes so much easier.) Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip.
2. Hear 4-5 inches oil in a large Dutch oven until it registers 330 on a deep-fry (candy) thermometer. (I heat it to around 300 on high and then turn it down to medium.) Holding pastry bag a few inches above the oil, squeeze out batter, snipping off 4-inch lengths with a knife or kitchen shears. (This is where the helper comes in handy. Watch for splattering hot oil.) Fry 6-8 churros at a time, turning once, until deep golden brown all over, about 5 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
3. Roll churros in cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately with hot chocolate. (I like Abuelita's Mexican Hot Chocolate with these.)
Makes about 20

These are best when warm, if you can wait that long. Our family easily finishes them off in an evening. Katrina has one right now. She keeps saying "umm" every time she takes a bite.

2 comments:

Jen said...

Hey, I think I can actually do that. Sounds very yummy.

Is the batter/dough thick enough to pipe out the 4" onto, say, wax paper and then drop them in the oil (if, for instance, one doesn't have a helper)?

Missa said...

Yes, it is thick enough, but very sticky (think tar baby) and you would ruin some of the lovely ridges for collecting cinnamon and sugar and you may end up with "poop." I recommend the helper because I like to have two hands for piping. The batter is thick enough to make piping with one hand tiring after a while. It is doable without the helper, it just takes longer and is more unwieldy.