Churros

By Hannah Chimal

I almost always get churros on my trips to the swap meet with my family. When I was younger, there was a specific indoor one that I loved going to because it had sweetened condensed milk in the middle. Remembering these memories brought back nostalgic feelings that I decided to make them from scratch. I followed a recipe by Cafe Delites and it required a different way of mixing the ingredients since it would have to be on the stove with heat. All the items needed for the recipe include sugar, cinnamon, butter, eggs, water, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and all-purpose/plain flour. Due to mixing the ingredients with heat, it was important for the dough to cool down before adding the eggs since they can possibly cook themselves. I waited around 20-25 minutes, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

Frying them was a little difficult at first but I learned it would be better to cook them on low to medium heat. They would cook evenly and turn out crispy even though it might take a while. I’ve only made churros once before, which was more than a year ago. Those came out okay, but this time they came out so amazing. They were very sweet when dipped into the sweetened condensed milk. The outside of the churro was crunchy while the inside had a softer texture. It didn’t taste bland or dry at all, they had lots of flavor despite being only sugar, cinnamon, and dough. The sugar stuck well to the churro, it wasn’t messy either. These churros are probably one of my favorite treats that I’ve baked so far and I think I will definitely make them again in the future. For those of you who would want to make this on your own, here is the recipe and other additional information: https://cafedelites.com/best-churros-recipe/#recipe

Ingredients

Coating

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Churros

• 4 oz. butter, (125g or 1/2 cup)

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water (280ml)

• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose or plain flour, (6.3oz | 180g)

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Steps

Work Station

1. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together in a shallow bowl for your cinnamon sugar coating.

2. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towel ready for your cooked churros.

3. Fill a large pot or deep skillet with 1 1/2 - 2 cups of oil.

Dough

1. Heat the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add in the water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes while mixing occasionally. Add in the flour, stirring with a large wooden spoon until well blended and forms a ball.

2. Take off heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, or until just warm to the touch.

3. While dough is cooling, heat oil over medium-high heat to 360°F (180°C).

4. Once dough has cooled, add one egg, quickly beating until completely incorporated (it will look like it's not coming together, but keep beating)! Add in the second egg and repeat the process until a dough forms.

5. Scoop dough into a strong double lined pastry bag with a large open star tip nozzle. (I suggest using Wilton 1M or Ateco 845/846.)

Frying

1. Lightly oil the blade end of your scissors and set aside. Carefully pipe 5-6-inch long strips of dough into hot oil, cutting the ends with oiled scissors. Fry 4-5 churros at a time to avoid over-crowding your pot.

2. Fry until golden browned, about 2 minutes each side. Transfer to paper towel lined plate for a few seconds, then roll in the cinnamon sugar.

3. Repeat with remaining dough.

4. Serve warm with melted chocolate or caramel sauce, fruit or ice cream.