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Posted 10 January 2009 - 03:06 PM

Churros, Spanish and Latin American snack desserts (essentially

their doughnuts), are one of my favorite sweets. Traditionally, they're
long tubes with many full-length ridges, crisp on the outside and
somewhat bready on the inside. They can be thin, about 1/2 inch in
diameter, or thicker, as much as 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Often
they're filled with caramel, custard, or cherry flavorings. At places
like El Moro in Mexico City, people eat freshly made thin churros by
dipping them in hot chocolate.

However, on travels in Mexico, I came across freshly made light and

crisp churros only a few inches long. They quickly became my
favorite kind. I consider them the Krispy Kreme version of churros
because they're great hot and fresh and much lighter than the
average churro.

I tried several recipes from people like Rick Bayless and Elizabeth
Lambert-Ortiz, but could only find bready versions. The egg in Ortiz's
recipe seemed to help a little, however. Then TrishCT of eGullet
offered a wetter and fattier recipe from Betty Crocker with even more
eggs, essentially a classic choux paste. It was similar to one I had
invented from extending Ortiz's recipe. Ultimately by mixing ideas
from these recipes, I came up with two versions that I'm happy with.

About 12-16 Churros. Serves 4.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Oil for Frying

Dough:
1 C water
2 1/4 C butter
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
1 C all-purpose flour
2 Eggs
1/3 C heavy cream (optional)

Coating:
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 T Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Put sugar in a bowl and mix in cinnamon. Set aside.

Heat oil to 375 degrees to a depth of at least 2 inches.

Place water, butter, salt, and tablespoon of sugar in a saucepan on

medium heat. Once the butter has melted bring to a rapid boil. Add
flour all at once and mix thoroughly until it forms a pasty ball. Add in
eggs all at once and beat until it reforms a solid paste and the eggs
are fully incorporated. Optionally, mix in the cream for a more moist
interior to the churros.

Add the dough to a churrera or a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star
tip. Extrude churros about 4 inches in length into the hot oil. Fry until
golden brown, never letting the oil go below 350 F, about 1 1/2
minutes on each side.

Move to paper towels to remove excess oil, then toss in cinnamon

sugar. Best when eaten quickly.