Churros

We had fun this week because Carrie got a deep fryer for her birthday. So of course we all had to rush over and play right away, frying everything we could get our hands on. Churros were a great success.

Churros are a type of fried dough that's very popular in Spain. It's usually served with a small mug of thick, rich chocolate for dipping, and might be rolled in (cinnamon) sugar. This recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

It would be nice to have a 1/2" star tip for piping these out, because that shape gives more crispy surface and makes sure the inside is cooked by the time the outside is browned. But we didn't have one, so we just snipped the corner of a plastic bag and squeezed it from there. It worked pretty well, though the center was still quite wet and undercooked.

Heat to a rolling boil:

1. 1 c water
2. 8 T butter (1 stick)
3. 1/4 t salt

Dump in and stir vigorously until dough forms a ball:

1. 4 1/4 oz (scant 1 cup) all-purpose flour

Stir in all at once:

1. 3 eggs

Beat until dough is smooth.

Pipe out the churros about 1/2" in diameter directly into oil at 375 F. Fry about 4 minutes, until golden. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1/4 c sugar + 1/4 t ground cinnamon). Eat while still hot.

The King Arthur recipe for dipping chocolate was a bit of a disappointment. A warm chocolate ganache might be a better choice.