Churros originated in Spain, hence the name: Spanish Donut. This treat is a fried pastry made from basic Pate a Choux dough. This is the same dough used to make cream puffs and profiteroles. Those are lots of fancy words for a very simple dough. After frying, roll these in cinnamon sugar and dip in chocolate. Fun to make. Even better to eat!
Ingredients for the Churro Dough (Pate a Choux):
8 Tbl Butter
1 Cup water
Pinch Salt
1 Cup all-purpose flour
4 Eggs
Pecan Oilor Peanut Oil for frying
You'll also need 1/2 cup Sugar and 1 Tbl Ceylon Cinnamon for rolling the finished Churros.
Directions for the Churro Dough (Pate a Choux):
Heat a saucepan over medium high heat and add the butter, water and salt. Bring to a boil then turn off heat. Add the flour all at once. With a wooden spoon (and elbow grease), stir until a ball forms. Then beat in the eggs one at a time. You can use an electric mixer at this point. Place the dough in a pastry bag with a large star tip. Or use a zip top freezer bag. Cut a hole in the corner of the bag and push the pastry tip through. Then load the bag with the dough. If you don't have a star tip, you can simply cut a hole when you're ready to pipe the dough, but the churros won't have the distinctive ribbed appearance. But they will taste the same!
Chill the dough. It can be refrigerated at this point for up to two days.
In a heavy duty skillet (preferably cast iron), heat peanut or Pecan Oil to 350-375 degrees. Pipe the dough into long sticks. Fry until deep golden brown turning once. Transfer to a pan lined with paper towels.
While still hot, roll in the combination of Ceylon Cinnamon and Sugar.
Ingredients for the Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
6 oz Mexican Chocolate* (two disks)
1/2-3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
Directions for the Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
Place the chocolate and 1/2 cup heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir as the chocolate melts then use a whisk to combine. Adjust the consistency with more heavy cream if desired.
*Mexican Chocolate is used to make a hot beverage. It's a combination of chocolate, coarse sugar, cinnamon, spices and sometimes nuts. It comes in scored 3 or 6 oz disks or bars that can be broken into "tablets" for making Mexican Hot Chocolate. It's readily available at large grocery stores with a Latin section or at Mexican markets (Tienditas). Some brand names are Ibarra and Abuelita.