CHURROS MY AMIGOS

I first came across these Churros after reading about them on the internet.  Somebody had made these and posted on facebook and out of curiosity, googled about them as I wanted to know what they are and how they are made and surprisingly they are indeed so super easy to make with such a short preparation time.

Churros. sometimes called Spanish doughnuts are basically long shaped fried-dough pastry-based snack served with warm, sweet, milky chocolate dip or dusted with cinnamon sugar.  The dough is a mixture of flour, water and salt.  They are popular in Spain, France, the Philippines, Portugal, Ibero-America and the South-western United States.  There are two types of Churros in Spain.  One is long and fat, and the other, extra popular in Madrid, is thin and has knots which are both eaten for breakfast or as a treat with chocolate or sugar.

When frying them, the oil must be heated to the right temperature so when the dough is piped into the oil, the exterior will crisp up and brown beautifully while maintaining that soft and moist bite inside. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the dough immediately.

So, I tried making them one evening and I (and also my whole family) have fallen in love with them since, not only are they super easy to make at home but they are so so  yummy and there is no denying that Churros appeal to all ages. If you have not tried churros before, you are missing out.  I guarantee that your kids will love these sweet bites too!  So the next time, when you get bored, dont forget to whip up some Churros for your family to enjoy and they will surely love you for these.

I plan to do this again and I hope that you will too...just try out this recipe adapted from Cooking Classy...they are yummy...In some recipes that I came across, they have eggs as one of the ingredients but since I dont quite like eggs, I have left them out.  The first time I tried making these Churros I had added eggs to the dough mixture but then I did not quite like it and I prefer them eggless.....

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain flour
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Piping bag with large open star tip
• Scissors

Cinnamon Sugar coating 

• 1/2 cup caster sugar & 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (whisked together)

Chocolate Dip

• 50g dark chocolate
• 80g milk chocolate

Directions

1. To make the Chocolate Dip, heat up enough water in a small pot.  Then bring a heatproof glass bowl on top of the boiling water (don’t let the water touch the bowl) and turn down the heat.  Stir in the chocolates with spatula and slowly melt the chocolates to a smooth texture.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine milk, water, butter, salt, sugar and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches boiling point, remove saucepan from heat and immediately mix in vanilla and flour.
3. With a spatula, work the dough until the ingredients are well combined.  If there are any lumps, use the spatula and press it down.  Continue to mix until the dough is smooth.
4. Slowly transfer the mixture into a piping bag with large open star tip.
5. Separately, in a heavy bottom pan, heat up enough oil to cover the churros when it is deep fried. Watch the temperature carefully.  Test the heat by dropping a small dough into the oil and when it sizzles and bubbles without burning the dough, it is ready.  Carefully pipe the dough in, until about 2-3 inches long and then use scissors to cut the dough so it falls directly into the oil.  Work in fairly small batches being careful not to overcrowd (which will reduce oil temperature too much).  Allow churros to fry until golden brown (stirring occasionally near the beginning of frying will help keep them from sticking to each other) and scoop them out with a wire skimmer and drain and cool on a wire rack or on a plate or baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels. 
6. Serve with chocolate dip on the side or dust with cinnamon sugar, whichever way you like.
7. Enjoy!