Homemade Churros

When my hubby is not home for dinner, the kids and I tend to pick whatever is fastest and easiest for us and sometimes that means a dinner that is not exactly what you would usually have.

Whether it be pancakes, or cereal or even cake or pie....tonight though, we went for Churros.

Churros are extremely easy to make and even though they will tell you that in order to make them look better, you should really use a pastry bag and star tip, don't let that stop you from still enjoying them.....it's what happened with me tonight, I can't find my pastry bag so I went with a ziploc bag, cut the tip off and use it the same way I would with the pastry bag.

My churros don't exactly have the cutesy shape to them, but that really doesn't matter because the taste is phenomenal :)

Homemade Churros

Credit:  Dinner with Julie

Batter:
1 cup milk or water
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 large eggs

canola oil, for frying
cinnamon sugar (spike granulated sugar generously with ground cinnamon)


In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, butter, sugar and salt to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the flour, and stir vigorously by hand until the dough comes together in a smooth ball that cleans the sides of the pot. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time. You’ll end up with a sort of smooth, shiny, sticky batter that’s thicker than pancake batter but thinner than cookie dough. If you like, you can let it sit at room temperature for an hour, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours, until you’re ready for it.

When you’re ready to cook your churros, heat 2-3 cups of canola oil in a pot until hot but not smoking – test to see if it’s ready by dipping a bit of bread in – it should bubble and simmer around the bread. Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, and squeeze a few inches at a time into the oil, nudging the batter off with a knife.

Don’t crowd the pot – cook maybe 3 or 4 at a time, flipping them as necessary as they turn golden. They should take a few minutes to cook – test to make sure they are cooked through (if they brown too quickly they might not – just turn the heat down). Transfer to paper towels to drain any excess oil.

In a shallow bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the churros around in it to coat them well while they are still warm. Eat.

Makes lots (a few dozen, depending on how long you make them.)