Churros are something like a dessert that is in every aspect hard on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Read on for this churros recipe, which teaches you how to make tasty churros from scratch right in the comforts of your own home, whether you perhaps need them for a Cinco de Mayo party, or just a family dessert. From getting the perfect texture for the first time or when you just simply love churros, this guide contains vital information to give you the best churros.
Ingredients and Equipment
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
Sugar-cinnamon mixture (0,5 cup sugar + 1 tbsp cinnamon)
Chocolate sauce or chocolate ganache for those who like to dip the cookie (optional).
Equipment:
Deep fryer or deep heavy based skillet
For the icing a piping bag is used which has a large star nozzle.
Saucepan
Tongs
Paper towel lined plate
Preparing the Churro Dough
Start with the Basics:
In a saucepan over medium flame, mix 1 cup water, 1 cup of unsalted butter, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let it boil with a great amount of momentum but ensure that there is a consistent stir in between. The mixture has to boil fully before you add the flour so the dough can properly cook when you are adding the flour.
Add Flour:
When the mix is hot add the flour all at once. Stir it up with a wooden spoon or spatula till all the ingredients form a lump and the dough is smooth. Keep on cooking the dough for another minute or two until it forms a round mass and is no longer sticking with the side of the pot. This step is very important since it aids in determination of whether the dough is right or not.
Cool and Add Egg:
Take the saucepan out of the other heat and let the dough to cool down. When the stuffing has cooled down a little stir in one egg. Stir until the egg is incorporated well and the dough is well combined. The dough should be paste like, or thickened but not too starchy. If it feels too thick add a little bit water in it but it has to be thick enough so as to pipe properly.
Prepare for Frying:
Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a big nozzle or use a spoon to scoop the dough and place it in a plastic bags and cut off a small piece at the end. This is how you get the ridged pattern characteristic to churros’ exterior surface. Ensure that the piping bag is well fitted so that there will not be a time the piping bag will come off.
Frying the Churros
Heat the Oil:
Heat oil in deep fryer or big skillet over high heat (approximately 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C). Ensure that there is sufficient oil to fry the churros till they are totally immersed in the oil. If for instance the frying pan that is being used is a deep, then the person frying the chicken has a major task at hand so far as the monitoring of the heat levels of the oil is concerned. Feel with hands apart from that use a thermometer of the kitchen to check heat.
Pipe the Dough:
Gently squeeze circular strips of the dough using a spoon and carefully lowering them into the hot oil using a spoon and chop them into desired sizes with scissors or knife. It is up to one’s preference whether to pipe the dough in straight neat lines or swirls into the oil.
Fry Until Golden Brown:
We should never overcrowd the pan in frying churros so that they don’t stick to one another. This makes sure that the oil temperature is kept constant and also assists the churros to be cooked evenly. Bake for 2-3 minutes on one side and turn over to fry the other side with the same color. The churros also some of them should be crunchy at the outside part while soft on the inside.
Drain and Coat:
With the help of tongs lift the churros out of the oil and then put over the paper towels so that it can drain excess oil. While still warm roll in cinnamon sugar so that the cookies will be covered with the mixture. This sugar and cinnamon mix makes the churros sweet and spicy and this is probably why they are also called cinnamon sugar churros.
Serving Suggestions
Churros are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in several ways: Churros are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in several ways:
Dipping Sauces:
For best accompaniment, dsperse the churros with a dip in chocolate sauce, chocolate ganache or caramel sauce. Chocolate sauce or melted chocolate gives a creamy touch to the churros and it goes very well with crispy texture of the churros.
Hot Chocolate:
If you want your churros to be more comforting, serve it with hot chocolate. You simply cannot go wrong with a crispy serving of churros accompanied by a fine bottlet of hot chocolate.
Freshly Made:
To repeated the preparation of the churros is very simple, it is necessary to highlight that churros are excellent to be tasted when they are newly made, however they can be warmed up. You can easily warm them back in a regular oven at home to regain some of the crisp which they have lost.
Tips for Perfect Churros
Monitor Oil Temperature:
Proper temperature of the oil plays important role in making the right texture, hence the need to keep checking the oil temperature. If the oil is too hot the churros will turn brown and crispy at the surface while the inside part will still be raw. If it’s too cool, they will absorb too much oil and will appear greasy in nature that will not be good at all.
Pipe with Precision:
For the original churro shape, fill a piping bag with the dough then put a large star nozzle as piping tip. The star tip assist in making ridges that cling or grip unto the cinnamon sugar firmly. If the dough is too thick they can trim the end of the piping bag off to get it easier to get through with.
Avoid Overcrowding:
DO NOT fry churros in a large batch as this reduces the temperature of the oil therefore making the churros soggy.
Drain and Coat Immediately:
When fried, don’t fry for long as this will make the bread too mushy instead soak in paper towels to get rid of extra oil then roll in cinnamon sugar while still hot as this will stick well on the bread.
Conclusion
Churros made at home is such a delight as it has the taste of fried dough and that wonderful cinnamon sugar coating. Follow these directions and steps so that you could make snack perfect churros, as those in any other carnival or bakery. No mater when eaten, warm and melty or served with a dark chocolate ganache, churros are sure to be a favorite with your guests. This is a great Spanish churros recipe for one to embrace the process of making churros and feeling the joy of making a sweet and yummy churros at the comfort of one’s own home.