Churros

It seems like you see churros just about everywhere now a days.  Little Caesars has a version of churros that is pretty close to the original.  Taco Bell has a version of churros that they call "cinnamon twists".  It's a crunchier version of the original churro but is still very tasty.  Pollo Campero, the McDonald's of the Latin world, also has a doughier version of churros that I love to eat as well.  Japan even has a churro cartoon series! 

If you go anywhere in Latin America or Spain, you will definitely see these treats being sold in churro stands, such as the one on the left.  Are churros characteristically Salvadoran? Yes, and no. Where did churros come from?  Depends on who you ask.

If you ask a Spaniard where churros came from, they will say Spain.  If you ask a Mexican, they will say Mexico.  If you ask a Salvadoran, they will probably just say Latin America. 

So what is a churro?  Essentially, churros are a twisted, fried, cinnamon-and-sugar-coated, dough pastry.  They are usually star shaped because they are pipped out of a churrera, or churro maker, that has a star-shaped nozzle.  A cookie press or a pastry bag with a big star shaped nozzle will work just as well if you don't have an authentic churrera on hand.  Churros can be really long or really short.  They can be just barely toasted and super doughy, or they can be thin, crunchy, and crispy.

Although known for their traditional coating of cinnamon and sugar, churros are also frequently dipped or even fully coated in a hot caramel or chocolate dipping sauce.  Churros can also be filled with pastry cream or fruit preserves.  

Although churros may look hard to make, they are in fact one of the quickest traditional Latin desserts to prepare that there is!  Churro dough is basically just Pate E Choux dough,  except that churro dough usually has more sugar and less egg.  You can see my posting on eclairs for more information on this type of dough.    

Here's my easy recipe for a simple, cinnamon coated, churro twist. Because Salvadoran-style churros are often filled with pastry cream, I serve these churros with a side of my milhojas cream.  I put the cream on the side because I do not have a big enough star tip to pipe out churros that are big enough to be filled on the inside.   I have seen many recipes for churros that use either two eggs or no egg.  After trying lots of recipes over the years, I feel that one egg works best because two eggs can make the batter too runny while no egg can make the batter too hard and the dough won't cook well on the inside when fried.

Churros:

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup white flour

1 cup water

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

Sugar and cinnamon for coating

Directions:

• In a bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, and nutmeg together
• In a saucepan on low heat, heat the oil, water, sugar, and salt together until the sugar has dissolved evenly.  Remove from heat and add in cup of flour and stir vigorously until thoroughly mixed into a dough.
• Make a well with the dough by pushing it to the sides of the saucepan and let cool until barely warm to the touch.
• Once cooled, add in the whisked egg and mix thoroughly - it should now look like a glossy dough.
• Heat frying oil to 375, or for about 5 minutes on medium high in skillet.
• Meanwhile, place the dough into a churrera, cookie press, or pastry bag with the biggest star tip you can find.
• Pipe out the dough onto a plate so you have them ready to throw into the hot oil
• Once oil is hot, place the churros into the oil and let cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and done inside
• Remove cooked churros from heat and place on a plate lined with paper-towel to drain off excess oil.
• Once cooled, roll churros in sugar-cinnamon mixture and serve with whatever topping you would like!

Buen Provecho!