Fall is almost here and I am so excited for a little relief from the heat! Very little tastes like fall as much as churros to me. The Cinnamon and nutmeg blend with the warm and chewy dough to make a comforting (though not very good for you) treat that just feels like cool evenings and family time. It reminds me of walking through crowded rows of games and hearing happy shrieks of children enjoying a night at the county fair, of spending time with the tinies, of weekends and fires. I get so excited when fall comes around because I love anything laden with cinnamon and nutmeg! I originally posted this recipe for our Ferdinand Theme Night (check it out here) from the summer and got a lot of requests for the paella (check it out here) and churro recipes to come up again in more grown up friendly formats, without all of the other theme night goodness. Well, here you go!
For Churros (my favorite base recipe is here!) you will need:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
6 tablespoons Presidente French butter with sea salt crystals (you can sub European style butter – salted)
½ cup milk
½ cup water
1 cup of flour
3 large eggs
Put your wet ingredients, butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy sauce pan to simmer. Once the mixture is simmering well, add all three cups of flour. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes (this is to cool your mixture a bit, you don’t want the eggs to cook yet). Begin adding eggs – one at the time, scraping down the bowl in between eggs, until the dough is shiny and smooth. The dough isn’t going to look right at first, but let it keep mixing without adding any additional ingredients, still scraping down the sides for a couple more minutes. It will come together.
Empty your dough into a 16 inch pastry bag (I love these) with a star tip (fave one is here) on the end. The start tip should be large enough to let the dough pass easily without breaking, yet still leaving an impression in the dough. I like to use the ones that have long tines which will cut deeply into the dough – this allows for some shape to remain when it puffs up in the frying process.
Fry the dough in small lengths (press about 3 inches of dough out of the tube directly into the heated oil). Let drain on paper towels, then roll in remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Serve with chocolate sauce. You can use the recipe here, or you can simply melt bitter sweet chocolate, add one tablespoon instant coffee or espresso powder (you can’t taste the coffee, but it really adds depth to your chocolate recipes!), one tablespoon Mexican vanilla, and heavy cream to get it to the consistency you like. Melt these items together over a low heat in a heavy sauce pan. When you get the desired consistency (the chocolate should be too thin to set and too thick to drink like American hot chocolate), add a couple pinches of sea salt to cut the sweet and bring out the flavors.
Serve on a plate with a bit of chocolate in its own dish for dipping. Individual portions are fine, as is communal for sharing.
The kids really enjoyed this dish – is anyone shocked? Fried dough and chocolate? Tiny has long loved churros, but I have not made them at home because I didn’t want her asking for them every five minutes – not so good for a middle age mom’s waistline, you know. Oh well, the genie’s out of the bottle now. 😊
Generally, it is probably not a great idea, but I let mine hang out in the fridge until I am ready to pop it into the oil. Go ahead and insert your star tip into your pastry bag, sit the pastry bag in a tall glass, and fold the edges over the lip of the glass. This is going to give you a frame to help you fill the bag. As you fill the bag with your dough, pull up the sides of the pastry bag and keep filling (mine is a bit overfilled right now). I twist the top closed and pop it in the fridge until I need it. Bring it back out of the fridge and let it come to room temp before you drop it in the hot oil – it is easier to squeeze that way. You can make it ahead a bit so that you can focus on the paella rather than the hot dough. With the tinies going full force, I like to minimize pots of scalding liquid on the stove when I can (do I get my good momming badge for that?).
Buen provecho – drop me a comment with how yours turn out and leave a pic!
