Mmmm Churros

I’m sure you’ve heard of churros and I’m sure the majority of you have eaten churros.  One memory I have of churros comes from when I was little and my mom would drag me along to Kmart.  At the sad snack counter they had one of those standing heat lamp devices that rotated and had churros hanging from little hooks.  They always looked like they were coated in sugar and were all uniform in length and size.  When I would ask my mom if I could get one (they were usually like 3 for a $1) she always said “no” and that they “weren’t good”.  My mom had a bias when it came to churros and for good reason.  My OTHER memory of churros comes from having spent many summers in Spain for many years growing up.  We would often visit my family in Madrid for 3-4 weeks in August every year.   Throughout Madrid in all the bakeries and in all the tapas bars in the morning you could purchase freshly made churros.  I was obsessed with these churros and EVERY morning would ask my grandmother for “churros con café”, yes as a child I wanted coffee.  I was drinking coffee at about 7 but I digress.   So every morning my family would go purchase a ton of churros, they would come in a brown paper bag and I would eat them with my café out on the terrace of my grandmother’s apartment.  They weren’t the churros that were covered in cinnamon and sugar and they weren’t even stick shaped. These came in uniform loop shapes without any kind of sugary addition or flavoring, yet they were utterly light and delicious.  I rarely have the opportunity to have these Spanish style churros anymore, so to my surprise when I visited my mom a few weekends ago and she asked “do you want to make churros?” of course I said YES.

My mom happens to have a churrero, which is a device similar to a pastry or icing tube where you spoon the mixture into a tube and crank down on the opposite end to push the mixture through a star shaped tip.  My mother claims that it’s a long standing tradition to use a device that has no metal, so hers is made of plastic.  You can find one here.  My mother says it’s crucial to use a wooden spoon to cut the piped pieces into the oil.  Despite my researching why this is the case, I’ve haven’t found anything substantial that lends to this school of thought, but I will take her word for it and continue the tradition.  I’m sure you can use a pastry bag with a plain piping nozzle as well!  You have to see the efficiency of the way churros are made locally- the loops are so perfect and uniform.  I have no such skill, so my churros turned out slightly more “rustic” if you will.

Ingredients

Makes 12-15 churros

To make the Batter:

1 ¾ cups of all purpose flour

¼  Teaspoon of salt

2 Tbsp of confectioners sugar

1 cup of water

4 Tbsp of olive oil

1 egg beaten

More confectioners sugar or cinnamon if you want to “dust” your churros

Oil, for deep frying

Sift the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.  Put the water and oil into a pan and bring to a boil.  Slowly add the flour mixture into the boiling water/oil and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a thick paste.  Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes.  After the mixture has cooled, add the egg and mix until smooth. 

Spoon the dough mixture into your pastry bag (use a ½ plain piping nozzle) or churrero and pipe it directly into your heated oil (which should be about 300 degrees) making loops or “s” shapes.  This takes practice- you can do as I do and just go with the generic shape flow, using a knife or wooden spoon to cut the dough to your desired length.  Fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.  Drain the churros on paper towels and give a light dusting of confectioners sugar or cinnamon while still hot. Serve immediately…hopefully with café or chocolate!