auto reply: out of office
Recipe: churros
I guess there isn’t such a thing as being out of the office for me, since my office is wherever I am. So the office is currently in California. There’s nothing like a quick trip to California for some work and some…
if you insist
grapity grapes
french bistro for lunch (bistro jeanty)
rabbit loin and pappardelle (bistro jeanty)
a latte and a slice of tart au citron (bistro jeanty)
i swear hobbits live here
ah, the state of perpetual blooms
mochi with black truffle bacon marmalade and hazelnuts (morimoto)
uni carbonara (morimoto)
kiwi and coconut sorbets, kaffir lime soda, boba tea dessert (morimoto)
Now you know why I ran 10 miles the other day. And it seems that I should probably run another 10 today after all of that culinary indulgence. Okay, make it 20 since there is more culinary indulgence here – but it’s the kind you can make in your very own kitchen! And you don’t have to be some world-class chef to make it or pay world-class prices to enjoy it.
it’s time for churros: flour, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, butter, salt, chocolate, cream, grand marnier
make the cinnamon sugar
Ever since I made French crullers, I knew churros were in my future. They are essentially the same dough, but churros are fried straight (instead of in the shape of a luscious, wonderful doughnut) and tossed in cinnamon sugar. Oh, and churros are served with a dark chocolate sauce. Well, how can you turn down anything like that? Truth is, you cannot.
chop some good dark chocolate
pour boiling cream over the chocolate and salt
let sit, then whisk into a smooth sauce
and add a nip of grand marnier
The dough requires a little muscle to incorporate the eggs thoroughly after each addition, but it’s really quite straightforward and quick to do. And if you don’t have a forearm strong enough to do the stirring, you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment instead.
sugar, water, butter, salt
stir the flour all at once into the boiling liquid
vigorously stir each egg in one at a time
When the dough reaches a satiny texture, it is ready. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with the dough. I prefer long churros to short churros, so I heated 2-inches of oil for frying in a large stock pot. This way, I could pipe longer churros. Just squeeze the dough into the 350°F oil and snip it off with kitchen shears.
fill a piping bag
cut the dough at the tip and let it drop into the oil
Don’t fret if the dough is folded back on itself, you have a few seconds to straighten it out with tongs or chopsticks before it solidifies. I let mine fry for 5-7 minutes, flipping them over after 3 minutes. They should be a deep golden brown on the outside and thoroughly cooked on the inside (i.e. not goopy). It’s worth testing the first churro to ensure that all of them are cooked through. Let the churros cool for a minute or so, but don’t wait too long before coating them in the cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugar sticks to the churros better when the churros are still pretty hot.
fried and draining on a cooling rack
coat in cinnamon sugar
These really taste the best when the churros and the chocolate sauce are still warm. The churros have a nice crunchy exterior that gives way to an eggy, soft and delicate interior. A treat any time, although I suspect they will get a lot of mileage in our colder months, particularly après ski.
serve warm
and consume promptly
Churros
[print recipe]
from Joy the Baker
cinammon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
chocolate sauce
4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
pinch of salt
1 cup cream
2 tsps Grand Marnier
churros
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs
Mix the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon together in a large shallow bowl. Set aside. Place the chopped dark chocolate and salt in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just boiling. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute then whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the Grand Marnier (more or less to taste). Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 tablespoon of sugar, the butter, water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir the flour in all at once. Stir well for 30-45 seconds over low heat, allowing the dough to dry out a little. Remove from heat. Stir eggs in one at a time, making sure to thoroughly incorporate each egg into the dough before adding the next one (stir vigorously and with gusto until dough is smooth). Heat 2-inches of vegetable oil over medium-high flame in a large or medium pot (I like the large so that I can make longer churros). Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip (I use Ateco #827). When the oil reaches 350°F, pipe 4- to 8-inch segments of dough into the oil, cutting the dough with kitchen shears. If the dough curls in the hot oil don’t fret, you have a few seconds to straighten it out with tongs. Fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown (making sure the center is thoroughly cooked – you’ll have to test one). Toss in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve with warm chocolate sauce. Makes about 12 large churros or 24 small churros.
August 22nd, 2012 at 3:13 am
This entire post is a delight. I would have chosen similar dishes at both places. Rabbit Loin and everything from Morimoto please. Gracias por la receta de churros. Se ven deliciosos!
August 22nd, 2012 at 4:53 am
These look freaking unreal! LOVE this idea!
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:47 am
It’s been a while since my entire apartment smelled of frying. And I really really love churros. So really, this is serendipity, yes?
(Also, can I thank you for having a widget for code entry that actually gives you legible letters to enter? THANK YOU.)
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:11 am
Those churros are really photogenic…but then again, you make everything look great. Lovely.
August 22nd, 2012 at 8:30 am
This is so bizarre. Two days ago I sat up in bed and randomly said to myself, “I want churros. I need churros.” The last time I had them was over 15 years ago in Mexico. How perfect that you made some! They look insanely beautiful (as does the rabbit).
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:52 am
This is lovely, but lady, do you sleep? ;-) XO
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Jen, I always read but I don’t comment often because… how many ways are to say that you are awesome!? :-)
About the churros, I’ve never made them becasuse I was told that the dough was pretty heavy to handle (here people use a special device called churrera to make them) and beacuse we can find churros in every bakery (yes, sometimes I’m pretty lazy). But I’ll definitely try your recipe.
We have them plain (just with sugar), filled with dulce de leche and filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate… (10 miles are not enough!).
A big hug from Buenos Aires
PS: Your photos are always incredible
PS2: You are awesome! :-)
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Churros make up some of my favorite Disneyland memories, but they’re getting so gosh darn expensive! Thanks for sharing this homemade variety–it looks scrumptious, and it’ll be great having Disneyland transported to my kitchen.
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:02 pm
I’ve never actually eaten churros, but I’m dying to have a go at making them! This is a really clear recipe, it’s going on my to-do list.
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:31 pm
I have your french cruller recipe in my wish and now I have this too! Churros always reminds me of my Disney Land trip :)
August 23rd, 2012 at 2:46 am
I have not eaten these in a restaurant before but will like like to make them!!!
August 23rd, 2012 at 4:56 am
Oh my gosh, the churros look so good! And I love that hobbit door!
August 23rd, 2012 at 7:31 am
churros are so dang festive. especially yours.
August 23rd, 2012 at 9:04 pm
The chocolate sauce has my name on it. I’ll just double the batch and serve one up in a shot glass. yum,yum,yummy
August 25th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
You’re making me miss California! And churros. But I don’t have the fortitude to run 10 miles, so I guess I only get one churro?
August 25th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Those churros look awesome! I don’t think I would have the patience myself to make them from scratch, but I sure miss them now that I live in the US even though it’s not something I used to eat often. I’m originally from Spain, and I remember when I was little we’d go visit my grandparents and they would give us homemade churros with hot thick chocolate for breakfast. Yum!
August 26th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Janice – :)
Katrina – it’s a lovely treat when you feel like indulging a bit.
Caitlin – I hate that captcha thingy, but I hate sifting through tens of thousands of spam each day more. So I hope you made some churros!!
Memoria – you’re very kind.
Kristen – I can relate. I wake up thinking those things sometimes too ;)
Selina – not lately!! ha ha ha!
Sil – You are so dear. Thank you! If I lived in BA, I would never make churros either – I’d run out and buy them :) BA has amazing food!!
Ala – they’re really cheap to make! Just a pain if you don’t fry often (which I try not to).
Jenny – everyone should make churros once. I hope you like them!
kankana – you know, it’s the same dough, so just fry up both ways.
Mrs. Ergül – you’ll like them :)
Kristin – I know, it’s sooo cute. I just wish it were 1/3 the size it was.
j – thanks!
Margie – ;)
Diane – just walk 10 miles and you can have two!
Irene – awww, so sweet! I love memories like that. xo
January 27th, 2013 at 7:37 am
I’ve had these saved to make for ages, and finally did so last night — so freaking wonderful. I didn’t have a piping bag, but a regular Ziplock bag with one corner cut off worked well enough (minus the pretty ridges of course). I also ended up with a good amount of leftover chocolate sauce, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will work quite well as a rich hot chocolate drink, perhaps thinned a little bit with water. Going to give that a try now!
March 12th, 2013 at 6:38 am
[…] I didn’t mess with it. I found it at Baking Bites who credited it to the Food Network & Use Real Butter who got it from Joy The Baker who got it from the NY Times. So just in case you have been living […]
April 6th, 2013 at 5:37 pm
First off, your blog is amazing, thanks so much.
I have tried time and time again to make churros, and they’re delicious but they always go soft as they cool down.
The churros I know and love from Spain are dense and crunchy but for some reason when i make them the crust seems much thinner, almost paper thin, and they are soft within about 5-10 minutes of coming out of the oil.
I fry them at 180C but I’ve tried hotter oil, cooler oil, longer/shorter cooking times, nothing!
Any idea what is going on here? Maybe they’re just my Achilles heel! :(
April 7th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
casey – hrm, I’m not really sure what the culprit could be. The flours here are not the same as the flours there. I wonder if that might be the problem? Or it could be climate. My climate is quite dry so my pastries don’t get soggy too quickly. Sorry I am not of more help!
December 16th, 2014 at 1:35 am
This is a wonderful recipe. It’s a keeper! I no longer need to search around for a fool-proof and yummy churros recipe.