CHURROS

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large eggs

1 quart (4 cups) canola oil

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions

MAKE THE CHURRO BATTER Place the butter, ½ cup of the sugar, the salt, and 2 cups of water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring, until the butter and sugar are melted. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool until its temperature falls below 125°F on an instant-read thermometer (you don’t want the eggs to scramble when you add them to the liquid).

Off the heat, add the flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate it until the mixture forms a loose batter.

Transfer the churro batter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the batter on medium-low speed for a few seconds just to let off some heat. Add the vanilla, then add the eggs, 2 at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Beat until the eggs are fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and a little stretchy. Transfer the dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a #828 star tip.

FRY THE CHURROS Set a wire rack on a sheet pan or line a sheet pan with a double layer of paper towels.

In a large deep pot or a deep fryer, heat the canola oil to 365°F. Once the oil is hot, hold the pastry bag a few inches above the oil and pipe a 5-inch length of dough directly into the hot oil, moving the bag across the oil as you pipe (use your finger or the tip of a knife to break off the dough from the piping bag). Repeat one or two times (you don’t want to overcrowd the pot). Fry the churros until they are golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Use a frying spider to transfer the churros to the prepared sheet pan. Repeat, piping more dough into the hot oil, until you have used all the dough.

Add the remaining ½ cup sugar and the cinnamon to a small paper bag and shake to combine. Add a still-warm churro to the bag and shake lightly to evenly coat the churro on all sides (you want it warm so the cinnamon sugar will stick). Place it on a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining churros and topping.

Churros are awesome eaten warm, or preferably within 1 hour of frying.

Notes

If you don’t love churros, the ridged, crispy, but tender donut-like Mexican treat, you’re not human. Sorry. (And if you’re allergic to gluten, that’s no excuse, either: you can make these with gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour!) Churros are all things good about dessert: cinnamony, crunchy, cakey, salty, sweet, fried, handheld.

Yes, these are a bit of a project. But churros are worth it because, at the end of the day, you’re going to have homemade hot churros in your own home! One tip to help you streamline: you can make the batter and pipe out little uncooked churros onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them a week or so before you’re going to cook them. That way all you have to do when you want to serve them is fry them up and toss them in cinnamon sugar. Just like that, you’re a hero.