Churros

Churros:

(Recipe from doriegreenspan.com. Adapted from a Chef Alain Morville recipe.)

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup water
1 stick (4 ounces) butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Prepare to fry the churros by heating about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep pan.  The oil should be about 360 degrees.

To make the dough, bring the water, butter, cinnamon and salt to a rolling boil in a 3-quart saucepan.  Stir in the flour all at once.  Reduce the heat to low and stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Beat the 3 eggs until well blended then add them, in 3 additions, to the mixture in the saucepan – keep stirring until the mixture comes together and is smooth.  (You can do this in a mixer with a paddle attachment if you’ve already had your daily workout.)

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.  Have a scissors at hand.  Hold the bag over the hot oil, squeeze a strip of dough about 4 inches long, snip it with the scissors and let it drop into the oil.  Fry 3 to 4 strips at a time, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes on a side.  Drain on paper towels.  Roll the churros in the sugar and serve immediately.  These are really best minutes after they’ve been fried.