All I have to hear is the word, Churros, and my mouth starts to water. Light fluffy dough is fried and then covered in cinnamon and sugar, totally heavenly!
Heat oil in heavy bottomed pot. Use a candy or oil thermometer to bring it to 350 degrees. Turn down the heat to maintain 330-350 during frying. It may need time between batches to come back up in temp.
Prep your frying station with your sugar and cinnamon mixture in a shallow dish, and a plate with paper towels to drain the hot churros.
In a medium sauce pan, heat water, butter, sugar, and salt over medium heat until it boils.
Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in the flour until it is fully incorporated with the water mixture. It will form a stiff ball of dough.
Add the egg and vanilla, either stirring vigorously by hand or using a hand mixer to blend. The egg won’t incorporate right away, but keep mixing and it will eventually incorporate into the dough. Be sure to keep stirring so the egg doesn’t cook in the hot pan.
Using a large star tip (I used Ateco 852) and a sturdy pastry bag, fill the bag with the finished dough and twist tightly.
When the oil has reached 350, pipe a few 4-6 inch long strips of dough into the oil. Fry for 1 minute 30 seconds on one side, and 1 minute on the other side. Remove from the oil to the paper towel lined plate. Allow to cool for 15-30 seconds before tossing in the cinnamon sugar.
Best served immediately.
Notes
This can be mixed by hand or by hand mixer, but mixing by hand will take some patience and strength to make sure the eggs don’t curdle in the pan.
Make sure to fry in small batches as the churros with brown more evenly and the oil will maintain it’s temperature better.
Instead of mixing the cinnamon sugar in a shallow dish, it can be mixed in a paper bag and the hot churros can be dropped in, the bag closed, and shaken to coat with sugar.