Cinnamon churros

 

Crunchy and sweet on the outside, yet soft and warm on the inside! A perfect dessert that can be made and shared at home. Drizzle with some chocolate if desired. Yields about 18 4-inch churros

Ingredients

• Cinnamon sugar coating (mix the amounts of sugar and cinnamon listed below in a small bowl and set aside)
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• Churros
• 1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• Vegetable or canola oil for frying
• Special equipment: a deep-frying thermometer; a pastry bag fitted with a large star ti

Directions

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust liberally with flour. Set aside. 
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, combine the water, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. 
• Remove the pan from the heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir in the 1 cup of flour all at once.Return the pan to low heat and stir continuously until the mixture forms a thick dough, about 2 minutes. 
• Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the machine running on medium speed, slowly add the eggs. Continue to beat until the eggs are fully incorporated and the dough is thick, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 4-inch long logs (if the tip opening is too small, pipe the 4 strips of dough on top of each other multiple times to create a thicker churro. 
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about 1/3 of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you dont have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in a couple of minutes.) 
• Using a spatula, transfer the dough, 4 pieces at a time, into the hot oil, and fry until dark-golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes.
• Drain the churros on paper towels and roll in the cinnamon-espresso sugar while still hot. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately. 
• Optional: melt some semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave, and dip the churros into the melted chocolate. 

Original recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Happy and healthy eating!