Churros and Chocolate

Churros and Chocolate

Churros are essentially a choux pastry dough - the same dough that makes profiteroles, eclairs, and gougères. It’s a fun dough to make, and pretty straight forward. The messy step in this recipe is in the frying. These churros are delicious with just their cinnamon-sugar coating, so making the chocolate sauce is completely up to you. 

Makes about 18 (3-inch) churros.

For the chocolate sauce (optional):
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

For the churros:
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 quarts canola or vegetable oil, for frying

1. If you choose, make the chocolate sauce: Place chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and salt until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Let it melt for 1 minute. Stir with a spatula in tight circles from the center outward until combined. Stir in the room temperature butter until combined; keep warm.
2. Prepare the churros: in a shallow bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the milk, vanilla, and salt over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, mix the dough for a few turns about every 30 seconds to release steam until the dough is slightly cooled, for about 4 minutes total. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. (The dough will separate each time an egg is added but it will come back together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with 5/8-inch star tip with batter. (A star tip helps create those beautiful ridges, which cooks the dough more evenly. If you don’t have one, use a regular tip. And if you don’t have a piping bag, use a Ziploc bag, and cut a 1/2-5/8 inch slit at the end - then make some small zig zag slices on the cut area to simulate the star tip and to create a more circular dough when you pipe it.)
5. In a medium pot, heat about 3 inches of oil to 350°F. Hold the pastry bag several inches above the oil, squeeze out the batter and snip it with kitchen shears when it reaches 3 inches long. Fry in batches, turning once, until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. (It will look nicely browned by 2 minutes but the batter inside will still be raw. Continue cooking for 2 more minutes - the outside will be deep brown in color - it’s okay!’s) Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. While still hot, roll in the cinnamon sugar. Can be made ahead and kept warm in low-temperature oven. If you choose, serve with chocolate sauce. Recipe adapted from the New York Times Magazine.