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CHURROS
Reprinted with permission from Holiday Kosher Baker © 2013 by Paula Shoyer, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by Michael Bennett Kress Makes 35 Churros are long, thin-ridged Spanish doughnuts made out of choux pastry, the dough used for éclairs and profiteroles. In Cuba and Brazil, churros are filled, just as we fill sufganiyot. Here they are rolled in cinnamon sugar, the way they are eaten as street food in many Latin American countries.
Food Editor's note: Great for Chanukah and a treat any time of year! You can also serve these with melted chocolate for dipping, as my family enjoyed them in Madrid several years ago.
Dough · 1 cup (240ml) water · ¼ cup (60ml) canola oil, plus extra for frying · 1 tablespoon sugar · 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract · ¼ teaspoon salt · 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour · 3 large eggs Cinnamon Sugar · ⅓ cup (65g) sugar · 2 teaspoons cinnamon · 8 ounces (230g) melted chocolate for dipping, if desired Preparing the dough PLACE THE WATER, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt into a small saucepan and stir over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low and add the flour. USE A WOODEN SPOON to mix the dough over the heat until the flour is completely mixed in and the dough comes together into a ball, about 30 seconds. Remove this mixture from the heat and scoop it into a medium bowl. Spread the dough around the bowl and press the dough up the sides of the bowl and let sit for about two minutes to help it cool down. ADD THE EGGS one at a time, mixing well after each addition. You will need to mix vigorously to incorporate the eggs. Press the dough into the sides of the bowl with the spoon to mash the eggs into the dough. The dough will clump up, but after more stirring it will come together. Put the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip or a round tip with points, with about a ⅓-inch (8-mm) opening; I use Ateco #864. IN A SHALLOW BOWL, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. HEAT 1½ inches (4cm) of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the temperature holds at 375°F (190°C). Place a wire rack over an aluminum foil-covered baking sheet. Hold the pastry bag an inch or two over the hot oil by reaching a little into the saucepan. With the pastry bag in one hand and a knife or kitchen scissors in the other, quickly squeeze out a 3- to 4-inch-long (8- to 10-cm) strip of dough and then use the knife or scissors to cut it off and let the dough drop into the hot oil. Repeat five more times. Cook no more than six strips of dough at a time. AFTER ONE MINUTE, separate any churros that are stuck together. Fry for a total of four to five minutes, turning them over after about two minutes, until they’re golden. Use a slotted spoon to lift the churros onto the rack to cool slightly for a minute, or until you can handle them. Roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar and serve. Do not wait until the churros are completely cool before rolling them in the sugar; the residual oil helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the churros. These are best eaten the day they are made. Serve with melted chocolate. Store covered at room temperature for up to two days or freeze for up to three months. Reheat to serve.
Paula Shoyer is also the author of The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-Free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy (Brandeis 2010) and edited the popular cookbooks Kosher by Design Entertains and Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen (both from Mesorah Publications, Ltd.). Visit Paula at www.thekosherbaker.com.
Churros
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