My mom and I have a problem.
We love Taco Bell. We really love Taco Bell.
My dad considers it “One step away from Gravy Train”, so he never eats there with my mom. When she and I shop, you better believe we’re hitting Taco Bell.
We always drive-thru, and we always order a Nachos Bell Grande to share. Which sucks if you’re the driver.
Each of us gets our own meal deal thingie…I usually end up with a burrito meal of some kind, especially if I’m driving. Burritos = perfect driving food. Mom usually gets one of the Gorditas or Chalupas…most often with chicken. And we get cinnamon twists.
My mom really digs cinnamon twists.
I know that there supposed to be like churros. I’ve never had authentic churros, but I thought it would be fun to kind of surprise Mom with some things like those cinnamon twists.
I did some Googling, and found that churros are pretty simple to make, and take basic ingredients.
Hey, no problem! I’ll have these to her before lunch!
So here’s my Adventures in Churros: A Play in Two Acts.
Act I.
1 cup water, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vegetable oil…
Vegetable oil? Not butter? Not even margarine? Okay…
Bring that to a boil
Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour.
Wait, no vanilla? I really want to put in some vanilla, but I guess it doesn’t need it.
Stir until it forms a ball.
No eggs? Come on, I want to put eggs in it…like when you make cream puffs – pate a choux. Okay, whatever, just trust the recipe, Amy.
I dug this thingie out again…Remember this from Cheese Straw day? 
I picked the biggest star tip…
I put the dough in the tube and started squirting out some churros…
The oil is at 375…Fry to golden, about 5 minutes…I turned them halfway…
Let them drain on paper towels or a rack…
And roll them in a cinnamon sugar mixture while they’re still hot – Mine is 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon.
And eat!
Okay, I totally wasn’t feeling these. They didn’t have much flavor, and the inside of the churro was dense and gummy.
I took them to Mom…Who completely agreed.
Then I took them to Dad…Who also agreed.
Hating that churros were defeating me, I decided to make this the way I wanted to in the first place…
Act II
1 cup water, 1 stick margarine, 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar mixture
Bring that to a boil.
Remove from heat and add 1 cup flour…
Stir to a ball, then add 3 eggs, one a time…stirring well after each addition….
And then 1 tsp vanilla…
This dough is much softer than the first dough. I have no idea if that’s good or bad at this point.
Back to the super-awesome decorator thingie…this time with the small star tip:
And into the fryer. 375 again.
These definitely smell better!
Back into the cinnamon-sugar mixture…
What no picture of the cinnamon-sugar? Nice going, Amy.
Anyways, here’s how they look:
Beautimus…
And the center?
Much nicer…can we get a side-by-side?
Obviously, the one on the left is fatter, but see the difference in the color? That’s the egg, margarine, cinnamon, and vanilla…AKA the good stuff.
I don’t know the authenticity of the second recipe, but it was definitely superior in flavor and texture.
I took them to mom…who completely agreed.
I took them to Dad…who yelled at me for bringing more donuts then completely agreed.
I really think these need some chocolate, don’t you?
What’s the coolest thing about having a blog? Your neighbors bring you stuff! My neighbor Barb brought me these awesome square shot glasses and square drinking glasses after reading my Red Velvet Parfait post. Thanks, Barb!
You wanna make Churros? I’ll post both recipes.
Churro #1
Adapted from a recipe found at allrecipes.com
1 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Oil for frying
Heat oil to 375. In a saucepan, heat water, 2 tbsp sugar and vegetable oil to a boil. Quickly remove from heat and add 1 cup flour, stir until mixture forms a ball. Place dough in a pastry bag or decorator fitted with a star tip. Squeeze out dough about 4 inches in length and carefully drop into hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes, turning about halfway through. Drain on paper towels. In another bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, roll hot churros in the sugar-cinnamon mixture while still warm.
Churro #2
Adapted from a recipe found at foodnetwork.com
1 cup flour
1 stick margarine
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar mixture
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
oil for frying.
Heat oil to 375. In a saucepan, heat water, cinnamon-sugar and margarine to a boil. Quickly remove from heat and add 1 cup flour, stir until mixture forms a ball. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Place dough in a pastry bag or decorator fitted with a star tip. Squeeze out dough about 4 inches in length and carefully drop into hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes, turning about halfway through. Drain on paper towels. In another bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, roll hot churros in the sugar-cinnamon mixture while still warm.
Again #2 is superior in flavor, but I’m not sure about authenticity. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
And neither recipe is anything like cinnamon twists from Taco bell. What in the crap are those things, anyways?
