Recipe: Churros (Spanish Doughnuts)

CHURROS (SPANISH DOUGHNUTS)

"There is no snack more traditionally Spanish than churros, crisp doughnut sticks or loops, sprinkled with sugar and consumed with a cup of rich, thick hot chocolate. Both churros and the technique of deep-frying were first brought to Cuba by the Spanish. Today hundreds of years later, Cubans are still deep-frying churros -- and everything else, from pork to plantains."

1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup water, the butter, and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Remove from the heat and quickly mix in the flour and vanilla, if using, with a wooden spatula, stirring vigorously until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Set the dough aside to cool to room temperature.

In a deep-fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat at least 2 inches of oil to 400 degrees F.

Fill a churro press or a cookie press fitted with a large ribbon or star tip with the dough. Press out the dough in 4-inch lengths and let it drop into the hot oil. Fry, turning once with a slotted spoon, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Fry only 2 or 3 churros at a time to avoid lowering the oil temperature. Remove the churros from the oil, drain them on paper towels, and roll in sugar. Serve warm.

Makes about 15 churros, serves 4 to 6
Source: Eating Cuban: 120 Recipes from the Streets of Havana to American Shores by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs