Churros Con Chocolate Recipe

Before moving to Nashville we lived in Los Angeles. In LA, churros are a fairly popular treat, but typically it is most known as something you got at Disneyland. Seldom did people get it somewhere else, and even more rarely were they made at home. Despite all that, there was an incredibly cute, hole in the wall churros place called Churros Caliente. It was a mixture of Mexican churros, Spanish chocolate, and Italian/Venezuelan charm (the owner is an extremely charismatic and handsome former model from Venezuela who grew up with parents of an Italian restaurant). It was one of the few places that could double as a fancy date night spot or a kids night out.

The churros at Churros Caliente were amazing. The churros in this recipe are not like the big puffy Disneyland churros, these are Churros Caliente churros. They were simple, slim, and crisp without being greasy. They are great for serving to and impressing guests, or fun to roll in the cinnamon and sugar with your kids. The hardest part is keeping the chocolate from burning. But if you get stuck on the chocolate there are a huge range of other dipping options. Jelly, fruit puree, or even pudding all make great dips.

Ingredients

Churros:

8 cups vegetable or olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

Hot Chocolate:

4 ounces dark chocolate
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Churros: 8 cups vegetable or olive oil 1 cup water 1/2 cup margarine or butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
2. Hot Chocolate: 4 ounces dark chocolate 2 cups milk 1 tablespoon cornstarch 4 tablespoons sugar
3. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 360 degrees F.
4. To make the churro dough, heat the water, margarine, and salt to a rolling boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the flour and stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, approximately 1 minute and remove from heat. Beat eggs until smooth and add to the saucepan while stirring the mixture.
5. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip. Squeeze 4-inch strips of dough into the hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and roll the churros in the sugar mixture. Set aside until ready to serve.
6. To prepare the hot chocolate for dipping, place the chocolate and half the milk in a saucepan over very low heat and cook, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly until the chocolate thickens, approximately 5 minutes. Remove and whisk until smooth. Pour chocolate into cups and serve with churros.