Churros are a park snacking favourite, but they’re something I’ve only myself come around to in recent years – my favourite being these adorable Mickey shaped treats from Tokyo Disney:
So I decided to give them a shot, and I’ll tell you something right now: those perfectly straight churros you get in the park are damn near impossible to make in a little pan, ha! Hence, I’m calling these churro bites, cos they’re a little bit smaller and a little bit more random looking!
Making the dough is pretty easy:
- Sift 250g plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder
- Melt 50g butter and pour into a jug of 350ml boiling water. This is gonna look a little weird, don’t worry about it though! Also add a splash of vanilla extract
- Make a little hole in the middle of your flour mix, and pour in the water/butter mix, then stir quickly into a sticky dough.
Let this sit for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the oil for frying.
Prepare a tray by covering with greaseproof paper, and sprinkling this with caster sugar and a light layer of cinnamon.
Fill a large saucepan with oil, at least 1 inch deep, but not less than 2 inches from the top of the pan. You may need up to about a litre! Start to heat the oil over a high flame; it’ll take a little while, but you’ll know its ready when lots of little bubbles start appearing.
Add a large star nozzle to a piping bag, and fill with the rested dough. I recommend doing this in batches as the dough is a tad runny so will leak out of the end if too full.
Squeeze strips of dough directly into the oil, and use a pair of scissors to cut it clean from the piping bag. The dough will probably curl up and make fun little shapes, but that’s ok!
PLEASE BE REALLY CAREFUL HERE. The oil is so hot and will bubble quite violently once the mix is in, so please mind your hands, and keep any children well away while you’re doing this.
The bites will start off at the bottom of the pan and float to the top after a little while. Once they’re brown and crisping up nicely, flip them over using tongs to give them an even fry. Once cooked, lift out using a slotted spoon or tongs, let the excess oil drip off for a second or two then pop onto your tray of sugar. Repeat the cooking in small batches of two of three bites.
The churros will actually cool pretty quickly, so you can serve them almost immediately, but if not then let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container, and enjoy for days, yay!
What’s your favourite park treat?
Lottie Does 