I would like to announce that I am really leaning into this Quarantine Cooking thing. (Sidenote: Are we still under quarantine? To what extent, precisely? What are the rules, and where are the grownups who are supposed to be telling us what the rules are at any given moment? And WILL SOMEBODY TELL US WORKING HUMANS HOW TO HANDLE THE TOTAL AND COMPLETE ABSENCE OF DAY CARE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE THX.)
But food, right.
I’m not ordinarily a huge kitchen-experimenter, but I’m actually having a lot of fun (fun! remember that?!) trying out new techniques these days. I’ve made a big batch of homemade ramen every single weekend for the past month – this weekend the plan is to try to achieve a tonkotsu-style broth – and have whipped up rainbow cakes, pancake cereal, and banana breads for days (obvi). So when my friend texted me that Disney had released their “secret” churro recipe and that the ingredients were all things I happened to have laying around, I was on that within minutes.
I have to say: If you’ve never had an absolutely fresh baked good straight out of the deep-fryer, you are in for a REVELATION. There is literally nothing like it.
Below is the OG Disney recipe, with a few little tweaks to make your life easier, but no less delicious.
What You Need:
- 1 cup water
- 8 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup sugar
What You Do:
- Combine water, butter, salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in 1 ½-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring pot to rolling boil.
- Reduce heat to low.
- Add flour and stir vigorously until mix forms a ball (this happens really quickly, and it’s a cool mini chemistry lesson for kids, too). Remove from heat and let rest for 5-7 min.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Using caution, heat oil in medium skillet or 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat or until temperature reaches 350˚.
- Spoon dough into piping bag fitted with large star tip (or just a Ziploc with the corner cut off – you won’t get those ridges, but who cares?). Pipe 1-inch strip of dough over saucepan, cut with knife, and drop into hot oil. Repeat until churro bites fill saucepan with room to fry.
- Fry churro bites until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon or mesh spider strainer.
- Drain churro bites on paper towel.
- Mix sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl. Toss in churro bites until coated. Serve immediately.
