Disney may be one of the happiest place on Earth, but it can also be one of the most costly to vacation at. Ask anyone whom has been to a Disney park before what their favorite foods are and many will chime in about how good their churros are. Fortunately for the people who crave such a treat and for those whom have not yet had the experience, we have analyzed what goes into these insidiously sweet and cinnamon-y treats so that you can recreate them in your own kitchen.
Ingredients
- Water, 1 cup
- Butter, 8 tbsp (1 stick)
- Salt, 1/4 tsp
- Cinnamon, ground, 3/4 tsp, divided
- Flour, AP, 1.25 cups
- Eggs, 3
- Oil, vegetable or canola, 1.5 cups
- Sugar, 1/2 cup
Directions
Step #1: Boil it up
The first step in this process is to make the dough for your churros. Mix the water, butter, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of of cinnamon in a saucepan placed over medium-heat. Allow everything to melt into a single consistency and reach a roiling boil. Drop the heat down to low.
Step #2: Add your flour
This is the point where you introduce flour to the mix to properly create a dough. You want to stir everything together until you have a ball-shaped mass that will probably be rather thick. Once you have properly combined everything, take it off of the heat and give it 5-7 minutes to cool down. You really need to give the dough time to cool because otherwise the eggs that get added in the next step will wind up getting scrambled.
Step #3: Finish off your dough
Add one egg at a time, making sure to stir everything well before adding the next. The end result should be a smooth and well-blended dough.
Step #4: Prepare to fry!
Heat your oil up in a skillet placed on medium-high heat until such time that your oil hits a temperature of 350˚F. While you are waiting for the oil to hit 350˚F, spoon your churro dough into a piping bag affixed with a large star tip.
If you do not have access to a piping bag, just use a plastic bag that you have snipped out one of the corners. The only difference will be that your churros will have a bland cylindrical shape instead of the grooves recognized by anyone whom has ever had a Disney park churro.
Step #5: Frying time
Now it is time for the fun stuff. It is suggested that you pipe out the dough onto a saucepan in 1″ strips, then dropping the dough strips into your hot oil. Keep repeating until your pan is full but the churros will still have space to fry without clumping into a single mass. Fry the churros until they are uniformly golden brown on all sides. Take them out of the oil by using a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towels to drain of any excess oil.
If you want to get as close to Disney park churros as you can within your kitchen, cut the churros to longer than 1″. Just be sure to avoid making them so long that they do not fit in your pan.
The last step: dusting with cinnamon sugar
Use a medium bowl to mix together your sugar and what you remains of your cinnamon. Toss in your still-warm churros and give them a few shakes, just enough times to give each of them a thorough coating of cinnamon-sugar dust. While you can certainly enjoy these treats as they are, it is common to pair them with a dipping sauce. When it comes to a dipping sauce, chocolate is the best idea as chocolate and churros are both Mexican.
