Churros

A little over a few weeks ago my sister left us to go live in the busy Barcelona for half a year. That sort of thing gets you thinking. About food mostly, because what to do the Spanish eat? What kind of things would I have to try when I go there?

I'm sure most other people would be wondering how she's doing, but I don't have to ask to know she's just fine. Other people would ask her what the house looks like or what she does every day. I asked her to take pictures of the things she'd eat. I suppose I'm just flawed that way.

Churros
A whole load - from Donuts

60 grams butter
125 ml water
1/4 teaspoon salt
75 grams flour
2 (small-medium) eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
oil for frying
100 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Melt the butter with the water and salt in a small pan.
2. Add the flour and stir vigorously. Keep stirring with the heat on medium for 1 minute.
3. Take off the heat and add the eggs one at a time, adding the next only when the previous is fully incorporated. Keep stirring as the mixture comes apart, but eventually comes back together again. (Curse you if you have a mixer with paddle attachment! If, like me, you dont: build some muscles! Fast.)
4. Lastly stir in the vanilla essence and spoon the batter into a piping bag with a star attachment. 
5. Prepare the oil for frittering. If you're using a pan on the stove go for a medium to low heat. For a fryer start with around 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. After the oil is hot enough (you can test it with a bit of dough), start piping lines into the oil. When you think the churro is long enough, cut the end off with scissors or knife. Don't make too many at once: give them some space to float.
7. Fry the churros for about 2 minutes, then turn them around and fry the other side for another 1 minute. Once the first churros are done, place them on a paper towels to absorb some of the fat.
8. Repeat step 7 until you run out of batter. Be patient, it will run out at some point.
9. Take a large box and fill it with the sugar and cinnamon. Place the lid on top and shake until the cinnamon is evenly distributed throughout the sugar. Place the churros inside, close, and shake again until all churros are covered in sugar.
10. Serve warm with chocolate sauce or enjoy cold from the hand!

Note that the size of the star attachment on the piping bag will decide how much time you have to stand frittering and how big the churros are. I used a Wilton 21 tip, which gives churros of about 5 mm thickness before you put them into the oil. I'd definitely recommend using a larger tip if you have any. I'd also recommend using a large frying pan to fry as many churros as possible at one time. I used a tiny pan that fit around 2-3 churros in at a time, which made this recipe one of the most time and attention consuming recipes I've ever done.

Churros are not meant to be stored. Serve them as soon as possible! With chocolate sauce. Or not. Because eating the sugary-cinnamon fritters just like that is just perfect. Just try to resist eating them all before serving. You MUST resist! Well, I'm sure no one will notice one or two missing. Or three. Did anyone know you were making churros in the first place?