Oven-Baked Churros

Cinco de Mayo Part 2. Today, I'm talking about churros. Because what Cinco de Mayo party is complete without churros?

I remember the first time I ever tried a churro. I was 16-year-old sugar advocate in the middle of Disneyland. After the long lines, extreme rides and constant walking, this girl was hungry! And being the baker's daughter I am, I devoured these cinnamon-dusted donut sticks in 10 seconds flat! I may have eaten three in one sitting.

Since then, I get a churro at every festival (Hello Calgary Stampede!). Because they taste just so darn delicious.

And now I thought I would try making them. And....well, it was an adventure. These were more like churro bites rather than mini-churros. Sigh. (I should probably start another blog about all my kitchen fails!)

First issue: the batter was too thick. It was tough to pipe the batter on to the cookie sheet. Next time, a little more water will help.

Second issue: the baking tip was too small, so I ended up with really thin churros. So to make them a snackable size, I layered a few logs. But because the batter was too thick this did not go smoothly. Hence the churro bites.

Despite these couple issues, these were still uh-mazing!

I was planning to bring the churros to the Discoveryland ladies Saturday night, but they ended up flying all over the front seat of my car! So I didn't feel great about feeding them to the team.

I still ate them. Like I ate them all. Absolutely delicious.

Doughy on the inside.

Crispy on the outside.

Lightly sweet.

Perfectly dippable.

[recipe title="Oven-Baked Churros" servings="24" time="30 minutes"]

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ c. butter
• 1 c. water
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ¾ c. all-purpose flour
• ¼ c. whole-wheat flour
• 2 eggs (or 3 egg whites)
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425°, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the water, salt, and brown sugar, and bring to a gentle boil for 10 min. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the flours with a wooden spoon.
3. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla, and stir it into the flour mixture. Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a star tip (or a Ziploc bag with one corner snipped off). Squeeze the dough into 4” logs onto the prepared baking sheets, and bake for 10 min or until golden. Let the churros cool for 3-5 min.
4. In a shallow bowl or plastic bag, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Carefully roll each warm churro in the cinnamon sugar.
5. Enjoy!

[/recipe]