Over the weekend, “I need to make churros for Nadal” was my excuse for not packing for our pending trip (we leave for France tomorrow).  Nadal was playing in the Wimbledon final on Sunday.  Win or lose, I was going to want churros.  (He won.)  

Okay, so I always want churros.  A proper churros is sugar-crispy on the outside, custard-like on the inside.  The only thing that comes close to it is a proper canelé, which I plan to have for breakfast soon.  I guess I’ll pack now.

Churros + Hot Chocolate
(adapted from Epicurious)
Makes a lot of churros. 

1/2 c. milk or water (I prefer water)
2 TB butter
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 eggs 
peanut or vegetable oil, for frying 

Cinnamon sugar:
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt 

Chocolate:
1 c. milk
2 TB cocoa powder
1 tsp. espresso powder
1 TB dark brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of salt

The churros batter is basically a pâte à choux (French for cream puffs and éclairs).  Bring the water or milk, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.  Reduce heat and drop in the flour while stirring with a spoon or spatula.  It will tighten up into a nice little ball of batter.  Continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Transfer to a bowl.  Keep stirring the batter until it is no longer steamy, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated.  The batter will now look like a shiny paste.

I like to let my churros batter rest in the fridge overnight — the better to have them first thing in the morning.  To fry them up, preheat oil to 360ºF and line a plate with paper towels.  Scoop the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.  Pipe 3-4” ribbons into the hot oil (use a knife to cut them off).  Fry until dark golden brown, about 2 mins. per side.  Cool for a few mins. on the paper towels, then toss in the cinnamon sugar.  Serve with hot chocolate. 

To make the hot chocolate, whisk milk, cocoa powder, espresso, sugar, cinnamon stick, and salt in a pot.  Bring to a simmer and keep whisking until thickened.  Serve as a drink or dip (or both).