Churros: Morning Fryers

Until I started making churros, I had no idea they were prepared with pate a choux , the egg-rich dough used for cream puffs. No wonder the doughnut-like spirals are so difficult to resist.

Although impressive in volume, my churro tasting has been limited to Southern California and Mexico. But the deep-fried breads are also popular in Spain, particularly Madrid, where they are made in churrerias and sold at coffee bars.

So many are prepared daily that many churro-makers now use automated machinery to form the fluted ropes. But even if making large numbers of churros by hand is becoming a lost art, turning out a small batch at home is still surprisingly easy.

Combine water, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts, then increase the heat and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.

Add flour all at once. Remove the pan from the heat and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan (Step 1).

Add 4 eggs, one at a time (Step 2), and beat vigorously until the dough is smooth and shiny. The mixture will separate when each egg is added, but becomes smooth again as the egg is incorporated.

Set the dough aside to cool while heating oil, 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep, in a large skillet to 375 degrees. Use a deep-fat thermometer to get an accurate temperature.

Scoop half the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (Step 3). Squeeze two or three 7- to 8-inch ribbons of dough at a time into the hot oil, using a sharp knife to cut the ends off each ribbon (Step 4).

As the churros fry, turn them frequently to brown evenly (Step 5). Remove the churros with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on paper towels.

Sprinkle the churros with cinnamon sugar (Step 6) and serve warm. They should be crisp on the outside and so puffy that the inside is almost hollow.

CHURROS

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

Oil

Combine water, salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and butter in 3-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until butter melts. Increase heat and bring mixture to rolling boil.

Add flour all at once, then remove pan from heat. Beat with wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and thick and pulls away from sides of pan.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Add eggs, 1 at time, beating well after each addition until dough is smooth and shiny. Set dough aside to cool.

Pour oil into wide skillet to depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Heat to 375 degrees.

Spoon 1/2 of dough into pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Squeeze 2 to 3 ribbons (7- to 8-inches in length) of dough into hot oil. Slice off dough with sharp knife.

Cook churros until well-browned, turning as needed. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle churros with reserved cinnamon sugar to taste. Serve warm. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

Each serving contains about:

128 calories; 99 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0 fiber.