Churro Bites

Everything is better as miniature sized.  And nobody can deny that fried food is just...delicious.  That makes these Churro Bites a 1-2-punch, a knockout.  These were so good when they were fresh out of the fryer that it was hard to keep up with my husband eating them.  I was surprised at how easy they were to make.  Just mix together the batter, put it in a piping bag with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M) and then squeeze into the hot oil cutting it off with a knife in 2" intervals.  Then, roll in cinnamon sugar goodness.  Yum!  For my more visual readers, check out the recipe source for some great step-by-step photos.

I made these as part of our Tapa's Theme Dinner Club.  There was an extraordinary amount of food there...40 dishes to be exact.  And in true Dinner Club style, folks didn't seem to scale back their portion sizes so we had enough food to feed at least 20 people while there were really only 10 of us.

I'll be posting the rest of the recipes once I'm back from vacation as part of my Cinco Recipes for Cinco De Mayo collection and for now, I leave you with this drool worthy dish as #1 in this series :).  Call it a teaser, if you will.

One Year Ago: Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup
Two Years Ago:  Penne a la Vodka


Churro Bites

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Oil for frying  

Directions

1. Combine sugar and cinnamon in bowl and set aside. Heat about 1-2 inches of oil in a deep sauce pan until it reaches 325 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat water, butter, salt and 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and stir in flour. Remove from heat and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball of "dough", about 1 minute. Add beaten eggs and stir until fully combine and dough is smooth.
3. Transfer dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M Tip). Holding your piping bag straight up and down over your pot of oil, squeeze out about 2 inches of dough and slice it off into the oil with a knife. Fry until golden brown about 4 minutes, making sure to flip the churros around in the oil to fry each side evenly.
4. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Toss in cinnamon sugar mixture and enjoy!  They're obviously best fresh and hot!

Source: Dollhouse Bake Shoppe