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Mexican Churros Recipe

Excerpted from ‘My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo!’

Members Only Access

Published May 03, 2024

Churros next to a bowl of brown dipping sauce

Jennifer Chong

When I was a little girl, my dad worked in a doughnut factory and would come home smelling like doughnut and sugar – I used to love to smell his hands! He’d bring home extra donuts, too, and tell us, “If you want to make extra money, you can sell them to the neighbors.” So, I’d go knocking on doors to earn my spending money. When dad left the donut factory to work in a Lovely Pies factory (they’re like fruit-filled hand pies), I had to come up with something else, and my creative sales side came out. I’d buy five churros for a dollar from an old man who sold them from a basket on the back of his bicycle. Then I’d knock on doors, selling them two for a dollar — and the neighbors would buy them! Churros are the most famous dessert from Mexico these days, and you can find churros-flavored everything, from cheesecake to ice cream. There’s some technique involved, such as ensuring there are no air pockets in the dough, but they’re so easy to make once you get the hang of it. — Jenny Martinez

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Mexican Churros

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
Pinch of salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 cups canola oil

To serve

Cajeta (milk caramel sauce), available at grocery stores
Chocolate dip, available at grocery stores

Directions

Fill a small saucepan over medium-high heat with 1 cup of water, the butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar and the salt. Bring it to a boil and allow the butter to melt. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour a bit at a time, stirring constantly until completely combined; set aside to cool.

Transfer the batter to a bowl and stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly each time. Mix well to release any air pockets, so that it becomes nice and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a 2-inch star tip. In a shallow bowl, mix the remaining ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Check the heat by dipping a wooden spoon into the hot oil; if it sizzles, it’s ready. Pipe the churro out into the hot oil and cut the dough to your desired length with scissors as it comes out. You can make them bite-size or, like I do, about 5 to 6 inches long. Fry in batches until golden brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes on each side; do not overcrowd. Drain on paper towels and toss in the cinnamon sugar. Serve with cajeta or a chocolate dip.

Excerpted from My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo! Copyright © 2024, Jenny Martinez. Photography Copyright © 2023 by Jennifer Chong. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book cover that says Jenny Martinez, My Mexican Mesa y Listo

Jennifer Chong

Cook with Jenny

Martinez shared two more recipes from My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo! for AARP members to try:

Papitas Enchiladas

In restaurants in Mexico, they serve these little round wax potatoes instead of chips. They’re great appetizers with a beer on a hot day.

Fideo Soup

My husband says this is the perfect cold weather comfort food that takes you back to childhood. It’s a blank canvas on which you can get creative.

Read about Jenny Martinez’s cookbook, My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo!

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