churros

i made a trial batch of churros last night and they didn't turn out all to wonderful.
i mean, nick and mike at them all, but i thought that they were heavy. i'm thinking
that this is a result of using too much butter, so i'm updating the recipe and will
try again this afternoon after work. here it is:

1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. in a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

in a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. remove from the heat and add the flour. stirring in the flour will take some muscle. mix it in until well blended.

in a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

fill your decorating tool (piping bag with large star tip) with the dough.

test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. the dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way.

once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long.

you should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. cook an additional minute or two.

emove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease.

while still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

note: i made a chocolate sauce to go with mine. i took a 4oz bar of chocolate and melted it down with 2 cups of milk and a tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken it up. i also added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of cayenne pepper.