Baked Churros with Mexican Hot Chocolate
Baking the churros results in a light and crunchy texture similar to profiteroles. Covered in cinnamon sugar and served with a warm, thick hot chocolate for dipping, they're a great afternoon treat.
Servings 0
Equipment
- 2 Baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
- piping bag Ziploc bag works too
- Star shaped piping tip optional but recommended.
Ingredients
Churros
- 225 grams water (1 cup)
- 113 grams Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
- 24 grams Brown sugar (2 tbsp)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 143 grams AP flour (1 cup +3 tbsp)
- 3 Large Eggs room temperature
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Churro Coating
- 100 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Mexican Hot Chocolate
- 592 ml milk (2-½ cups)
- 175 grams Bittersweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch (mixed with 2 tsp water)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Chile powder (adjust to your preferred spice level)
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper powder (adjust to your preferred spice level)
Instructions
Churros
- Place the oven rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside until ready to use.
- Combine the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter in a sauce pan and heat over low heat.
- Once the mixture starts to simmer, add the flour in all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to break up the flour and get it fully incorporated. The mixture should come together into a dough ball.
- Stir with the wooden spoon vigorously for around one minute, slapping the dough back and forth in the saucepan. Once the film on the bottom of the sauce pan has started to incorporate back into the dough, remove from heat and set aside.
- Whisk together the three eggs and the vanilla extract.
- Pour a little bit of the egg mixture into the sauce pan and using the wooden spoon, mix into the dough. Adding more of the egg mixture a little bit at a time until it has all been incorporated and the mixture has the consistency of whipped mashed potatoes.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a large star tip.
- Pipe the churros onto the prepared baking sheets. The churros can be long or short depending on your preference. Pipe them thick by going slow and applying firm pressure on the piping bag.
- Spray the tops of the churros with cooking spray and place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes.
- While the churros are baking, combine the sugar salt and cinnamon in a gallon size Ziploc bag and set aside.
- When the churros are golden brown, turn off the oven and place a wooden spoon in the door to allow the churros to cool slowly. Let cool in the oven for ten minutes
- Remove the churros from the oven and place in the Ziploc bag of sugar, cinnamon and salt and shake to coat. Place a few churros at a time to prevent crowding and breaking in the bag.
- Serve the churros immediately and consume while still warm.
- Churros can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for a day or so but they're best fresh.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
- Finely chop the bittersweet chocolate
- Add the milk to a saucepan and heat over low heat until simmering, whisking constantly to avoid a film forming over the milk.
- Once the milk is simmering, add the chopped chocolate until chocolate has melted, whisking constantly.
- Add the cornstarch mixture and increase the heat to medium. Continue to whisk until the mixture begins to bubble. Reduce heat to low and cook for another minute or two until the mixture begins to thicken up.
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, chile and cayenne powder. Adjust the chile and cayenne to your preferred spice level.
- Serve in a large cup with the churros.