Gluten Free Churros

Back in early March, Alta from Tasty Eats at Home posted a Gluten-Free Churro recipe for her Kids in the Kitchen series.  When I saw them, I knew I had to make some for Sam.  Churros were his favorite treat before he went gluten-free.  In case you do not know what a Churro is, they are basically deep-fried cinnamon sugar donut sticks.  Similar (at least in theory) to Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Twists, only much, much better.

Here is an excerpt from Wisegeek about Churros:

A churro is Spain’s answer to the donut, a crunchy, deep-fried sweet snack that resembles the horns of the churro sheep. They are popular not only in Spain, where they are often served at breakfast, but also in Mexico, and several other Latin American countries. North Americans are not strangers to churros, which are often found in amusement parks and at county fairs.

Churros are very big in New Mexico.  They are present at every major family event, whether it’s a baseball game, the fair, the Balloon Fiesta, you name it and they are there, teasing Sam with the sweet aroma of hot cinnamon and sugar.

I actually used a different recipe than Alta’s, but only because I am between flour shipments.  I went with a recipe that called for All Purpose flour instead, so it was easy to replace with what little Better Batter Gluten Free Flour I have left.  The following recipe is adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications, Ultimate Mexican edition.  I have to tell you, there are some AMAZING looking recipes in this magazine, so be on the lookout for it.  Ultimate Mexican should be on stands until July 13, 2010.

Cinnamon Churros (Click the link for the original gluten recipe)

1 cup Water

1/3 cup Butter (I used Smart Balance, so dairy-free Earth Balance will work just as well)

2 Tbs. packed Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 cup Better Batter Gluten Free Flour (if you use a different GF flour blend, be sure to include Xanthan Gum)

1 Egg

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Oil for Frying

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 tsp. ground Cinnamon

• In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to boiling over medium heat

• Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

• Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.

• Add egg and vanilla, beating well with a wooden spoon.

• Transfer mixture to a decorating bag fitted with a large star tip. (Note: I first tried this with a disposable pastry bag and the thick dough blew a hole in the side of the bag.  I would recommend using a real pastry bag or even a Freezer Ziploc bag.  For the Star Tip, I used a 1M Star Tip, these can also be found at craft stores).

• Line a baking sheet waxed paper.

• Pipe 4×1-inch logs onto prepared baking sheet.

• Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep saucepan to 375 degrees F.

• Fry a few logs at a time in deep hot oil about 2 minutes or until golden brown on both sides, turning once.

• Drain on paper towels.

• Keep warm in a 300 degree F oven while cooking remaining churros.

• In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon.

• Roll warm churros in cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.

• Serve warm.

Makes about 20 churros.

When Sam came home from school and saw them, he faux-fainted, LOL!

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