A cinnamon and sugar coated Latin-style dessert accompanied with decadent and spicy Mayan hot chocolate.

A batch of fresh, piping hot churros to cure those pesky winter blahs. One bite of this cinnamon and sugar coated Latin-style treat will heat you right up, from your head to your toes. Still not warm enough for you? Serve them with a pot of decadent, spicy Mayan hot chocolate for dipping.

 

Ingredients 

Churros 

• 1 cup water
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• 2 tbsp + 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Vegetable oil for frying

Mayan hot chocolate

• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 cups whole milk
• 200g good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

 

Directions

1 In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated; stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with a 3/8" pastry star tip. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon in a wide shallow bowl; set aside.

2 Fill a large pot with vegetable oil, about 4" deep, and heat the oil to 375°F.

3 Meanwhile, make the hot chocolate. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife. Place the seeds and the pod in a small saucepan. Add the milk, chocolate and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has been thoroughly incorporated and the mixture has thickened. Discard the vanilla bean pod and keep the mixture warm until ready to serve.

4 Hold the piping bag vertically above the hot oil. Pipe a 6" length of dough, then quickly cut the dough from the tip of the bag with an oiled paring knife, letting it slide away from you into the oil. Repeat, frying up to 5 churros at a time, turning once and cooking until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and, while still hot, roll each churro in the cinnamon sugar. Serve with the Mayan hot chocolate for dipping.

Makes 24 churros.