Churros

In honor of my day of food, meeting Paula Deen and not being able to stop thinking about churros, I made some myself. Churros, that is.

These were so good! I was shocked at how easy they were, as well! Just make the dough and fry it! The only drawback to these was that they are SO much better right after frying. I made these when I had the apartment to myself one morning, tried one, got really excited, and left the rest so my roommates could taste how awesome they were. By the time I got home, though, they weren't crispy any longer and were just mushy in your mouth. I ended up throwing most of them out and I was the only one who even got to eat them. So sad. Moral of the story: make sure you make these with lots of people around so they can praise you!

Churros
Paula Deen

Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 orange, zested
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 eggs

Fill a deep-fryer or large Dutch oven halfway with vegetable oil and heat to 350 degrees F.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a large shallow bowl, set aside.

Combine the butter, water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, lower to a medium heat and add the flour, orange zest and nutmeg, stirring constantly until it comes away from the pan and it forms a ball. Transfer dough to a bowl and use an electric mixer to help cool it off. At this point you can whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until it becomes a smooth batter. Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Working in batches, carefully pipe 4-inch long ribbons directly into the hot oil to fry. Fry until golden, turning if necessary, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Transfer the churros into the sugar/cinnamon mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately while still warm.