Next time you visit Mexico you have to try churros: a delicious pastry made from fried-dough. They are normally enjoyed with champurrado (chocolate-based atole, a warm drink prepared with either lime-treated-corn dough, or corn flour, panela cheese; water or milk; and occasionally containing cinnamon, anise seed and or vanilla), or Cafè con leche (lit. “coffee with milk”).

Though their exact origins are uncertain, it is believed that in China Portuguese merchants first tasted “youtiao,” fried pastry strips eaten for breakfast.

The Portuguese made them back home in the Iberian peninsula, but they added sugar, which is essentially how the churro as we know it today was was born.

The Chinese youtiao (Lit. Old-fried devil) is a snack that was original served in pairs, as a symbol for the Song dynasty official Qin Hui and his wife.

In Spain, the name Churro took its name from the churra sheep, since it resembled this animal’s horns.

Spanish shepherds are the ones who made this dish popular as they wouldn’t have access to fresh bread in the mountains for weeks. The Youtiao idea took force, allowing them to cook their own substitute using flour, water and oil.

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadores were the ones who introduced them to Latin America, including to the area which would eventually become Mexico.

They come in many shapes, but it is their particular taste that makes them unique. You can find them dusted with sugar and cinnamon, filled with chocolate, marmalade, or cream. In all their variations, they have long been one of Mexico’s favorite treats.

The following are instructions on how to cook your own home made churros.

Ingredients:

* 1 Cup of Water

* 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

* 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

* 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

* ¼ Teaspoon of salt

* 1 Cup of all-purpose flour

* 4 to 5 eggs

* Canola oil, for frying

* ½ Cup of sugar

* ½ Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Preparation:

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the cup of water, the butter, the sugar, the vanilla, and the salt over medium-high heat until the liquid starts to bubble. Add the flour all at once and mix strongly with a spoon well until everything is mixed and no lumps of flour remain.

Remove from the heat. Add four of the eggs, one at a time, stirring each one well. The dough should look soft and glossy.

Move the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star-shaped tip. Pour enough canola oil into a deep pan, to fill 1-inch (2.54cm). Heat over medium heat until you see a slow steady stream of tiny bubbles. Carefully put the dough into the oil, forming 6-inch tubes. Place only as many crullers into the oil as can be fit with a space between them. Fry, turning once, until golden brown on each side. Drain the oil. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Put the sugar and the cinnamon on a plate and place the churros on it, turn them until they are covered. You can also cover them with chocolate, caramel, jam, nutella, or anything you can imagine.

Once they are finished eat them as soon as possible as they taste better when they are still hot.