Masa Harina churros
This recipe was first shared on my Patreon, where I share weekly recipes sometimes behind a paywall and other times not. Going forward all free Patreon recipes will get cross-posted to this blog. If you enjoy what you see and read here, please consider supporting me and my work!
More masa harina recipes from the masa harina bakery! This time in churros as a swap for the more traditional all-purpose flour. Masa harina produces a denser churro, but the flavor is unmatched. Shortly after frying, the churros get tossed in a hibiscus powder and ground ginger sugar coating. Obviously cinnamon sugar is classic, but there are plentiful ways to flavor your sugar not just for churros but for a myriad of bakes. I also like to crush pistachios or whatever nut I have around, and add those to the sugar before coating the churros. Take a peek into your pantry and let your on-hand ingredients tell you how to flavor your churro sugar coating.
If the idea of piping churro dough into hot oil makes you nervous, you can pipe churros (in whatever shape, including a heart if you want to be cute) onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet that can fit into your freezer. Chill the churros for about 30 minutes before peeling them from the parchment and carefully lowering them into the fry oil. It's best to transfer the baking sheet back into your freezer as you're frying as the frozen churros come back to room temperature rather quickly.
From there, fry the churros for about 5 minutes in total or until very golden brown. Let the churros cool just slightly after frying so the sugar coating has something to adhere to (if we were to wait until the churros are completely cooled, the sugar would just fall off).
A note that this recipe will also be shared over on Masienda's website soon. Additional At Heart news is that my concha recipe, along with an accompanying essay on the history of the concha and how modern bakers are reimagining our favorite pan dulce is up at Epicurious! I'd love it if you read and shared with anyone who loves conchas.
Masa Harina Churros
Yield: about 15 churros, depending on length
Churro dough:
118 grams (½ cup) water
110 grams (½ cup) whole milk or oat milk
50 grams (¼ cup) cane sugar or granulated sugar
113 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter
125 grams (1 cup) Heirloom Yellow Corn Masa Harina , or similiar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grapeseed or vegetable oil, for frying
Hibiscus ginger sugar coating:
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons hibiscus powder, such as Burlap & Barrel’s Desert Hibiscus
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
Make churro dough:
1. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients for the hibiscus ginger sugar coating and toss to combine. Set aside
2. Add the water, milk, sugar and butter to a saucepan set over medium-high heat. After the butter has melted, remove from the heat and add in the masa harina, kosher salt and ground cinnamon. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a thick dough forms and there are no dry pockets of masa harina.
3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and let it cool just slightly. Once slightly cooled, add in one egg and mix on medium speed. Add in the second egg, and then the vanilla extract and continue to mix until everything has been fully incorporated. The dough will be looser than before, but it will still be quite thick. At this point, it’s time to get your frying oil ready. Add enough oil to a large pot, such as a Dutch oven or a 10-inch cast iron skillet, to cover about 3 inches up the sides and set the heat to medium-high. Set a cooling rack over a large baking sheet and set aside for now.
Pipe churros:
1. Transfer churro dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a closed star tip. If you’ll be piping heart-shaped churros: line a baking sheet that can fit in your freezer with parchment paper. Pipe hearts on the parchment and transfer to your freezer to firm up for about 30 minutes before frying. If you’ll be piping the churros directly into the frying oil: Once the oil reaches 375F on an instant-read thermometer, carefully pipe churros into the oil in batches, about 4-6 churros at a time so as to not lower the temperature of the oil too much. Use kitchen shears sprayed with a little bit of cooking spray to cut the churros from the pastry bag as you pipe.
Fry churros:
1. Fry churros for about 3 minutes on one side, then flip and continue to fry an additional 2 - 2 ½ minutes until golden brown.
2. Transfer churros from the oil to the prepared baking sheet with the cooling rack. Once churros have dried a bit from the oil, toss them in the Hibiscus Ginger sugar coating and place back onto the baking sheet while you fry up the rest of the churros. Enjoy the churros while still warm, as they tend to lose their crunch after they’ve cooled down a lot.