“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

William Shakespeare (from Julius Caesar)

OK, seriously, I don’t know what my problem is when it comes to making anything sweet. I just cannot seem to do desserts justice. Daphne always asks me to make sweet recipes and I rarely do because something like what happened today is inevitable.

Let me rewind a bit and take you to the origin of this project. Yes, it is a project because it all started when Ruby told me she needed something to bring in for her class to eat. The recipe had to be Spanish. I immediately thought paella. However, after thinking about it, I realized seafood on a hot day in class probably wasn’t a good idea and the kids may not like it. So, we did a little research and discovered churros are a Spanish snack. I always thought they were Mexican. I guess they are both. I mean, I know they are served in Mexican restaurants too. Now, I believe, they are Spanish in origin.

Many years ago, nomadic shepherds tended to churra sheep in the mountain grasslands of Spain. The shepherds cooked outdoors and created a cake-like bread that was fried over an open fire. These were a daily staple for the nomads. They ate them plain or rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Soon, the recipe spread all over Spain. They called them churros. Later, Hernando Cortez returned to Spain with the recipe for Aztec chocolate. Someone thought these would be a great accompaniment for the churros. They were right. This is how the churros with chocolate tradition began. Now, you can find churros with chocolate served by street vendors or in restaurants all over Spain.

Well, Ruby and I thought the kids in her theater class would definitely love to listen to her presentation about Spain while eating churros dipped in chocolate. That sounds like teenage heaven, right? I looked at a few recipes and got the idea of how we should cook them. They seemed pretty simple to make. I thought, even I can handle making a donut-type thing. Ruby and Daphne were willing to help. Daphne was involved because there was a chocolate sauce. She is a chocaholic. Ruby helped because the churros were for her theater project.

The sauce was finished and it tasted delicious. I was very proud of the chocolate dipping sauce. Everything went well until it was time to pipe the dough into the oil. The tip I had for the piping bag was way too small. They were coming out about a centimeter in diameter. They looked like spaghetti noodles. That was not right. So, we removed the tip and just piped it out the bags small end. That made for a funky looking churro. Daphne, Jack, and Ruby were all looking at the weird looking churros and laughing. I said, “They will still taste good. Give them a chance. Once they are rolled in cinnamon sugar and dipped into chocolate, they will be fine.” I was certain anything would taste great in that chocolate sauce. They were not convinced. Ruby, was saying they were fine but I think she was just being sweet. When they were all finished, everyone dug in. They said they were good because the chocolate sauce was really tasty. I don’t think they could get over the shape and look of them. Teenagers can be so particular.

Oh well, my advice to you is to use the appropriate tip to make these look much prettier. I think they would actually be a great treat if they looked right. I am just an unbelievable bad desserts cook. I cannot seem to make any type of dessert look right. Years ago, I wrote an article about a delicious chocolate cake that was incredibly ugly. These churros, like myself, are faulted. I tried. I told Ruby not to feel bad if she doesn’t want to take them to school. The other kids all laughed and said there is no way they are letting her take them. I guess I better run to the store to buy some frozen churros.