Mini Churro Bites
There’s nothing I miss more when I’m away from the parks than a good Disney parks snack! And churros are a Disney snack staple. I love curing my Disney Withdrawals with a little homemade treat from my favorite place!
Did you know churros weren’t always in the Disney Parks? That’s right — the iconic Disney snack didn’t make its debut until the 80’s!
In 1985 Disneyland executives were trying to strategize ways to get teens into their newest attraction, Videopolis. Jim Lowman, who was in charge of Fantasyland restaurants, had recently visited the Long Beach Grand Prix and tried his first churro. Much like everyone else, he loved it! He thought it would be a great fit for Videopolis.
He reached out to J&J Snack Foods and created a deal for Disneyland to serve churros, but he had one condition. He thought the regular 6 inch churros were too small, so he requested foot long churros for the Happiest Place on Earth.
Churros were a hit in the park even before Videopolis opened. A tester cart was to be set up near Mark Twain Riverboat exit and more than a dozen people were following the cart around before it was even parked in its spot!
When Videopolis opened with two churro carts inside, the delicious treat was a sure hit!
From there the churro carts were spread around the park and eventually to Disney’s California Adventure and the Walt Disney World resort. It’s said that guests consume over 5.5 million churros each year! That’s a lot of cinnamon-sugary goodness.
Here’s a fun way to make a mini version of this Disney parks favorite right at home!
- 3 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
- 3 Cups of Flour
- ½ Teaspoon of Salt
- 1¼ Cups of Sugar
- 2 Cups of Water
- 3 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
- Start by heating the water, salt, sugar, and oil in a pan until boiling.
- Remove mixture from the heat and stir in flour, cinnamon and vanilla.
- Place the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow it to cool.
- While your dough is cooling off, prepare deep fryer or soup pot and heat to 360 degrees.
- Once the dough is cooled down, place your 1 inch star pastry tip into a piping bag.
- Spoon dough into piping bag until it's full.
- Begin squeezing churro bite dough into the fryer.
- Try to keep the bites between 3-4 inches long.
- Allow the bites to fry for 3-5 minutes.
- While the bites fry, create a cinnamon-sugar mixture to roll your churros in.
- Roll out your churro bites and allow them to cool.
- Pro Tip: Use a floured-knife to help cut your churro bites as they drop into the fryer.
Whether you’re visiting the parks and enjoying this iconic park snack or back home missing the parks, churros are never out of reach with this super fun recipe! Make a batch of your own and let me know how they taste. They got two thumbs up in my household!
