This is certainly my most personal Halloween Food Instructable, for the very reason that just a year ago, I suffered from a clinical phobia of snakes which emerged when I was about 12 years old. I lived with the phobia for three decades. I was that person who would throw a fashion magazine across the room in a fit after flipping to a page with a picture of a snake or even just a bag made of snake skin. Never mind my reactions when I had come across them in real life...which was rare...until I moved to the Hudson Valley here in New York eight years ago. Snakes are everywhere. We've found them in our backyard, by the driveway, as road kill on our street. I had been paralyzed for too long. I had to get myself together for my sanity and to relish in the beautiful Hudson Valley, as I would be remiss not to continue to hike with my husband and kids.

Months ago, I began my first step to treatment by drawing them, just their basic shape. And today, after several steps forward, I've turned churros into snakes.

If you can stomach them, they're delicious! Who couldn't stomach chocolate smothered all over fried dough anyway? My 4 year old has surprisingly enjoyed this treat. She thinks they're cute.

Supplies

The snake churros are made of choux batter and 4 varieties of chocolate glaze. This recipe yields about 8 snakes (10"-14" long)

CHOUX BATTER INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp salted butter

1/2 c water

1/2 c all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 large eggs

Oil for frying

CHOCOLATE GLAZE INGREDIENTS:

For each glaze:

1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used 4 different kinds for color variety including natural, Dutch-processed, and black)

2 tbsp salted butter

1 tbsp milk

1/4 c icing sugar

You will also need:

1/2" thick slice of apple and a sharp knife

Red sprinkles (dragees and jimmies)

Step 1: Snake Skin Stamp

First, let's make a snake skin stamp! Carve out small patterns using small cuts of the apple slice, such as a full diamond and diamond patterns. These stamps are only about 1/2" in size.

Step 2: Chocolate Glazes

Prepare the chocolate glaze so they are ready when the churros are fried. For each chocolate glaze:

1. Place the cocoa and icing sugar in each squeeze bottle.

2. Melt each portioned butter and milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

3. Pour each portion into the squeeze bottles and vigorously shake until all lumps are dissolved and glaze is fully combined.

Step 3: Choux Batter

1. Place butter and water in a small sauce pan over medium heat.

2. Heat until the butter is melted.

3. As soon as the butter and water start to simmer, before it boils, add the flour. Remove from heat and mix.

4. Place back on heat and continue to mix until it forms a ball of soft dough and a bit of flour residue remains on the pan.

5. Place dough in a stand mixer bowl and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

6. Add one egg and mix with a paddle over medium speed.

7. When the first egg is mostly combined, add second egg.

8. Mix over medium speed until batter is smooth.

Step 4: Fry

You need to have about an inch of oil heated to 370F in a large pan.

1. Place the choux batter in a large piping bag and cut the tip to about 1 cm opening.

2. Pipe a snake shape and fry for about a minute or until golden brown.

3. Flip using 2 large spatulas and fry the other side for another minute or until golden brown.

4. To get a tail, you must release pressure when piping the batter to form a short, pointed tip at the end.

5. For the snakes that don't have a prominent tail, you can simply take kitchen scissors to trim the tail.

6. For the head, once cooked, you can press to create a flatter shape.

7. Fry the snakes one at a time and let cool on a cooling rack.

Step 5: Glaze

This is where you can have some fun. This process goes pretty quickly as the glazes cover up the churros quickly. Glazing is just about layering the various chocolate glazes. You will have to reheat your glazes for 10-30 seconds in the microwave as they may have thickened. The longer you heat the glaze, the runnier it will be.

First, glaze the entire snake with one type of chocolate glaze -- for this, I find a hotter glaze is best as it is runny and would allow subsequent layers of glaze to drip. Then add zig zagging diamond lines with another contrasting glaze. Then place evenly spaced dots using another glaze -- for this a slightly less hot/less runny glaze would be useful. You can do several different types of combinations.

The glaze will naturally run and you will easily find they make interesting patterns on their own.

Step 6: Stamp

Now the snakes are ready to be stamped with diamond patterns using the apple stamps and cocoa powders. Like the glaze, these patterns can be layered and be in various combinations. You won't need a lot of stamping as the stamping is just a subtle enhancement to the glazing. Have fun with it!

Step 7: Sprinkle

For the eyes, you can use dragee (ball) sprinkles. For the tongue, you can use a jimmie (long) sprinkle.

Step 8: Eat...If You Dare

They are made of fried dough, four types of chocolate glazes, and cocoa powder which means they're absolutely delicious...you might just have to eat them with your eyes closed!