Churros (deep-fried, cinnamon-and-sugar-coated pastry sticks) aren't exactly the healthiest snack. But Robin Miller's lightened-up baked churros are a better-for-you alternative.

Spain: The birthplace of churros, Spain offers the traditional long and twisted churro, often served with a thick, rich hot chocolate for dipping. In some regions, they may be thinner or thicker, and they are typically dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Churros taste like cinnamon sugar donuts, but their consistency sets them apart. Their ridged outsides offer a complex mouthfeel. Unlike a cinnamon sugar donut or beignet that seems to lose all its coating after the first bite, the ridges on a churro hold the cinnamon sugar in place.

churro, a fritter of Spanish origin made of flour-based batter that is piped into extremely hot fat and fried, then rolled in cinnamon-laced sugar, resulting in a treat that is sweet and crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside.