State Fair Offers Unique Treats

I live in Indiana and every August at the Indiana State Fair food vendors try to come up with a new deep fried item. Past delicacies have included fried Twinkies, Oreos, Snicker bars, and ice cream.

This year's debut treat was something near and dear to my heart; my favorite drink, Pepsi. That's right, this year at the Indiana State Fair they served Deep Fried Pepsi.

Now I know what you are thinking because I thought the same thing. How do you deep-fry a liquid? After a little research, I found out how they did it. Fried Pepsi is actually dough in which Pepsi replaces the water.

The vendor at the State Fair took his a step further by not only putting Pepsi in the dough, but also in the batter that the dough is dipped in before frying. The result is a ball resembling a doughnut hole sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. The taste has a definite undertone of Pepsi taste. Some consumers liked it; some did not. Variations of final product included choosing from confectioner's sugar, cinnamon and sugar, or adding whipped cream.

A new regulation this year at the Indiana State Fair banned the use of trans-fat cooking oil. Even with the non-trans-fat oil, this treat is not one that you would want to over indulge in. As a snack for someone's occasional sweet tooth, it's perfect.

I have yet to try Deep Fried Pepsi at home, but I have included a couple recipes for other State Fair treats that, while again, may not be healthy they are a favorite.

DEEP FRIED TWINKIES
6 Twinkies
4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
flour for dusting
wooden sticks

Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight. Heat 4 cups of vegetable oil in a deep fryer to about 375 degrees. Mix together the milk, vinegar and oil. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate batter while oil is heating.

Push a stick into the Twinkie length-wise, leaving about 2-inches to use as a handle. Dust with flour and dip into batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float, so hold in under the oil with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3-4 minutes. Deep-fry only one Twinkie at a time.

Remove Twinkie to a paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow Twinkie to sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Don't try to eat the Twinkie with the stick inserted. It will not support the stick. Makes 6.

FRIED SNICKERS BARS

Full size Snickers Bar
Funnel Cake mix
vegetable oil
wooden sticks

Push the wooden sticks into the Snickers bar from the bottom about half way up and freeze until solid. Mix together the funnel cake mix for the batter and dip the frozen Snickers bars into the batter. Fry until golden brown. It should only take a few minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Top the bars with powdered sugar.