Funnel cakes and fried Oreos

Spring Carnival is full of booths, rides, and great performances, but to many the best part of Carnival is the food. It’s sugary and greasy — and perfect for a snack. Sometimes the cravings for Carnival food persist even after Carnival ends, and despite the ease of making great deep-fried snacks, many restaurants neglect these foods or make them in a less desirable form

Instead of waiting for Carnival or summer visits to amusement parks, try making these snacks at home for a delicious treat.

Funnel cake

Funnel cake is made by deep-frying a special batter while tangling the different strands of batter to create a circular shape. It can be enjoyed plain or with various toppings, including fruit and whipped cream.

1 cup water
6 tablespoons butter (¾ of a stick)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup eggs (about 4 large eggs plus 2 egg whites)
Vegetable oil, for frying
Powdered sugar, for topping

Boil water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually add in the flour until it is completely incorporated into the mixture. Once the dough forms a ball, transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and let the ball cool for about five minutes. Turn an electric mixer on to its lowest speed and begin adding eggs one at a time until each egg is completely incorporated into the dough, forming a smooth batter. Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. When oil is hot, use either a funnel or a piping bag (a zip-top bag with a hole cut into one corner will work here) and lace the batter into the oil in a criss-cross pattern. When cake turns golden brown, flip once and continue cooking until both sides are brown. Remove cake from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the cake. More cakes can be made until all of the batter is used.

Deep-fried Oreos

Deep-fried Oreos are a tasty treat that have surfaced in the past few years. The cookies are dipped in funnel cake batter and fried, resulting in a delicious snack that tastes like chocolate-filled funnel cake. In addition, this is a great way to use up leftover funnel cake batter if you want to do something different.

Funnel cake batter (see recipe above)
1 package original Oreos

After mixing the funnel cake batter and heating the oil, dip each cookie individually into the batter. Once cookies are coated, place them in oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove from oil, drain, and sprinkle powdered sugar on the cookies. For a more bite-sized treat, try using mini Oreos instead.

Oreos aren’t the only sweet snacks that can be fried using funnel cake batter. Other popular renditions of this recipe include Twinkies and Snickers bars — but these options, aside from being unhealthy, may be too sweet to eat all at once. If deep-fried candy bars sound good, then make sure to cut the bars into small pieces to pace yourself.

As with all sweet and fried foods, eat these in moderation.