FUNNEL CAKES

      I think one of my favorite parts of going to a carnival or fair has GOT to be the food. (if you know me, this shouldn't surprise you.) The fries (or even better- CHEESE fries... oooh now I want some cheese fries, dang it) the snow cones, and of course, the funnel cakes. I mean, come on- what's better than some crispy fried dough topped with powdered sugar? HOMEMADE crispy fried dough topped with powdered sugar! DUH! Heaven! So without further ado, lets get on with the show!

 You will need:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups milk
oil to fry em up in
Powdered sugar to top em

1. Heat your oil in a wide deep pan. You want it to get to 350. I don’t have a thermometer, so I wait a while and drop a little of the batter into the oil. If it starts sizzling away, you’re good to go.
2. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients and give em a stir to combine.
3. Whisk in your eggs, milk and vanilla. You want it to look like a thin pancake batter, so if it is too thick, add more milk, a little bit at a time.
4. Now, you are supposed to use a funnel, hence the name Funnel Cake, but I was too lazy to dig through my cabinets and find mine. So, take a piping bag or a large Ziploc baggie, ladle some batter into it, seal it and snip a small portion of the bottom corner off.
Pinch the end between your fingers til you get over the oil, otherwise…. well, you WILL make a huge mess and you will NOT be very happy with me….at least until you eat one of these babies!
5. Holding the bag about 2 inches above the hot oil (please be careful) start dispensing the batter. You want to make a large circle first, and then just go crazy filling it in with squiggles and loops, if that makes sense. LOL If that doesn’t make sense to you, just look at the picture of the finished funnel cake and you’ll see what I mean. 
6. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and then caaaarefully flip (I’ve found that its easiest to flip using tongs) and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You want it to be a deep golden brown AND done on the inside. It may take you a few tries to get it down, but don’t sweat it. You have PLENTY of batter.

7. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Give it a few minutes to cool off and then sprinkle a generous amount of powdered sugar over the top. Or caramel sauce with ice cream, or chocolate syrup, or MY favorite, strawberry jam with a lil powdered sugar.
8. Eat that sucker!