Elephant Ears are Huge & Floppy, right!? But you probably don’t think of them covered in butter and cinnamon. Unless you are a regular visitor of our State Fair! If you happen to live in the Beautiful Northwest state of Washington, you may have been to our State Fair! I have been told by many out-of-state visitors that it is the best Fair in the Nation!
Now, it’s ok if you don’t agree. I can’t say one way or the other because I haven’t been to all of them across our wonderful nation! But what I can tell you is that our State Fair Elephant Ears are Stupendous! We Always arrive right when the gates open, and an Elephant Ear is a must for Breakfast! Then approximately 12 hours later, as we are leaving, we have one more Elephant Ear! (Yes, we Do eat many other scrumptious items while there!)
You can only imagine how devastating it is to Wait for an Entire Year! To only have One Opportunity per year to eat the State Fair’s Elephant Ears! #CinnamonAndSugar
We just can’t live like this! So, we will share our TWO recipes with you. These provide a fix for our addiction while we wait through the entire year!
State Fair Elephant Ears ~ Ingredients:
1 & ½ Cups Whole Milk
1 Teas. Salt
2 Tbsp Sugar (REAL – you can’t substitute or it’s not a Real ear!)
¼ Cup + 2 Tbsp. Shortening or Lard
2 Tbsp Active Dry Fresh Yeast (make sure it’s not outdated!)
4 Cups all-purpose flour
Cooking (Frying) Oil
Softened Butter
*Cinnamon & Sugar
You will need enough cooking oil (Canola, vegetable, etc – we prefer canola) to fill your skillet up to 1 & ½ inches. A Quart should be plenty.
You will also need a LARGE DEEP skillet or deep fryer. We don’t own the type of deep fryers they have at the fair. So, we make do with a 12-in skillet. #ElephantEars
*Finally, you will also need Cinnamon & Sugar!!!! We are probably a little heavy-handed with our cinnamon. We typically, use 4 Tbsp of Cinnamon to 6 tbsp of Sugar. You should mix your Cinnamon & Sugar to your taste preferences. But you will need a GOOD amount of the combination or it will not be up to Fair Standards!!! Mix it up Now so it’s ready to be applied! And for those that don’t like Cinnamon (which can’t be very many!), try powdered sugar!
Hurry! Let’s make those Elephant Ears!
Combine the Shortening, Sugar, Salt & Milk. Stir over medium heat. The Shortening will melt & the sugar will dissolve. It may, but does not need to boil. Now it needs to cool down a bit. A candy thermometer works really well for this. Because you want the temperature to be approximately 110 degrees. Otherwise, you need to judge the mixture to be hotter than you would have your hot tub set. But Not hot enough you couldn’t put your finger in comfortably. Once the mixture has cooled, add the Yeast slowly. Gently stir then let it sit. Just give it a few minutes. It should get foamy. (If it doesn’t get foamy, your Yeast is not Fresh enough. The dough will more than likely Not rise.)
Once it’s all nice and foamy, you will need a large mixing bowl. Add your foamy mixture to the bowl, then add the flour and stir. Once the flour & foamy mixture are combined, knead the dough. It should be very smooth. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
Heat it Up!
We’re almost there!!! Pinch off 1-inch balls if you have a smaller skillet. 2-inch balls will work for a larger skillet! It just depends on the size of your Elephant!! Roll each ball into a thin Elephant Ear! I find it easiest to roll all the balls into my Elephant shaped Ears First! I place & roll the Ears on sheets of parchment paper then move them out of my way. Another Elephant Ear tip: Have Full-sized Doubled Paper Towels ready to go! You will need a set of towels per Ear!
Once all the balls are rolled, Get your Skillet ready! No matter the size of your skillet, you will want to have about 1 &1/2 inches of oil. Let your oil heat to 375 degrees. Gently place your ear into the heated oil. A Fry scoop works wonderfully! Fry 1 – 2 minutes per side. They will puff up! They should also be golden brown. Scoop out your ear & place on your prepared paper towels! Use a Wide Spatula and spread some melted butter then Generously apply your Cinnamon / Sugar combination! EAT!!! But Don’t Burn your tongue!
I suppose you should probably fry up the rest of the ears too! It is also nice to have an extra set of hands to complete this Tasty Task!
Easy-Peasy Elephant Ears
Rather than go to all that work (above), there are times the Quick (Cheating) Way is the only way to go! Especially if you have limited time, but you still want to satisfy that craving!! If you have had the State Fair Real Elephant Ears, you know this Easy-Peasy recipe is NOT the same! But it does in a pinch!
Ingredients:
Burrito Size Flour Tortillas
Oil
Softened Butter
Cinnamon & Sugar
Frying Pan / Skillet
Paper Towels won’t hurt either – but with this Easy-Peasy recipe, you only need a large plate!
So, heat up your frying pan with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil “pops” it’s hot enough. Fry one burrito-sized flour tortilla for about 1 -2 minutes per side. Flip it onto your plate. Spread a little bit (or more if you want) of the softened butter. Then (Generously!) Sprinkle the Cinnamon & Sugar mixture. Consequently, you must eat these right away!!! They are BEST when served Hot!! Oh, and a bit of Sparkling Wine goes Really well with either of our Elephant Ears!
Sugar Over-Load
Between cleaning up the kitchen and the sugar overload, I’m bushed! But I just got my Bourbon Vanilla Spa Minerals today!!! So, I’m off to the tub to Soak! I may just take that glass of Free Fine Wine with me too! Ok, I may take more than the glass… But, it’s hard not to enjoy more than the one glass when it’s SO good!
You can enjoy Bourbon Vanilla Spa Minerals, or other fabulous scents too! Check out this page for all your Bath & Body needs! It’s hard for me to express how heavenly they make me feel!
If you need a bottle (or Four – each month) of Free Fine Wine along with a unique hobby or business opportunity, see This Page. If you just Love Fine Wine & great companionship, this may be just what you’ve been looking for!
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