From bacon to butter, if it can be battered, it will be deep-fried and served at the state fair. Texas and Oklahoma fans might disagree about which team to cheer for, but I saw both sides enjoying fried desserts before kickoff of the Red River Rivalry. Of all the fried foods, my favorite is fried cookie dough. This eggless cookie dough is ideal for eating unbaked. Making the dough and rolling it into balls ahead of time will allow you to quickly fry it up on-site. There's a bit of technique you'll need to develop to coat the dough fully in the wash and dredge, so I recommend trying this recipe out at home before taking it to your tailgate.
Makes 8 servings
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- Peanut oil for frying
- Confectioners' sugar and chocolate syrup for garnish
Make the dough the night before the tailgate. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. While mixing, add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Continue mixing the dough while slowly adding the flour mixture. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Mix in the chocolate chips. Remove the dough from the bowl and form into 8 evenly sized balls. Store in a sealable container and refrigerate overnight. In a separate sealable container, add the milk and egg and refrigerate overnight. In an additional sealable container, add the flour and confectioners' sugar. Transport the refrigerated containers in a cooler to your tailgate.
When you're ready to fry the cookie dough, stir the milk mixture, then dip the cookie dough in it. Roll it in the flour mixture, dip it back into the milk mixture, and then roll it in the flour mixture again. Repeat this process a total of 3 times, until a thick coating has formed around the dough. Make sure the dough is entirely coated.
Fill a Dutch oven 2/3 of the way full with oil and heat over a propane burner to 365°. Fry the battered balls of cookie dough for 1 1/2-2 minutes until golden brown on the outside. Remove from the oil and drain on paper bags. Serve the Deep-Fried Cookie Dough with confectioners' sugar and your favorite chocolate syrup.
From The Southern Tailgating Cookbook: A Game-day Guide for Lovers of Food, Football and the South by Taylor Mathis. Text and photographs copyright © 2013 by Jeffrey Taylor Mathis. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press.
