These are so good!! Anyone who says these aren’t like the fair has either went to a really weird fair or they messed up the recipe. I have made these several times and they always turn out perfect. And people PLEASE stop rating recipes you’ve never tried.
This was not quite like what you get at the fair. All morning I played around with the recipe after semi-success on the first batch. For the best batch I did the following differently. I added about 3 Tbsp. of water to the dough to keep it from being tough. The oil was extremely too hot and so I lowered it to about 275 and cooked it for a little less than a minute per side(this was with the dough rolled to about 1/8 in thick). After frying it I brushed it with melted butter which enhanced the bread’s flavor and helped the sugar to stick. I also doubled the amount of sugar used for the toping.
This is it!!!! I grew up in Indiana and at the state fair we ALWAYS had an elephant ear. Only difference may have that they lightly brushed them with melted butter before dousing them with cinnamon sugar. But surprisingly they taste fine without it and the sugar adheres well. Plus it’s much better for us without the added butter. These fry up nicely with bubbles in the dough and everything. I’d decrease the amount of oil used for frying (I did mine in the iron skillet) since it gets a little splattery. Also, my frying time was about 10-15 seconds per side. So delicious!
Ingredients:
Milk – 1 cup
Warm water – 1 cup
Active dry yeast – 2 tablespoons
Salt – 1 teaspoon
White sugar – 2 tablespoons
Shortening – 3 tablespoons
All purpose flour or maida – 4 cups
Oil for deep frying
For elephant ears topping:
Sugar – 4 tablespoons
Ground cinnamon – 2 teaspoons
How to make elephant ears:
Take a big bowl, add active dry yeast and warm water and let it stand for 10 to 12 minutes. Combine warm milk, salt, white sugar, and shortening and mix well. Now add all purpose flour to make a smooth dough. Take the dough to floured board and knead until it turns soft and elastic. Add some flour if it is watery. Cover the dough with a towel for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 12 to 15 balls and make each ball about 1/8 inch thick. Fry the balls on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is golden brown in color. Drain on paper towels. Finally sprinke the elephant ears with sugar and cinnamon. Delicious elephant ears