Festivals Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium stockpot, heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees F for frying.
• In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar. Work butter into dry mixture until well incorporated.
• Add extracts and milk together. Work milk mixture into butter mixture to form a stiff batter. Form into ball. Portion into finger size hushpuppies. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Place festivals on paper toweling to absorb excess oil. Serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line a sheet tray with paper towels and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. With a wooden spoon or your hands, mix in just enough milk to create a soft dough, about the same texture of Play-Doh. (The amount you need will depend on the humidity of your kitchen, and the amount of moisture in your flour and cornmeal.)
• In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil to 365 degrees. While oil heats, using a bench scraper or butter knife, divide dough into 10 pieces. Roll each between your hands or on your counter into cylinders about 3 to 4 inches long and 1 inch thick. (Avoid overworking the dough or the festival may be tough.)
• Fry 4 or 5 festival at a time, flipping them after 1 minute, until golden brown on the outside, about 2 minutes total. (Oil temperature will lower once you add festival; they fry best around 330 to 340 degrees. If festival appear to be browning too quickly, lower your burner.) Using a wire spider or slotted spoon, remove festival from oil and transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet. Cut into one to ensure the inside is cooked all the way through; it should not look wet. If it is not fully cooked, cook each fritter 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Transfer to oven to keep warm. Fry remaining festival. Serve hot.