Elephant Ears

After going to the fair yesterday, I really got a craving for elephant ears. Because I didn't want to spend $6 for one elephant ear, I decided to make my own.  (This recipe came from Allrecipe's magazine.) They turned out really well and were much cheaper than the fair elephant ears! 

Ingredients: 

3/4 cups milk

3 Tablespoons Crisco shortening

1/4 cup sugar (divided) 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoons yeast

2 cups flour

oil for frying

1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Combine the milk, shortening, 1 Tablespoon sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat until the shortening is melted and the sugar is dissolved. 

Let it cool until it is luke warm.

Stir in the yeast and let it sit for a couple of minutes, or until it becomes foamy.

Stir in 2 cups of flour. I used my mixer to knead the dough until it became smooth, but you could do it by hand if you don't have a mixer. 

Put the dough in a bowl that has been greased with oil. Cover the bowl and let it sit for about 30 minutes in a warm place. 

After the dough is doubled, break it into 12-15 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a circle . (about 1/8 inch thin)

Heat your oil in a deep saucepan. Drop one of the sheets of dough into the hot oil and let it cook for about 15-20 seconds on each side. (It will bubble up, but don't break the bubbles.) As soon as it bubbles and starts to get brown, turn it over and repeat on the other side. 

Combine the remaining sugar (3 Tablespoons) and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. Sprinkle the cooked dough with the cinnamon/sugar mixture as soon as it comes out of the oil. 

Serve warm.