Déjà Vu All Over Again!

This post is part of the Vocal Cooks Collaborate series.

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The latest recipes are Maria Calderoni's Where Pacifism & Terrorism Collide--Find the Tastiest Soup In all the Land.

And Dawn Salois’s Special Meal

I’ve always been a little weird when it comes to food. To this day I defend the potential of my turkey and Five Alive sandwiches. No snack was safe from my “creative” alterations. If a snack doesn't satisfy at least three cravings, is it even worth the time? Okay, maybe the weirdness spills over to more than just food.

My favourite snacking holiday was always the annual fair. I would bounce around on a sugar high, checking out every food stall. It's serious business carefully selecting the most delicious and unusual treats to devour as I strolled along the midway with my grandparents. Elephant ears were a non-negotiable MUST HAVE at the end of the day!

I could never quite find a treat that beat the satisfaction of a good midway gorge fest, until an amazing new restaurant burst onto the scene in my hometown of Moose Jaw, Sk. The Déjà Vu Cafe has retro vibes and a midway-esk scent of sizzling fried confections fills the air. One peek at the menu confirmed my suspicions, it was deep-fried heaven. Baskets stuffed with black and white checkered paper boasted deep-fried bananas, cookie dough, Twinkies, Mars bars and, of course, their succulent fried chicken. The concept of fried Ice cream was a revelation. I had no idea science was making my snackish dreams come true right under my nose!

The incredible selection of treats inspired me to chase the deep-fried dream and sizzle up anything and everything my heart desires. The top five deep-fried loves orb my life include:

1) Cheesecake (not a whole slice, you will need to nice it up and ideally freeze the chunks before battering them)

2) Brownies (soooooo gooey!)

3) Cookies (basically all of them)

4) Pickles (coat in flower, dunk in egg, cover thoroughly in bread crumbs and seasoning, brush lightly with oil and air fry to the desired amount of crisp)

5) Sweet potato fries (almost healthy)

Without further adieu, I present you with my favourite home fried cookie recipe! I used Oreo cookies for this example but the recipe will work for a ton of other treats as well.

If you are using a deep fryer or oil-filled pan for this recipe be sure to start preheating the oil before mixing up your batter. I use a simple canola oil in a small pot for my cookie needs. Any size will do as long as you have enough oil to fill it.

For air frying, set your temperature to 170 degrees Celsius.

Basic Pancake Base

1 ½ cups sifted flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

¾ tablespoons salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons of butter or margarine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

(I like to add a dash of cinnamon or package of hot chocolate mix if it suits the treat you will be dipping)

Step 1)

Sift your dry ingredients into a medium-sized bowl.

Step 2)

Melt your butter and combine it with wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add any additional flavours such as hot chocolate powder or liquid concentrations to the mix at this time.

Step 3)

Combine your ingredients in the larger bowl, taking care not to overmix the batter.

Tip* Do not mix your batter more than 10 minutes before you intend to start your frying process.

YouTube Instructional Video I Made Just For You!

Learn more about Deja Vu!

Check out the time they were featured on You Gotta Eat Here!

You can also find them in the book You Gotta Eat Here! Canada's Favourite Hometown Restaurants and Hidden Gems

A hardcover copy of the book is proudly displayed in the restaurant.

Thank you for reading! I hope you feel inspired to chase your foodie dreams. The fry is the limit!

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Don't forget to check out the other amazing recipes in the collection by my fellow Vocal creators (link at the top)