Courtlin’s Great Jones County Fair Mission

Every fair/festival that I've ever been to in Michigan has had two very important foods, and my mission this weekend at the Great Jones County Fair is to FIND THOSE FOODS.

There are a ton of fair foods that are standard at every fair you go to, no matter what state you're in. For example: corn dogs, funnel cakes, deep-fried desserts, and fresh-squeezed lemonade are pretty much guaranteed to be at every single one. My mission this weekend is to find the unique foods that are NOT found everywhere. I have two that I absolutely love, but not many people in Iowa seem to know what they are. I was told that the Great Jones County Fair has about 40 different food stands, so I figure that this is my best bet for finding them this summer.

The mission? Find butterfly chips and elephant ears.

If you don't know what butterfly chips are, see the photo above (I took it last summer!). They are thinly sliced potatoes that are fried, but somehow they don't turn out as crispy as potato chips. You load them up with melted cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, and chives, and they are DELICIOUS.

Elephant ears are very similar to funnel cakes, but they are much less bumpy. They are large, flat, and fried, and you can top them with different things. I prefer to do half powdered sugar, half cinnamon sugar. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the picture I took of the one I had last summer, so HERE is a recipe for them with a photo at the top.

What is your absolute FAVORITE fair food? Share yours in the comments!