I remember when we were little kids, and Mom and Dad would get out the big, round, olive green deep fryer! That always meant that we were in for a fun night of something amazingly delicious being fried!

 

All kinds of fish, shrimp, crawdads, oysters, onion rings, mushrooms, and one of my favorites, hush puppies, come to mind as being a few of the things that my family enjoyed coating in a thick, wonderful batter and fried until deep, golden and delicious! Oh! Makes my mouth water, and brings back such fun memories!

 

Deep fryers were a very special event back then! We would perch on bar stools at the counter and watch the ginormous, 1960’s, green-colored contraption the size of a small barrel being brought down from the “holiday only” and “twice a year” cabinet way up over the fridge, and the excitement would instantly start to build!

 

Songs would break out, and clapping and dancing were probably also involved.

Hey, it’s the little things, you know? 😀 😉

 

 

I was having so much fun, that I almost forgot to get an “in progress ” photo!  😀

 

 

Though this favorite childhood meal usually consisted of solely deep-fried items, except for the occasional cole slaw or potato salad, the meal I prepared for the hubs and I just has one deep fried item.

But believe me, I’m a born fryer, and while I had that oil hot it was massively tempting to start grabbing anything and everything out of the fridge to fry! 😀

 

 

 

I’ve always loved hush puppies, but sometimes they can be a tad bit dry. So since I had a partial zucchini leftover, I thought that it would be a great addition to the batter to insure that it would be moist!

 

 

 

I also had a knob of cheddar hanging out in the fridge, too, so why not, right?

If there’s anything that I hate, it’s waste.

I used to love to make cheddar-jalapeño hush puppies, so a little cheese sounded perfect.

 

 

There seems to be a huge argument over the sweetness that hush puppies should have, depending on where you’re from. I categorize them as either being not sweet at all, moderately sweet, and then there’s “southern sweet”.

I like them so sweet that they almost taste like little cakes, but the hubs not so much. But I must add some sugar in there, or I won’t be able to eat them. So the compromise is “moderately sweet”.  But you know your own likes and can adjust accordingly. 😉

Omit the sugar all together, or add clear up to a quarter of a cup of sugar if you like! Always know your crowd. 😉

I’m a “dipper”, and went completely old school for these. I loved dipping my hush puppies in plain old ketchup when I was a little girl, and still do to this day! Some prefer dipping them into honey or maple syrup, though, especially when enjoying these as a side dish at breakfast-time.

 

 

 

Overall, these were a big hit! And it sure brought back a ton of fun memories! So when you have your next fish fry, or just feel in the mood to fry and take a walk down memory lane, keep these little gems in mind to serve! They’re so much fun to make and always bring smiles! 😀

 

 

Yield: 6-8 servings

Sweet Southern Zucchini & Cheddar Hush Puppies

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup finely minced onion
• 1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal*, I only use Indian Head Stone Ground because it's a finer grain
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. regular table salt
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• 1/8 tsp. creole seasoning
• 2 1/2 Tbl. sugar for "moderately sweet", see note below
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini, squeeze out excess liquid
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

Very finely chop onion or chop in a mini food processor.

Combine the onion, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar and onion powder in a bowl.

In another medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg, then whisk in buttermilk. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture just until mixed well. Fold in zucchini and cheddar well. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large pot or deep cast iron skillet ("chicken fryer") over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350º F. (Or use a deep fryer).

Working in batches, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Fry, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes per batch (return the oil to 350º F between batches).

Transfer using a slotted spoon or mesh strainer to a paper towel-lined cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.

Let rest a few minutes before serving as these will be very hot!

Serve with ketchup, barbecue sauce, sriracha, honey or maple syrup if desired.

Notes

*Use less sugar if preferred, and for those who like it sweeter, you can add up to a 1/4 of a cup for "southern sweet"! 😉