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Oreos — and much, much, more

And you thought Double Stuf Oreos were bad — so bad they're good.

Regardless, they've got

nothing on deep-fried Oreos, the batter-laden delicacies that will be available at this Saturday's Main Street Art and Music Festival and at the Ohio Challenge hot air balloon event in July.

The American Legion Post 218 in Middletown makes and sells the cookies, which have been a big hit at the Legion's food wagon at numerous area festivals, said Mark Hinkle, a Legion member who is one of the Oreo chefs.

"We've been to the balloon festival, and tractor shows in Trenton and Middletown. We take it wherever people are going to be," Hinkle said.

And where there are people, there are sweet tooths. Once the deep-fried Oreos come out of the oven, they don't stay in the food wagon for long. They cost $2 for four cookies.

"Once you start laying the

supplies out, they sell as fast

as we can make them," said Judy Hamilton of the Legion's Ladies Auxiliary.

While Hinkle did not want to reveal the Legion's recipe, he did admit that a deep-fried Oreo is basically a cookie dunked in funnel cake batter.

These diet killers are part of a trend of taking food that already has hundreds of empty calories and covering them with a coating that has hundreds more empty calories.

The local Legion post actually tried the deep-fried Twinkies, but they didn't go over too well, said Hinkle.

"They absorb too much grease, them Twinkies," he said, adding that he shies away from the Oreos for health reasons.

Asked how many calories one of these deep-fried Oreos had, Hamilton gave a diplomat's answer.

"We don't want to know," she said. "But most of the people who buy them don't care."

Deep-fried Oreos

1 cup buttermilk pancake mix

3/4 cup ice water

1 quart vegetable oil

14 Oreo cookies

Powdered sugar

Freeze cookies for three hours. In a heavy-gauge 3-quart saucepan heat oil to 350 degrees.

While oil is heating, set up a cookie sheet with paper towels for draining. In a medium-sized mixing bowl stir water into buttermilk pancake mix until thoroughly combined.

As soon as the batter is smooth, dip each cookie, one at a time, into batter and smooth batter, making a thin coat completely around the cookie. Place coated cookie carefully into hot oil. Repeat for each cookie. Fry on both sides, turning over once until golden brown.

Remove fried cookie from hot oil with metal tongs and drain on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar.

Let cool slightly (about two minutes) before serving.

Deep-fried Twinkies

1 Twinkie

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup corn flour

A pinch of baking soda

Milk or beer

Oil for deep frying

Chill the Twinkie until firm. Combine the flours and baking soda. Add milk (traditional) or beer (which gives

a lighter result) until you get a

batter with the consistency of thin cream.

Heat the oil until a small piece of bread will brown in a few seconds, but don't allow to smoke. Coat twinkie completely in batter. Carefully lower into hot oil and fry until golden brown (a few minutes).

Drain on paper towels, and let cool before eating.

Deep-fried Snickers bar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

Snickers bar

Chill or freeze the candy bars. Combine egg, milk and vegetable oil in a cup. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with a wire whisk. Cover and chill for a few minutes while the oil heats.

Remove batter from the refrigerator and adjust the consistency if necessary. Heat about 4 cups of oil or shortening to 375 degrees F. Dip the chilled candy bar in the batter and gently place into the oil. Cook only until the outside is golden. Remove and drain on brown paper. Allow to cool for a minute as the inside can easily burn your mouth.