9 Classic State Fair Foods You Can Make At Home

The Daily Meal has rounded up recipes for nine of the most iconic foods that you'll spy at just about any state fair across the country. That way, you can bring the best fair fare home and chow down without having to worry about making yourself sick from the lethal combination of unhealthy food and spinning teacup rides.

What would a fair be without caramel apples? Also popular at Halloween, these sweet treats are the stuff dentists' nightmares are made of. Even so, they're not too hard to make if you have the right ingredients. Remember to always start out with Granny Smith apples, and check out our caramel apple guide here.

Corn dogs are the quintessential edible element to most American summer outings. You can find them at street fairs, on the boardwalk, and, of course, at your local state fair. Sure, you could go for the classic corn-battered frankfurter, but why not kick it up a notch with our recipes for bratwurst beer-battered corn dogs? Or, get tiny with these mini corn dogs.

Before you try a deep-fried Oreo, you may think the concept is pretty gross. But there's actually no better way to improve the classic cookie than by deep-frying it in pancake batter. Pop a few of these in your mouth and you'll be instantly transported to the fair. 

There are so many variations on pickles that it's hard to keep track of them all: from the iconic dill to the bread and butter. But our favorite way to eat pickles has got to be the deep-fried pickle. We have the skinny on the best way to make fried pickles like the ones at West Egg Café. 

There are so many varieties of fudge available at state fairs these days that it's hard to pick a favorite. But if you want to successfully make mouths water without stepping foot onto the fairgrounds, we recommend starting with The Daily Meal's recipe for easy, four-ingredient peanut butter fudge. But if you're a chocoholic, go for the famous four-chip fudge.

Is there any fair snack more classic than funnel cake? We bet you didn't know that you can make this powdered sugar-topped spiral of fried goodness at home. All you need is a basic batter, oil, and a whole lot of sugar. Check out our recipe here.

Unless you hail from the South, you may be a bit hazy on what a hushpuppy actually is. For the Yankees, hushpuppies are deep-fried cornmeal cakes of various sizes. Here's a Louisiana-approved recipe straight from Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen.

Taking a break for a little while from the endless supplies of fried food, we can't forget fresh pie. Of course, pies are not only served at state fairs, but we have blue-ribbon-worthy recipes for the classic pies in red, white, and blue: The Daily Meal's very own cherry pie, a lattice-top blueberry pie from Martha Stewart, and Blue Duck Tavern's award-winning apple pie recipe. 

This cousin to the funnel cake is most often spotted at Italian street fairs across the country, but it's still a state fair favorite (after all, the zeppole's primary ingredients are fried dough and sugar). Take your zeppole to new levels with our recipe for Nutella ricotta zeppole.