Whether you are Team Pronto Pup or Team Corn Dog, this easy, fan-favorite fair food can be made right at home!
One of my favorite pastimes, whether I’m wandering my neighborhood or road-tripping, is exploring antique stores and thrift shops. I love getting lost among all the “grandma” dishes, stacks of community and church cookbooks, and vintage kitchenware. Sometimes I don’t even buy anything, but I do have a serious soft spot for old recipe boxes and am always on the hunt for unique ones to add to my collection. Even better? When I find one that’s still filled with handwritten recipe cards of yesteryear!
A few years ago, I hit the jackpot at the Antique Center of La Crosse in downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin—an epic three-story spot I could spend the whole day in. At one booth, I found over a dozen sweet, metal recipe boxes, each packed with recipes. I was so excited that I let out a little gasp, and the shopkeeper came over to check on me! He explained that all the boxes came from the estate of a woman who’d recently passed away. She’d been part of a recipe club, swapping and organizing recipes from across the country. They were meticulously arranged by meal type. I wanted them all, but one stood out. We were in Wisconsin, after all.
The recipe box was packed with recipes that just made sense for the region, including many featuring beer as an ingredient: beer batter for fried fish, beer bread and a tangy beer dressing for potato salad. Others that caught my eye: barbeque bananas, Devils on Horseback and tuna burgers. I also loved the typed cards (who knew typewriters had a cursive font?!) with various kitchen tips or foods that hypoglycemic people should avoid.
But my favorite? A recipe for 7Up Broncos with familiar ingredients for a fair food that my whole family loves, that we could make at home. Yes, please. And, whether you’re loyal to Pronto Pups or corn dogs, this one brings the best of both worlds—with a batter made from buttermilk pancake mix and cornmeal.
If you’re scratching your head over the use of 7Up as an ingredient, I was as well. I learned that the soda pop is often used in baking cakes or making fried foods for a light and fluffy texture as well as a touch of sweetness, which works perfectly for a version of one of our favorite fair foods and one that we can even make gluten-free by using a gluten-free pancake mix.
There’s just something about finding an old recipe that still hits the spot—especially one that brings a little fair food flair to your own kitchen.
Have you ever found a gem in a vintage cookbook or recipe box? I’d love to hear what you’ve discovered.