Fry

Cinnamon-Sugar Hush Puppies

by:
May 24, 2022
5
1 Ratings
Cinnamon-Sugar Hush Puppies
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Golden brown, crunchy all over, steaming from the fryer, sparkling with spiced sugar. It might be a little unconventional to make hush puppies from scratch when perfectly measured mixes are so popular and available in the South. But that will never stop my pastry chef brain from doing it anyway. This recipe is inspired by my mother, Melissa, and Bennett’s Grill & Cafe in Calabash, North Carolina, where she worked. It’s adapted from a savory hush puppy recipe in Charleston Receipts, which is the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print. It contains 750 Southern recipes mixed with verses and quotes from the Gullah Geechee, descendants of West and Central Africans who were taken to South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida to work on plantations. The Gullah Geechee have carefully preserved their literature and art, and the recipes in Charleston Receipts are a perfect example. It’s thanks to African Americans that we have so many incredible Southern dishes that we love and cook today, hush puppies included. —alexander roberts

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Cinnamon-Sugar Hush Puppies
Ingredients
  • Cinnamon Sugar:
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Whipped butter and jam, for serving
  • Hushpuppies:
  • 1/4 cup (45 grams) yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons (36 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (114 grams) buttermilk
  • 4 cups canola (or another neutral) oil, for frying
Directions
  1. Cinnamon Sugar:
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Set aside for later.
  1. Hushpuppies:
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
  3. Whisk the egg into the buttermilk in a measuring cup.
  4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Fold with a spatula to combine, just until no flour streaks remain (the batter will be thick). Let it rest for about 10 minutes while you heat the oil.
  5. Add the oil to a Dutch oven. Place on the stove with a thermometer attached (or have an instant read thermometer close by). Heat the oil to 365°F.
  6. When the oil is ready, scoop several leveled tablespoons of batter into the skillet. Fry until floating and deeply golden brown, turning once halfway through, 2 to 5 minutes total.
  7. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the hushpuppies to a paper-towel-lined plate. Immediately drop the warm hushpuppies into the reserved bowl of cinnamon sugar, tossing to coat fully. Transfer the coated hush puppies to a platter.
  8. Repeat with the remaining batter and serve with whipped butter and jam for dipping.
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1 Review

mondojohnson
mondojohnson June 13, 2022
Five stars for the backstory to this recipe alone, which I read on salon.com. A moving tribute to his mother and the immesive love and positivity she left behind. I welled up as starting reading, and got to actual tears at the same moment as our author. The moment that the titular hush puppies hit his tongue.
I haven't made this yet -- I have jalapeno hush puppy mix, so that should be interesting. I'll report back. Nonethless, 5 irretrievable stars.