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With the Arizona State Fair headed our way at week's end, we at Chow Bella decided on our latest challenge: Create a "fair food" that kicks it up a notch. No one dared to cook with bugs, but we did have some creative entries. Check back later this week, when critic Laura Hahnefeld will choose her favorite.
Today's entry: Erica O'Neil's Cheesecake Choco-Berries
The deep-fried bonanza of state fairs is questionable at best: Fried bubblegum, fried butter, fried Kool-Aid, fried Oreos, fried Coke, fried Twinkies.... What people will deep fry never ceases to amaze us. But in between bouts of fry bread and funnel cake, we need to de-grease with something we can justify as "healthy."
We're lucky there's never a shortage of dipped fruit-on-a-stick at fairs. Caramel apples, chocolate-dipped strawberries and frozen choco-nanas make us feel just a bit less gluttonous, even if they are just glorified sugar bombs on a stick.
Find out just exactly what Erica dipped in chocolate -- and get the recipe -- after the jump.
To make Cheesecake Choco-Berries we like to use an easy-peasy cream cheesy filling and instead of just using melted chocolate, up the flavor with a rich and buttery dark chocolate icing.
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