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Deep Fried Snickers are the state fair legend you can make in your own kitchen, frozen candy bars wrapped in a fluffy golden batter so the inside turns into molten chocolate, caramel, and nougat, and the girls still talk about the batch we made after the county fair last summer. If fair food at home is your jam, our elephant ears belong at the same table.
Freeze the bars, whisk a quick pancake-style batter, and two minutes in hot oil turns a candy bar into the most over-the-top fair treat on a stick.
Deep Fried Snickers Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus 6 hours freezing)
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 4 minutes per batch
- ⏳ Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 16 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 429kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet and decadent (molten chocolate, caramel, and nougat in a crisp golden shell)
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our taco bell cinnamon twists
Quick Answer
Insert wooden skewers into full-size Snickers bars and freeze them solid. Heat peanut oil to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs and sugar until smooth, slowly whisk in the milk, then add flour, baking powder, and salt to make a thick batter. Dip each frozen bar in the batter, let the excess drip off, and slowly lower it into the oil, holding the skewer for a few seconds. Fry about 2 minutes per side until golden, drain, rest on a wire rack, and dust with powdered sugar.
Jump to:
- Deep Fried Snickers Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Deep Fried Snickers
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Deep Fried Snickers FAQs
- Other Recommended Fair Food Dessert Recipes
- Deep Fried Snickers Recipe
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Freezing the bars is non-negotiable. A frozen Snickers survives two minutes in 350 degree oil with its layers intact. A room temperature bar would collapse into a puddle inside the batter.
- The batter is basically pancake batter. Eggs, milk, flour, and baking powder fry into a fluffy, golden jacket, the same coating that makes fair corn dogs so good.
- Thick batter clings, thin batter slides. The batter should coat a spoon like thick pancake batter, so it grips the frozen chocolate instead of slipping off in the oil.
- Skewers keep your hands safe. A sturdy wooden skewer lets you dip, lower, and turn the bars without touching hot oil, and gives the finished treat its fair-style handle.
- Holding the skewer sets the bottom. Keeping hold for the first 5 to 10 seconds lets the batter set so the bar does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- 350 degrees is the sweet spot. Hot enough to crisp the shell in 2 minutes per side, before the frozen center has time to fully melt out of shape.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The state fair, at home. No tickets, no lines, and a fraction of the price for the most legendary fried treat on the midway.
- Only pantry staples plus candy. The batter is eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and baking powder, things you already have, just like our air fryer corn dogs energy but fully from scratch.
- That molten first bite. Crisp golden shell, then warm flowing caramel and chocolate. It is dessert theater on a stick.
Key Ingredients
A candy aisle classic plus simple batter staples make fair magic. Quantities are in the recipe card below; here is what each one does.
- Snickers bars. Full-size bars, skewered and frozen solid. The freeze is what keeps the chocolate, caramel, and nougat from melting away in the oil.
- Peanut oil. The frying gold standard: high smoke point and clean flavor. Vegetable or canola oil work too.
- Eggs and whole milk. The rich base of the batter that fries up tender and golden, just like a great pancake.
- Flour and baking powder. Structure and lift. The baking powder puffs the coating so it fries light, not dense.
- Powdered sugar. The finishing snowfall that makes them look exactly like the fair version.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Once you have the batter down, the whole candy aisle is fair game.
- Fry different candy bars. Milky Way, Twix, and peanut butter cups all fry beautifully with the same freeze-first method.
- Make them minis. Fun-size bars on toothpicks fry in about a minute per side and are perfect for parties.
- Add a drizzle. Finish with chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, or both over the powdered sugar for full fair-stand drama.
- Serve sundae-style. Slice a hot fried Snickers over vanilla ice cream and watch the caramel pull.
- Spike the batter. A teaspoon of vanilla or a pinch of cinnamon in the batter adds a bakery note to the coating.
How to Make Deep Fried Snickers
- Insert sturdy wooden skewers into the Snickers bars without poking through the top, and freeze solid. When ready to fry, preheat peanut oil to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until smooth, then slowly whisk in the milk.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl.
- Whisk until the batter is thick and smooth, like a heavy pancake batter. A couple of small flour lumps are fine.
- Dip a frozen Snickers in the batter until fully coated and let the excess drip off.
- Slowly lower the bar into the hot oil, holding the skewer for 5 to 10 seconds so the batter sets. Fry about 2 minutes per side until deep golden, then drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Move the fried bars to a wire rack over a sheet tray so they stay crisp, dust generously with powdered sugar, and serve warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Freeze the bars at least 6 hours. Overnight is even better. A solid-frozen bar is the difference between molten layers and a blowout.
- Use a thermometer on the oil. Below 325 the coating drinks oil; above 375 it browns before the inside warms. Hold 350.
- Fry one or two at a time. Crowding the pot drops the oil temperature fast and turns the coating greasy.
- Hold the skewer at first. Those first seconds keep the bar off the bottom of the pot until the batter sets.
- Rest on a rack, not a plate. Paper towels first to drain, then a wire rack so the bottom stays crisp instead of steaming soft.
- Let them cool 2 minutes before biting. The caramel inside is lava-hot straight from the oil. Worth the wait.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Deep fried Snickers are the headliner of a fair-food night at home. Line them up next to a batch of our elephant ears and some cinnamon twists and charge the kids a ride ticket per treat.
For dessert plating, slice one hot bar over vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, or serve them whole on the stick with a cold glass of milk. A tray of these after a backyard cookout of smash burgers is peak summer.
These are best eaten fresh while the shell is crisp and the center is molten, but you can hold a batch in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes while you finish frying. Round out the party tray with our air fryer vanilla munchkins for the chocolate-averse.
Deep Fried Snickers FAQs
Yes, this is the make-or-break step for Deep Fried Snickers. Freezing the bars solid, at least 6 hours or overnight, keeps the chocolate, caramel, and nougat from melting into liquid during the 4 minutes in hot oil. A room temperature bar will collapse inside the batter.
A simple pancake-style batter: eggs whisked with sugar, whole milk, then flour, baking powder, and a little salt. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon heavily so it clings to the frozen bar. The baking powder puffs it into that light, golden fair-style shell.
Peanut oil is the classic choice because of its high smoke point and clean flavor, which is what most fair stands use. Vegetable or canola oil work just as well. Whatever you use, keep it at 350 degrees with a thermometer for the best shell.
Unfortunately no. A wet batter needs hot oil to set; in an air fryer it just drips off before it cooks. If you want an oven-adjacent shortcut, wrap frozen fun-size bars in crescent dough and bake, but the true fair-style shell needs the deep fryer.
About 2 minutes per side at 350 degrees, 4 minutes total, until the coating is a deep golden brown. Hold the skewer for the first 5 to 10 seconds so the batter sets before letting it float. The center will be warm and molten, not fully liquid.
They are best fresh, but leftovers reheat surprisingly well in an air fryer at 350 for 2 to 3 minutes, which re-crisps the shell. Skip the microwave, which turns the coating soggy and overheats the caramel. Re-dust with powdered sugar after reheating.
Keeping the fryer hot? Our crispy onion petals are the savory follow-up the party will demand.
Love fried treats? These crispy banana fritters are golden little bites perfect for dipping in caramel.
For another fair style fried treat, try our crispy homemade mini churros.
If you love caramel desserts, do not miss our millionaires shortbread with its gooey caramel center.
Deep Fried Snickers Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 full sized snickers bars
- Peanut oil for frying
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- 3 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Take sturdy wooden skewers and insert them through the length of the snickers bars, but do not go through to the other side. Place them all on a sheet tray or plate and freeze until solid, about 6 hours.16 full sized snickers bars
- Preheat a deep fryer with peanut oil or your preferred frying oil to 350°F, or you can use a dutch oven for this with a candy thermometer to keep tabs on the oil temp.Peanut oil for frying
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Slowly whisk in the milk until combined.3 large eggs, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until smooth, a couple of flour lumps are okay. The batter should be thick, slightly thinner than pancake batter.3 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Once the oil is hot take the frozen snickers one by one and dip it in the batter until coated. Let any excess drip off.
- Slowly lower the snickers into the oil. I like to keep a hold of the skewer for 5-10 seconds to let the bottom of the bar fry before dropping it in. This will make the bottom of the batter set up so it won’t stick to the fry basket.
- Fry for about 2 minutes per side or until your desired color is reached. Place on a paper-towel-lined plate to catch any excess oil.
- Place the fried snickers onto a wire rack over a sheet tray so it doesn’t get soggy. Once all the bars are fried, dust with powdered sugar and serve.Powdered sugar for dusting
Notes
- Not a fan of snickers? Try other candy bars like Milky Way, Almond Joy, 3 Musketeers, etc.
- These are best eaten while first made.
- You can use fun sized snickers instead of regular sized.
- The batter will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Other toppings can be used, see suggestions above.
- We like to keep our snickers frozen to ensure they do not melt when frying.
- Try to deep fry one at a time.
Nutrition
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