Cheddar Corn Fritters

I made cheddar corn fritters from Taste and Tell this week. I've been wanting to try them for ages, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I figured, with all this yummy sweet corn in season right now, this would be the perfect opportunity. These were so, so good! We all loved them. Carson ate a whole one by himself and part of a second one. So I'll definitely have to make these again with the local corn I've been freezing these last few weeks. I've seen fritter recipes using other veggies, too, so I think they'd be good with other veggies in there as substitutes for the corn, too. I'll have to do some experimenting. These made a lot so I froze quite a few... not sure how they'll thaw... but figured I'd try it so they didn't go to waste.

Cheddar Corn Fritters

3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 ears corn, plus corn milk (or 2 cups corn kernels)*
3 tablespoons diced red or green bell pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons melted butter
Vegetable oil for pan frying

If using fresh corn, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shucked and cleaned corn to the water and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from water. *Cut kernels from ears of corn and then scrape the cobs with a table knife to release all the milk. Catch this milk in a bowl and add to the batter. Stir together flour, sugar, chili powder, if using, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Combine corn and corn milk, if available, bell pepper, if using, eggs, water and cheese in a bowl. Add to flour mixture all at once. Stir just until batter is evenly moistened. Stir in melted butter.

Pour oil into large skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat over medium heat until it registers 350 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer. Using a serving spoon and working in batches to avoid crowding, drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. You will make about 16 fritters in all. Pan fry on the first side until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Turn once and fry until golden brown on the second side, 2 minutes more. Drain fritters on absorbent towels and season with salt.

If needed, you can keep the first batches of fritters warm in an oven at 200 degrees while you finish frying the rest. Serve at once.