Mexican Chocolate and Date Fritters

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon mandarin or orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup minced pitted dates
• 1 (3.1-ounce) disc Mexican or bittersweet chocolate, such as Ibarra, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces*
• 1 cup whole- milk ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• Mexican Hot Chocolate (recipe follows)
• *Can be found in Hispanic and gourmet grocery stores

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, mandarin peel, salt, dates and chocolate in a bowl.
2. Whisk together ricotta, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla in another bowl.
3. Mix in the flour mixture to form a chunky batter.
4. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way.
5. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 4 minutes.)
6. Working in batches, gently drop a tablespoon of the batter in the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until deep golden in color, about 3 minutes per batch.
7. Transfer with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain.
8. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve with Mexican Hot Chocolate.

flour, baking powder, mandarin, salt, dates, disc mexican, ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil, powdered sugar, chocolate

Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/mexican-chocolate-and-date-fritters-recipe.html (may not work)