Deep-Fried Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries

THE INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb strawberries, generously hulled
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar, plus more to dust
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1cup self-rising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 oz. beer
• oil to fry

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until smooth, and pipe into hollows left from hulling the strawberries. 
2. Refrigerate for an hour or more. (You could also stick them in the freezer for fifteen TO twenty minutes, but don’t forget them in there!)
3. In another bowl, combine self-rising flour, 1 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar and one half (6 oz.) of a can or bottle of beer, whisking together until smooth. 
4. Heat oil in a deep fryer, or several inches of oil in a deep pan on the stove, to 350°F. Coat each stuffed berry well with the beer batter before dropping into the hot oil, and cook until just lightly golden brown.