Iowa State Fair Food Icon Leaves Behind a Sweet Legacy

You'd better snatch up a container of ready-to-bake Barksdale's cookies while you can, through November 27, because sales are likely to explode with the news that the founder of one of the Iowa State Fair's signature treats has passed away.

KCCI reports that Joe Barksdale passed away at age 95. He started Barksdale's Cookies in 1994 and after 27 years, donated the recipe to the Iowa State Fair. That took place in 2019 after he stepped away from 50 years (!) as a concessionaire at the fair.

The Des Moines Register estimates that it could have been worth several million dollars by the time he donated the business.

For a limited time, you can now buy your own container or two of Barksdale's famous cookie dough, known as "Cookies in a Bucket". Get the information below.

Barksdale operated his long-running cookie stand alongside the likes of the famous butter cow (not edible) and the plethora of gut-bulking food combinations like fried Oreos and twinkies (very edible, and gut-pounding), and the multitudes of just about anything you can imagine eating on a stick.

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