Apple Fritter Recipe
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My homemade apple fritters are doughy, fluffy little fried doughnuts, loaded with diced apples and tossed in cinnamon sugar while they’re still hot. They are the perfect snack or dessert, and they take me only 30 minutes to get on the table. This recipe makes 30 apple fritters, and I love serving mine warm with ice cream and honey.
I am not sure there is a quicker, tastier, more fun dessert than these, and there is a reason I post them on social media around just about every holiday. They are that good and that last-second easy, which is a rare combination. Every time I make a batch, it is a hit. My wife and daughter go through them faster than I can fry them. If you like a good homemade fried treat, take a look at my homemade beignets or my decadent homemade churros too.
Apple Fritters
An apple fritter is a piece of fried dough studded with chopped apple, cooked until the outside is golden and crisp and the inside stays soft and doughy. It is essentially a fresh doughnut made from a wet batter rather than rolled-and-cut dough, which is exactly why it is so quick to throw together. Fritters go back centuries across many different cultures, since frying a spoonful of batter is about the oldest, simplest way to turn pantry staples into something sweet, and the apple version became an American fall favorite for the obvious reason that apples are everywhere and cheap when the weather cools off.
I love that there are only a few steps to it. You whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl, the eggs and milk in another, then combine them into a thick batter. You toss the diced apples with lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then fold them in, then spoon the batter straight into hot oil, a few at a time, and fry them until they are browned all the way through. The second they come out, they get tossed in cinnamon sugar while they are still hot enough for it to stick.
For all the busy folks out there, this recipe is quick enough to make any night of the week. Just follow the steps below, keep an eye on my chef tips, and you’ll have a plate of warm fritters ready before the coffee finishes brewing, my friends.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These are the ingredients that go into the batter and the apples, plus the finishing toss:
- All-purpose flour – The backbone of the fritter and what gives it that doughy doughnut-like body. Bread flour works as a substitute if that is what you have.
- Regular granulated sugar is the main sweetness in the dough. You can do half granulated and half light brown sugar if you want a little more depth.
- Baking powder is what gives all the rise when they hit the oil. It’s what makes them puff up light and fluffy instead of dense. Do not skip it.
- Kosher salt – Balances the sweetness and helps them brown. A little Diamond Crystal goes a long way here.
- Eggs add body, structure, and flavor to the batter. Cold or room temperature is fine.
- Whole milk – The main liquid in the batter, and I always go whole for the extra fat and flavor. 1%, 2%, or skim will work if that is what is in the fridge.
- Gala and granny smith apples – Use a mix so you get the tart from the granny smith and the sweet from the gala. It balances the whole thing out. Any apples you like will work, since this is a very forgiving recipe. However, I think the mix is what makes them special.
- Lemon juice keeps the diced apples from browning and brightens up the flavor of the fritters.
- Ground cinnamon adds that warm, earthy flavor you recognize the second you taste it.
- Ground nutmeg brings a warm, slightly sweet, slightly spicy note that pairs perfectly with cinnamon and apple. It is optional, but I never leave it out.
- Cinnamon sugar for tossing – Granulated sugar mixed with ground cinnamon, tossed on the fritters the moment they come out of the oil. It adds a little more sweetness and leaves those pretty flecks of cinnamon all over them. Optional, but worth it.
- Vanilla bean ice cream and honey – Completely optional toppings, but serving the fritters warm with ice cream and a drizzle of warm honey is a combination you have to try at least once.
How to Make Apple Fritters
Heat the oil: Preheat frying oil in a medium pot to 375 F. Maintaining a steady temperature will give you a crisp brown crust and a cooked-through center instead of a greasy, raw middle.
Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Whisking the leavener and salt all the way through the flour now is what lets them do their job later, so the fritters rise and brown all over.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
Combine the wet and dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Fold in the apples: In another bowl, toss the diced apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Combine: Then fold them into the batter until they are worked all the way through.
Fry the fritters: Using two large serving spoons, drop 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, moving them around constantly so they brown on all sides. Work in batches of about 6 to 8 at a time so the oil does not crowd and drop in temperature. Fry until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Toss: Drain the oil off the fried apple fritters on a rack or paper towels. Then, toss them in cinnamon and sugar.
Serve them warm, with vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of honey.
Chef Tip + Notes
The one thing I always tell people about these is to dice the apples on the smaller side, medium or finer, so you never hit a random raw chunk. Small dice cooks through in the same 3 to 4 minutes the batter needs, so the apple goes soft and sweet right along with the dough instead of staying crunchy in the middle. Get the apples small and the batter well mixed, and these are about as foolproof as frying gets.
- Mix the batter well: Whisk the baking powder and salt fully through so they can work across the whole batter, which is what gives you the rise and the browned crust.
- Use a mix of apples: A blend of sweet and tart varieties provides every fritter with more flavor than a single kind ever will. So I highly recommend it!
- Hold the oil at 375 F: I always fry in small batches and let the oil recover between them. Crowding drops the temperature and gives you greasy fritters. Hard pass!
- Drain on a rack: I set the fried fritters on a rack to shed excess oil, which keeps the outside crisp instead of soggy.
- Serve them warm: They are good cold, but they are a lot better warm, when the inside is still soft and the cinnamon sugar is fresh on the outside.
Serving Suggestions
The way I serve these at my house depends on the time of day. In the morning, I eat them plain with a cup of black coffee, still warm from the fryer. That is honestly hard to beat. For dessert, I love serving them with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, drizzled with warm honey. That combination is the one nobody expects to be as good as it is.
They also belong on a fall dessert table next to the other apple and fried-dough classics I make. If I am putting out more than one thing, I will set them alongside a homemade apple pie or a plate of homemade sopapillas and let everyone graze.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These are best within 15 minutes of frying, while they are still warm, so I do not make them far ahead. I will mix the dry ingredients and dice the apples into lemon water so everything is ready to fry when I want them.
How to Store: Cover them and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze these covered for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator until soft before reheating.
How to Reheat: Place the desired number of apple fritters onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 350° for 4 to 5 minutes or until warm.
More Dessert Recipes
- French Silk Pie Recipe
- Apple Galette Recipe
- Blueberry Crostada
- Shoofly Pie Recipe
- Monkey Bread Recipe
Video
Apple Fritter Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 teaspoons of baking powder
- pinch of Kosher salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 ¼ cups of whole milk
- 4 each small to medium sized gala and granny smith apples, peeled, cored and small diced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- ½ cup of sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- toppings: vanilla bean ice cream and honey
Instructions
- Preheat some frying oil in a medium size pot to 375°.
- In a large bow,l whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk and then pour it into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- In another separate large bowl, mix the diced apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and fold the apples into the batter until combined.
- Using 2 large serving spoons, spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter into the oil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes while constantly moving it around. Be sure it is golden brown and cooked throughout. Note: I could cook about 6-8 at a time in the oil.
- Drain the oil off of the fried apple fritters and toss in a bowl with the combined sugar and cinnamon mixture and serve with ice cream and honey.
Must try soon… my favorite treat!!!
So its basically pancake batter with apples…will try definitely…
Thank you for giving it a shot!
I am not sure I understand this correctly: does the recipe require 4 or 8 apples? You said 4 each…so 8 apples, right?
Yes, 8 apples
I followed the recipe exactly. I made sure to keep the oil at the correct temperature and drained them, however they came out rather soggy. I’m hesitant to prepare them again.
Simply fry them for longer. Perhaps yours were a bit bigger than mine.
Making these for Thanksgiving dessert!
Perfect!