I don’t know what it is about apple fritters, but I love them. The crisp outsides, the tender insides dotted with sweet apples, the spicy cinnamon and the sweet, sticky glaze on top. All those together make a wonderful treat!
The only problem was that when I went to search out a recipe, all the recipes I could find were for a cake donut with apples chopped up and added. Not what I was looking for.
I finally got so frustrated that I decided to make my own recipe. It couldn’t be that hard right? I know how to make raised donuts. I know that an apple fritter is a raised donut, I just needed to figure out how to make them look like a fritter. No problem!
I used the single loaf recipe of Grandmother Bread, with a couple additions.
How to make Apple Fritters: Printable
Apple Mixture:
- 4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Single Loaf Grandmother Bread
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
Saute the apple mixture ingredients until tender. Cool.
Make the bread according to directions, adding the butter, egg yolks, cinnamon and apple mixture along with the first 3 cups of flour. Let rise until double.
Now here’s where I changed things up again. I didn’t let the dough rise a second time. Instead, I floured the counter really well and took about 1/2 a cup of dough out at a time. I rolled it into a ball on the floured counter and then stretched it into a thinner round (imagine stretching a pizza crust). I tried just rolling them out, but they would be very thin in the middle and not have that signature bumpy appearance. The stretching worked out great and it was easy too!
Then I popped it right into 350 degree oil. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and delicious. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze.
How to make Vanilla Glaze: Printable
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
Stir it all together until a thin (about the consistency of honey) glaze forms. Add more milk if it’s too thick, more powdered sugar if it’s too thin.
This couldn’t have been any easier and I can tell by the way they are flying off the platter that these are going to be an often requested item here. They were easy, fairly quick (about 1 1/2 hours start to finish) and they taste SO GOOD. Dare I say even better than the ones you can get from the store? I think so!
charleycooke blogs at Cooke’s Frontier.
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murphala says:
OK, as depraved as this sounds, I think these are going to be dinner tonight! They look fantastic, and just like the ones you get in the bakery (the real ones from real bakeries, not just the grocery stores!) Thanks for sharing…it’s in my recipe box!
On May 14, 2012 at 12:13 pm
charleycooke says:
I hope you like them, we sure do 🙂
On May 14, 2012 at 12:58 pm
odell says:
I worked in a bakery for several years many many moon ago. We always used the scraps after cutting glazed donuts for apple fritters. I had the same problem you did finding a recipe for the “right” kind of apple fritter. Finally used Suzanne’s donut recipe and my scraper thingy, chopped dough into bits incorporating chopped apple and cinnamon. let rise and YEAH FINALLY Thanks for posting, I’m sure there’s more of us searching for the right fritter.
On May 14, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Butterbean says:
These look incredible! I have to make these!
On May 15, 2012 at 10:35 am
JerseyMom says:
Oh yum yum!!! I can pass up a regular donut and won’t even eat the cake variety but and apple fritter is absolutely my weakness. Sitting at my desk with my mouth watering right now!!
On May 15, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Robin from Rurification says:
Fritters….I remember fritters. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. Have to put these on the weekend breakfast list!
On May 16, 2012 at 7:47 am
Lierin says:
I grew up in a PA Dutch family, and apple fritters were made a lot. We never used dough of any sort though, just mixed up a thick batch of pancake batter with a little sugar to sweeten it, added apples and cinnamon, and spooned the batter into hot oil. It had to be too thick to pour, and a bit drippy on the spoon, and then we knew it was ‘right’. They come out light and airy, almost like funnel cake, but with all the pure apple fritter taste (pears are good too!). We made corn fritters the same way, but without the cinnamon and sugar. I never could get used to the ‘bakery’ versions after growing up on these.
On May 17, 2012 at 1:31 am
charleycooke says:
Thank you for all the nice comments! Lierin~ we make corn, zucchini and potato fritters that way, but I just don’t like my apple fritters unless they are like this. Call it a West coast thing, but this is an apple fritter to me 🙂
On May 17, 2012 at 11:05 am