A few simple ingredients come together to make these delicious glazed Apple Fritters. They are filled with fresh apples, lots of spice, and covered in an easy glaze. You don’t need any fancy ingredients or equipment to make bakery worthy fritters at home!
If you love these Apple Fritters, you’ll also love these Apple Cider Donuts!
You all know I love a good donut. And I will never turn down a good fritter!
I decided to rework the original recipe that was posted here back in 2015. It was a fun one to experiment, and my family did not complain about eating my test batches. 😆
What I ended with is an Apple Fritter that is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, filled with chunks of apples and lots of cinnamon. This is a treat that is perfect for fall, or really any time of year!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Oil: You need oil for frying the fritters. Use a high temperature oil, like vegetable oil or avocado oil.
- Apples: I like to use Granny Smith apples because they are crisp. But any crisp variety will work, like honeycrisp or pink lady.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour of the batter.
- Sugar: You will need two kinds of sugar. Granulated sugar for the fritters, and powdered sugar for the glaze.
- Cornstarch: When I first started testing this recipe, they ended up a bit too soft for me. I like a crisp exterior. The cornstarch was the trick! This helps the outside of the donut to become crisp, while keeping the inside nice and tender.
- Baking Powder: This gives the fritters some lift and keeps them from being too heavy.
- Spices: These are spiced, which works well with the apples. I use cinnamon, as well as a pinch of nutmeg. You could also use some pumpkin pie spice to change it up a bit.
- Salt: This is to balance the flavors.
- Milk: I use 2% milk, because that is what I keep on hand. I haven’t tested another milk, but I’m guessing most milks or milk substitutes should work, but it might change the texture of the donut.
- Eggs: The eggs also help with the rise and the structure of the dough.
- Butter: You only need a little bit of butter. I use unsalted butter.
- Vanilla: This will add extra flavor to the glaze. I like to use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
How to Make Apple Fritters
STEP 1: Peel and core the apples, then cut them into a fairly small dice. Aim for about 1/2″, and try to keep them all about the same size so that they cook evenly.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. This is the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Make sure there are no lumps.
STEP 3: In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – the milk, eggs, and melted butter.
STEP 4: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Start to stir it all together, but only mix until there are just a few dry patches remaining. You don’t want to overmix the batter, and you still have to add the apples.
STEP 5: Add the apples to the batter. Stir this together until the apples are evenly distributed, but don’t stir too much.
STEP 6: Before you start frying, you’ll want to mix together the glaze ingredients to make sure it is ready to go.
STEP 7: It’s time to start frying! I like to take two large spoons, and with one spoon, take a big scoop of the batter. Add it to the oil, using the second spoon to push the batter off the spoon. Then use the spoon to flatten the batter out as much as possible. Let the fritters cook until they are golden brown, then flip over and cook the second side.
STEP 8: Remove the cooked fritters to a cooling rack and let them cool just long enough to be able to handle them. You want them still somewhat hot. Dip them in the glaze, turning them over to coat each side, and letting any excess glaze drip off. Return to the cooling rack and let them sit until the glaze has set up.
Tips and Tricks
- For an extra crispy fritter, cook them until they are a little darker.
- You want to make sure the batter is hot enough to cook the fritters until golden brown, but if it’s too hot, the outside will cook and the inside will still be raw. You’ll want to keep it around 350ºF. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test a fritter by breaking it open to see if your oil is too hot or too cold.
- You’ll also want to make sure the fritter dough is flattened out some, because if you keep it too thick, the inside may not cook all the way through.
- This makes just enough glaze to coat 10 fritters. You’ll want to make sure and let any excess drip off into the bowl in order to have enough glaze. If you like a thicker glaze, you’ll need to make more glaze.
- Adding glaze to the donuts ensures that it is not too thick. If you wait until the fritters have cooled, the glaze will be much thicker.
- These fritters are best served right after making them. If you do have leftovers, store them at room temperature. They will soften some, but will still be tasty!
More Apple Recipes
Apple Bars with Crumb Topping
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Apple Fritters
Ingredients
Fritters:
- Oil for frying (vegetable, canola, avocado, etc)
- 2 medium granny smith apples (or any crisp apple variety)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a heavy skillet, dutch oven, or deep fryer. You want the oil to reach between 350ºF and 375ºF.Oil
- While the oil is heating, prepare the batter.
- Peel the apples and cut into pieces about 1/2” square. (They don’t need to be exact, but should all be roughly the same size.)2 medium granny smith apples
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, Pinch of nutmeg
- In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter.2/3 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon melted butter
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until there are just a few dry patches of flour left.
- Add the diced apples to the batter. Stir just util evenly combined.
- Prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. It will be a loose glaze.2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Set a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet as set aside.
- Once the oil is hot, drop the batter, about 1/4 cup of batter per fritter, into the hot oil. Spread it out as best as you can with a spoon. Do not crowd the pan – you will need to do this in probably 3-4 batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip, and cook the second side. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the oil to the prepared cooling rack.
- Once cool enough to handle, dip the fritters into the glaze, coating each side, but letting any excess glaze drip off before returning the fritters to the cooling rack.
- Let the glaze set up before serving the fritters.
Sophia Mossberg says
I made this gluten free and organic with brown rice flour. Very good recipe. Thumbs up from the kids!
Jeanine says
What is neutral oil?
Deborah says
Just an oil that is neutral in flavor, like vegetable or canola.
Chels R. says
Would you believe if I told you that I have never had an Apple Fritter before? They look so good and what a great book to utilize all the seasonal produce we have.
Nikki Rader says
Ohhh yumm, these look delicious!