Normally, I like to always use Granny Smith apples for these heavenly, “…Easy like Sunday morning…“, apple fritters, but I had a couple of Red Delicious apples in the fridge that needed to be used before they went bad. So, I figured that this would be a perfect way to use them since the apples are cut up small, encased in a sweet batter, and fried!

Pretty much how you would expect that they were originally made if you had a couple of regular ol’ apple trees and went out to the backyard and just picked a few. Right? So why not. 😉

It was a funky Sunday morning, and that Lionel Ritchie song was stuck in my head, (not  a bad thing!), and I wanted to cheer up and surprise my hubby. He’s been under quite a bit of stress, and I thought that a fresh, warm, sweet treat would serve to bring a smile. 🙂

 

 

 

 

He loves anything apple, and “fritters” came to mind when I thought he might be getting pretty sick of cold cereal! (I’m not much of a breakfast person, and my favorite “breakfast”, especially in the heat of the summer, is actually salad! I know. I’m weird. 😀 )

Fritters are super simple to make, and absolutely delicious! A royal summer treat! I know. You went…wait, what??

Apples?

Summer treat??

Yep. Though apples are always thought of as a “fall thing”, the stores are LOADED with gorgeous apples right now! So why not take advantage of them! To me, they’re a year-round treat! 😀

So here we go!

Just a few minutes to pure heaven! 😉

 

 

 

 

So I started with some gorgeous Red Delicious apples! (*I ended up using only 2 of them, though.)

I peeled them, then used my apple slicer/corer, sliced the wedges thinner, then sliced the wedges into triangles, fairly thinly, and tossed them into a little lemon juice.

 

 

 

 

 

I meant to take a photo of the size for you, and thought that I had, but evidently I didn’t. Sorry about that. But just cut them into small pieces. Not a biggie.

Whip up the easy batter and fold in the apples.

Heat the oil and check the temperature before adding any batter. It should be right about 375º for the fritters to be able to cook properly, so that they are deep browned on the outside and cooked through.

I used two large serving spoons to slide large spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil.

 

 

 

 

The batter will look a little thin, and loaded with apples, but don’t worry. It puffs up and works beautifully! 😀

 

 

 

 

Fry each side 2-3 minutes until a deep golden brown…..

 

 

 

 

….drain them on a paper towel-lined baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to fully cool.

*If wanting to coat them with cinnamon-sugar, roll them or sprinkle them with that, though, while they are still hot.

(But cool them completely if coating them with the glaze or cinnamon-powdered sugar).

 

 

 

 

You want the glaze to be thinner than you would normally make, so that it gets a light coating that you can paint on with a pastry brush.

 

 

 

 

Do the bottom sides, let the glaze dry and harden, then turn over and coat the other sides.

 

 

 

 

And that is all that there is to it! 😀

 

 

 

 

They’re super easy to make, take almost no time at all, use VERY minimal ingredients, and are absolutely heavenly! 😀

 

 

 

 

They don’t keep all that well, so it’s best to make small batches such as this, and not double the recipe.

But don’t worry. They’ll all get eaten. 😉

 

 

 

 

So when you want a sweet treat on a sunny, summer Sunday morning, think beyond simple pancakes, and make these instead! They’re just as easy, and oh, so delicious! They may not be as healthy as a bowl of oatmeal, but at least they’re loaded with fresh apples! (And taste a WHOLE lot better! 😉 )

Besides, it’s ok to eat a treat now and then! Just don’t eat them all at one sitting. At least…try not to. 😉

So I hope you pick up a couple of apples on your next trip to the store, farmer’s market or out into your own backyard, and make this special treat soon! You don’t have to wait until fall to enjoy them! 😀

 

 

 

 

Yield: 8-10 fritters

Cinnamon Apple Fritters (Fried Apple Doughnuts)

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Ingredients

For Fritters:

• 2 Tbl. sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, ok to sub concentrate (*just a sprinkling is needed of either)
• 2-3 cups peeled, cored and chopped Granny Smith or Gravenstein apples (firm pie apples!)
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying (approx. 4-5 cups- enough to come halfway up sides of pan or skillet)

For Glaze:

• 1¼ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbl. + 1-2 tsp. warm water (thin enough to make the glaze "paintable")

For Cinnamon Powdered Sugar Dusting:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For Cinnamon Sugar:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbl. cinnamon

Instructions

In a large bowl (or the bowl to a stand mixer), cream the sugar, eggs and vanilla for 1-2 minutes with the paddle attachment.

Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pie spice, salt and milk. Mix well, scraping bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, chop and toss peeled apples with lemon juice. Stir apples into batter.

In large, deep, cast iron skillet or deep frying pan, heat vegetable oil to 375º (use a deep-fry thermometer or an electric skillet with a temperature control). Make sure that the oil is hot enough to fry the fritters correctly.

Once the oil is at 375º, scoop out large spoonfuls of the batter, and carefully and gently slide the fritter batter into the hot oil. *I use two large serving spoons for this.

When they get to a deep golden brown color, carefully turn the fritters over to brown the other side and continue cooking. (This should take approx. 2-3 minutes per each side).

When the fritters become brown on both sides (you might have to flip them over again to make sure both sides are nicely browned), you'll know that they'll be fully-cooked throughout.

Using a wire mesh strainer or slotted spoon, remove the fritters, one at a time, to a paper-towel lined (several thicknesses) rack to drain, then transfer to another cooling rack to fully cool. (*If wanting to use the cinnamon-sugar coating, sprinkle or roll fritters in the mixture while the fritters are still hot.)

Choose one of the three toppings, or make a variety.

For Glaze:

Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla and water in a small bowl until you have a thin, "paintable" glaze.

Using a pastry brush, brush glaze over the entire bottoms of the fritters. Let glaze harden slightly, turn over, and "paint" the glaze on the tops and sides. Place glazed fritters back onto wire cooling rack; let glaze fully harden, serve.

For Cinnamon Powdered Sugar:

Whisk together the powdered sugar and cinnamon until well mixed. Place into a fine mesh strainer, and tap to sprinkle over bottoms, turn over, then tops.

For Cinnamon Sugar:

Stir together sugar and cinnamon in small bowl until well mixed. Sprinkle over the bottoms and tops using a small spoon and tapping the side, or roll them into the mixture. Do this while the fritters are still hot..