Apple Freaking Fritters

Take a deep breath, and get ready.

Fry up some oil, baker-friend, ’cause these fritters ain’t gonna fry themselves up into the sinful oblivion known as your New Favorite Dessert.

I made these for The Husband’s birthday because a) I had already made almost every kind of lemon recipe in the history of ever (his technical favorite, which is kind of a mandatory birthday-thing-to-do), b) apple fritters are always his go-to donut when faced with a “what donut do you want” moment at an airport or in a continental breakfast situation, and c) I was a deep-frying virgin and wanted my first time to be with a ball of sweet dough instead of a potato (although making my own batch of fries does have a dangerous and compelling appeal).

The good news is that they were a total hit (even the big ones- to the left of the picture above- which I had to leave in the oil for what felt like WAY too long).  The not-so-good news is that the pot of oil sat on our stovetop for about two weeks as I contemplated ways to get rid of it (ideas included and weren’t limited to: throwing it off the balcony, leaving it and hoping someone would break in and just steal it, pouring it down the sink, and procrastinating the decision in general).  In the belabored end, The Husband had to deal with it himself by commandeering two espresso containers and pouring the fat away.  (Happy Birthday to Him.)

Adapted from the Food Network recipe…

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into small dice

1 tablespoon butter

5+ cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a frying pan, stir apples and 1 tablespoon of butter together and fry over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
2. Heat a few inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pot over medium to medium-low heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 340º.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add milk, melted butter and vanilla.  Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl until just combined (do not over-mix).  Fold in the cooled apples, adding enough to make a very chunky batter.
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter into hot oil, 6 – 8 at a time.  Fry until golden brown, 4 – 6 minutes total and flipping over halfway through.  Remove and drain on paper towels.
6. Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar and stir in milk and vanilla until smooth.  Using two forks, dip warm fritters into bowl and allow excess glaze to drip off.  Place on a cooling rack to set.  Serve slightly warm, and within 1 day if possible.

Tips:

• Skip the apple cooking step if you’d like.  I added it in because I was afraid the apples would be a bit crunchy but I might have been paranoid.
• Test a fritter to make sure it’s done.  My first one looked done, but NO.  It was goopy inside.  No harm in plopping back in to the 340º oil to finish its goodness.
• The more glaze, the better.  If you make it ahead of time and it gets crusty, just microwave it for 8 seconds and stir- it’ll be ready to coat the frittery buggers again.
• These can be frozen!  Just defrost in the microwave for little bits of time to warm gently and pretend they were freshly fried.  Yum.
• Enjoy!

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