Name: Simple Apple Dessert Recipes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 16 small apple fritters

Chef John's Apple Fritters

Easy Apple Pie Bars Crunchy Creamy Sweet

Recipe Summary Chef John's Apple Fritters

I didn't think I liked apple fritters, but turns out I just don't like chunks of almost raw apple, surrounded by a doughnut. Maybe I've just been going to the wrong shops, but I've never enjoyed the texture, and always wanted to try them with cooked apples.

Ingredients | Simple Apple Dessert Recipes

1 tablespoon butter

2 large Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 large egg

¼ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

½ cup sparkling apple cider

2 cups vegetable oil for frying

½ cup confectioners' sugar, or more as needed

1 tablespoon sparkling apple cider, or as needed to make glaze

Directions

Melt butter over medium-high heat and cook until it turns golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add apples and cook over medium-high heat until apples just begin to soften around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon sugar and continue cooking another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain in a strainer; let cool to room temperature.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl until well combined.

Whisk egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter together in a separate mixing bowl. Add cooled apple pieces and sparkling apple cider; add the flour mixture. Stir just until flour is incorporated.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spoon about 2 tablespoons batter per fritter, into hot oil, slightly flattening them out. Cook in batches. Fry on one side until small bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip fritters over and fry the other side until richly browned, about 2 more minutes.

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain grease. Cool slightly before glazing.

Whisk powdered sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add enough apple cider, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form a smooth glaze that is just runny enough to drizzle over fritters.