Easy Homemade Apple Fritters

Apple fritters are like a donut but better – a crunchy outer, soft inside, luscious sugar glaze, with fresh crisp apples filled inside it. In less than 30 minutes you get to enjoy scrumptious and comforting dessert.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients
• How to make it
• Useful tips
• Common questions
• Related apple recipes
• 📋Easy Homemade Apple Fritters

Why this recipe works

1. These fritters are irresistible! One of the most addictive snacks you’ll ever make.
2. Easy to make. Enjoy a scrumptious dessert in less than 30 minutes.
3. It’s great for breakfast too! Start your day with luscious rich fritters – an amazing way to start the day!
4. You’ll need basic ingredients. All ingredients needed are most probably in your pantry already.
5. With warming spices like cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder, this dessert is perfect for fall and winter. It will warm you up on cold winter days.
6. These fritters are just like donuts but better filled with fresh crisp apples filled inside it. It’s like apple pie and donuts in one dish.
7. Glaze it with sugar glaze or dust it with cinnamon sugar – both are delicious! In the mood to indulge? Go for the double glaze!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need-

• All purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon powder
• Nutmeg (optional)
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Milk
• Granny Smith apples
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Oil
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla

All the ingredient’s exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below.

• Apple – use any variety of crisp and firm apples that have sweet and tart flavors to them. Granny Smith, honey crisp, or Fuji apples are best.
• Lemon Juice – once apples are chopped drizzle lemon juice to prevent it from browning.
• Kosher Salt (optional)
• Batter – you’ll make a batter similar to donut batter that will coat the apples before frying. To make the batter you’ll need:
• – eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar.
• – flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder (optional).
• Oil – for deep frying. Use any flavorless oil for frying. Vegetable oil, and canola oil are the best options.
• For Glaze – apple fritters are complete without luscious glaze drizzled generously over the top. For the glaze you’ll need – powdered sugar, milk (or water), and vanilla (optional).

You can dust these fritters with caster sugar + cinnamon powder mix as well. Not shown in the picture for ingredients.

How to make it

• First peel, core and dice a couple of apples.
• Use apple slicer to core and chop into thick slices.
• Cut each slice into ½ inch cubes.
• Immediately transfer cubed apples into a bowl. Drizzle freshly squeezed lemon juice on top. This step is optional. It helps prevent apples from browning.
• For batter – in a bowl add eggs, milk, and sugar.
• Beat until combined.
• Add dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon powder, and nutmeg powder (optional) to the egg mix.
• Whisk until combined. Do not overbeat it.

• Dump chopped apples and mix until the apples are all covered.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or a heavy pot fitted with a thermometer. Heat it until the oil reaches 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop out apple-laden batter into hot oil. Space out each portion so there does not stick to one another.
• Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry in smaller batches. This will help maintain the temperature of the oil. If you fry too many of them at a time, the temperature of the oil in the Dutch oven will drop and the fritters will not brown evenly and will not turn as crispy as expected. Fritters may absorb a lot of oil as well if overcrowded, so avoid frying too many at a time.
• Fry until it turns golden brown. Flip and fry on the other side until golden brown.
• Note – keep an eye on the temperature of the oil and the fritters themselves. Try to maintain the temperature at 375 F.
• If you want fritters to have crispy outer, fry them for a few seconds longer or until they are dark brown. The darker fritters are fried, the crisper they’ll get.
• Transfer fried golden brown fritters onto kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Let the fritters sit on the kitchen paper towel for a few seconds then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.

Before adding in the next batch make sure temperature is back at 375 degree Fahrenheit

Repeat the steps for the rest of the apple batter left out.

To make glaze –

Whisk together powdered sugar, milk (or water), and a drop of vanilla extract. Whisk into the lump-free mix.

Spoon the glaze over the fritters resting on the wire rack.

Wait for the glaze to dry.

To make double-glazed fritters – wait for the first glaze to set completely. Then pour around a round of sugar glaze on the fritters.

For cinnamon sugar-dusted fritters – sprinkle cinnamon on fried fritters while it’s still hot on both sides and enjoy.

Useful tips

1. The batter for coating apples will be a bit runny. That’s how it’s supposed to be. If the batter is too thick, it will not coat apples evenly and will result in thick batter-coated apples.
2. Stuff in LOADS of apples into the batter. Don’t get tempted to add in more batter ingredients to make more batter. You want a thin coating of batter over the apples. Too much dough will leave you with a muffin-like dish, not fritters.
3. Choose an apple that is crisp, firm, and has wonderful sweet and tart flavors for the recipe. Granny Smith, honey crisp, and Fuji red apples are the best choices.
4. Fry in oil that is heated to temperature 375 F. Fritters will absorb less oil. Try to keep the temperature of the oil at 375 degree for all the batches you fry.
5. Do NOT OVER MIX the batter. Whisk until just combined. Over-mixing will result in tough fritters. It isn’t very pleasant to eat tough fritters.
6. Do NOT OVERCROWD the pan while frying. Space fritters from one other so they don’t stick.  Fry them in smaller batches.
7. Keep the thermometer fixed in the Dutch oven all the time to keep an eye on the temperature and try to maintain it at 375 F.
8. Using a heavy pot like a Dutch oven helps maintain oil temperature.
9. If you want to make crispy fritters, fry for a few extra seconds until they are dark brown.
10. Feel free to add a double glaze if you like it sweet. 
11. Instead of glaze, you are free to dust fritters with cinnamon sugar as well. Up to you which one you want to choose.

Common questions