Best Homemade Apple Fritters ~Apple season is upon us and so is the storm of apple recipes. Make these delicious fritters at home with tart apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and a powdered sugar glaze. The secret ingredients is the apple juice. Apple cider from the orchard makes these donuts finger licking good. They make a great addition to that Church Bake Sale or School Halloween Party. Be sure to keep some for your family, too! They will love them. For more apple recipes see An Apple A day. Or For more donut recipes see Donuts Galore!
Tips for a Better, Easier Fritter
Since this isn’t the shortest recipe ever and it’s a bit more advanced, I’m sharing some tips to make sure things move along smoothly for you.
I’ll start with the apples:
Core, peel, and chop your apples, then submerge them in ice-cold water with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Push the apples down and place a piece of parchment paper on top so the apples don’t bob above the surface of the water. You can do this the night before so the apples are ready to go when you’re ready to fry.
Now for the deep-frying.
You want to do your best and keep the oil at a steady 360°F. If it’s too low, your fritters will absorb too much oil and become sodden; too high and the outsides will end up burnt, or worse — appear to be finished with a nice golden browning while the inside is still doughy.
A few deep-frying rules!
Use the right tools:
a deep frying thermometer is a must for eliminating guess-work,
Use an Asian-style spider spatula — not tongs — to remove the finished fritters. If you don’t have a spider, a very wide slotted spoon will also work so the fritter doesn’t slip off and fall back in the oil with enough splash to splatter your tender skin.
Don’t multi-task. See note above. Minimize any splatter burns by being careful and not deep-frying shirtless (guys), or in a tank top. I’m serious.Start out only frying one or two fritters to get it down and establish a workflow pattern. Additionally, adjust any timing as needed to make sure your fritters are cooked through.
BONUS TIP:
And here’s a shortcut for proofing any type of dough:
Place an oven thermometer inside your oven and heat the oven to 100°F, then turn it off. Wait until the oven thermometer inside reads 90°F then place your bowl of dough inside. I use this method a lot in the winter when warm spots in the house can be hard to find, plus it speeds up the proofing in recipes like this. If you use this method, make sure you have an oven thermometer and the temperature in the oven does not exceed 90°F.
Best Homemade Apple Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 eggs separated
- 1½ cups finely diced tart apples
- Vegetable Oil for Frying
- Powdered sugar
- Apple Juice or Fresh Apple Cider
Instructions
- Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside
- Beat egg whites until stiff.
- In a small bowl mix together buttermilk and egg yolks and add to flour mixture. Stir just until mixed thoroughly.
- Fold beaten egg whites gently into batter.
- Fold in finely diced apples.
- Heat oil in heavy pan then drop batter by a tablespoon into hot oil. Cook one side until golden brown then flip over and cook backside until golden.
- Remove hot fritters and allow to drain on rack with paper towels beneath.
- Mix powdered sugar and apple juice in a small bowl until it is the consistency of thin icing.
- Dip warm fritter in icing flipping to coat both sides.
- Return iced fritter to rack for any excess icing to drain and icing to set.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
Conversion Information We get a lot of requests to help with conversions especially between various countries like Canada, the U.K. and Australia. These tables should help you make those conversions. For your convenience we have included a Conversion Chart.
I am Marilyn Lesniak. Writer, Photographer and Chief Bottle Washer behind the scenes at Marilyn's Treats. Follow me to my kitchen. 
I just printed out this recipe so wish me luck it turns out as nice as yours. Merriest Holiday Season, Kippi
Ps. My husband LOVES these so I hope it will be a wonderful surprise
Thank you Kippi. As long as you use the right ingredients and amounts it will be tasty. Presentation can always be tweaked. Those took me a few tries to look yummy. LOL. Merry Christmas! Let me know how they turn out!
Hi I don’t have apple cider or juice or buttermilk what can I substitute
Thanks
It is easy to make your own buttermilk! Just follow this 2 ingredient trick:
Instructions:
Step 1:Pour 1 cup of milk into a bowl.
Step 2: Grab one small fresh lemon or white vinegar. Stir in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice OR vinegar into the bowl with the milk. Stir to combine. …
Step 3: Use in place of buttermilk in the recipe as it calls for. Enjoy!
Good luck!
Congrats Marilyn! Your post is FEATURED at the #BloggingGrandmothers End of the Year
Special Holiday Link Party for 2018 – EXCLUSIVELY for Grandmother Bloggers! Party starts in less than an hour.
Thank you Dee! I can’t wait to check out the party. It will be exciting checkingout those links! The grandmas always bring such great things. Happy Thanksgiving.
Great recipe, Marilyn! I featured you at the Best of the Weekend party this week!
Enjoy your weekend!
Shelley
Thank you Shelley! I am thrilled for the feature. I really needed to smile today. I am so glad you like the fritters! Enjoy your day.
These look sinfully delicious! Bookmarking this page. I am going to try these yummy treats. Thank you!
Thank you Laurie. I think these are my go to donuts. Thanks for the bookmark! Enjoy your weekend.
Yummy Marilyn. Your apple fritters sound amazing and all those tips too, especially the ones about deep frying. I never have much luck with that. Everything always seems to come out oily. It looks like I need to get one of those thermometers
My grandma taught me to make donuts. I usually make the cake and bake, but I was feeling nostalgic this time. I am glad you lke them! Have a lovely week.
YUM!!! #trafficjam
Thank you Tracey. Enjoy your week!
I have pinned this one for sure for Christmas morning. You always share the best recipes. #HomeMattersParty
Thank you Donna for the pin. These fritters go great with a glass of milk! Enjoy.
These look like a binge waiting to happen and I’m all for it!
These are easy to binge on Sandra. You are right. Have a lovely weekend.
Man, these sound amazing! A little scared to try them, but yum!!!
Thanks for linking up @LiveLifeWell!
Blessings,
Amy
Funny, but I felt the same way for a long time. I rarely fry anything anymore but these turned out to be worth it! I hope you enjoy them even if you don’t make them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and enjoy your week!
Everything you post looks soooo good. I want to move into your house! Seriously, thank you for the tips. Those are the little nuances that make the difference between success and failure. Thank you for linking up on #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I’ll share on SM.
You flatter me Christie. I am glad the tips may help. Have a great weekend.
Marilyn, these sound like such a treat! I appreciate your detailed instructions. #BloggersPitStop
Thank you Jean. I am glad you enjoy the recipe. Have a great weekend.
These have me drooling, I wish I had one for breakfast! Great tips about proofing and thermometers, my fryer used to have temp settings, but over time the numbers rubbed off! I need to get a thermometer and quit guessing 🙂
I have two thermometers.one is for meat ans the other is for cady. I ell you even thought they are very different looking, I still mix them up!! LOL. Thx Jenna. Enjoy your day.
These are my favorite doughnut. I have to admit I’m terrified to try making them myself. I think I need a Marilyn lesson 🙂 Thanks for sharing on To Grandma’s House We Go!
I rarely make a donut. And for a long time now only the ones you inject into. Those round ones kill me!! Enjoy and don’t be afraid. Things can look bad, but they can still taste right if you follow the ingredienst. Have a good week.
And because they have apple in them they are healthy right???!!! One of my 5 a day?
These look like an awesome treat, yum!
Sure! The old apple a day thing. Just make sure you eat enough veggies and you will be fine. Enjoy your week.
These are sinful! I’ll bet I could eat a bunch of these. I know I shouldn’t, but I know I could. 🙂
Fritters are one pof the donuts that I can’t walk by. That icing is the best! Happy Halloween.
These look so good, Marilyn. I wish I could grab some from my computer screen. 😀 Thanks for sharing! x
Isn’t that the truth Jhuls? I look at foodie bloggers all day and then start craving something until I fix it. LOL. Happy Halloween.
I’ve always loved apple fritters, but I have never made them. I think that it may be time to try. This looks like a great recipe.
They are fun to make. And they don’t have to look fancy either! Happy Halloween!
I absolutely love apple fritters – and yours look perfect! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party every week – hope your week is fun but relaxing!
You are so kind Helen. I don’t make many donuts, but I love these!! Happy Halloween!
Excellent fritters.
Made them and took them immediately to my husbands work site
I saw several carpenters eyes roll to the back of their heads.
Used a maple syrup apple cider reduction as a syrup to glaze them
Thank you Becca for letting me know. I am sure everyone loved the sweet treat. I like top show up to my local hair stylist, or church or firefighters and share my treats. I can’t possibly eat them all. And it makes the people so very happy for the “interruption”. Enjoy!
Why does the dough need to proof if there is not any yeast in it ?
Did you forget it in the recipe?
No. The tips in the post are for dough making. Most can be applied to this specific recipe but the proofing is not. I am sorry for the confusion and have moved the tips to the top to make more sense. Thank you for pointing it out to me.
They are looking amazing! I love your photos, they’re so pretty!
Thank you so much. I enjoy when you comment. Today is one of those days where I wonder if anyone notices my posts! I feel better now. You have a great day!
I foresee myself baking over this weekend for some strange reason!
It sounds great to me! And I know how much Ana lves Apple Pie, so these will be yummy! Thanks for commenting!