Amish Apple Fritter

 

I have two little secrets…I am a “Morning Person” and Amish Apple Fritters are my favorite doughnuts! I LOVE these delicious crunchy fried doughnuts, made easily from scratch with a simple batter containing fresh apple chunks and cinnamon, and covered with a sweet glaze.

For over 20 years, I had to be up at 5:30 A.M. every workday to leave by 6:30 to be in my office at 7:00 A.M., ready for a day’s work. Not entirely convenient for making apple fritters! Ha Ha.

These days I find myself in a different season of life…no children at home to get up and out of bed before leaving…AND my commute to the office these days is no more than walking upstairs to my home office, where I work for my husband’s company.  My world has changed drastically!

My” new normal” is… instead of grabbing a large mug of coffee and shoving toast in my mouth while heading out the door as I did while working full-time, I now seem to revert to “boring” breakfasts such as oatmeal or toast and eggs.

HOWEVER… I do love a great apple fritter, doughnut or pastry occasionally. I mean, really, who doesn’t??? (if we’re truth-telling here).

How I Found This Recipe For Amish Apple Fritters

I love to try new recipes and learn new cooking techniques in the kitchen, AND my favorite doughnut of all time is the humble, yet glorious Apple Fritter. One day, while looking at recipes on Pinterest, I saw one for these doughnuts, written by a great-grandmother named Polly.

I could tell I would like this easy recipe from the very beginning (aren’t ALL recipes written by great-grandmothers wonderful?)… so I made them, and sure enough…these fritters were amazing!

Sometimes, a warm apple fritter and a strong cup of coffee are exactly what this old girl wants. Please notice I did not say what this old girl needs… now THAT’S another story, *cough, cough!

Hope you enjoy them…occasionally (wink wink)! Here’s how easy they are to make…you’ll be a doughnut maker in no time!

Amish Apple Fritter

Ingredients

For fritters:

• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 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
• 3-4 tsp. warm water (thin enough to make the glaze “paintable”)

Directions

1. In a large bowl (or the bowl to a stand mixer), cream the sugar and eggs for 1-2 minutes with a mixer.
2. To this, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and milk. Mix these ingredients well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the chopped apples with the lemon juice. Using a spoon, add the apple mixture to the batter and stir well, to combine.
4. Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees (use a deep-fry thermometer or use an electric skillet with a temperature control). It is very important to make sure the temperature is hot enough to fry the fritters correctly.
5. Once the oil is at 375 degrees, scoop out really large tablespoonfuls of the fritter batter (as big as you can get ’em!) and carefully and gently slide the fritter into the hot oil.
6. When they get to a true golden brown color, carefully turn the fritters over to the other side (I used two spoons to carefully flip them) and continue cooking. (This should take approx. 2-3 minutes on each side).
7. When the fritters become brown on both sides (you might have to flip them over again to make sure both sides are brown), then you know they will be ready and cooked through.
8. Using a SLOTTED spoon, remove the fritters, one at a time, to a paper-towel lined (several thicknesses) plate to drain and cool.
9. To make a glaze for the tops of the fritters, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and water in a small bowl until you have a nice “paintable” glaze.
10. Using a pastry brush, brush this glaze over the entire top of the fritter. Let glaze harden slightly, turn it over and “paint” the glaze on the bottom. Place glazed fritters on wire rack; let glaze harden, then serve.

Enjoy!!