Delicious Apple Fritters

Apple fritters are the sort of snack which seem old-fashioned but can be whipped up in a minute. There’s somewhere between a donut and a pastry. They can be served warm, eaten for breakfast, or made into a dessert.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup of whole milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. melted unsalted butter
• 2 whole granny smith apples peeled and diced
• sunflower oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, lard, or coconut oil for frying
• powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl crack the two large eggs and beat with a fork or whisk. Then add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk well together.
3. Gently add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. Like muffin mix you don’t want this to be over blended.
4. Add enough apples to ensure the batter is chunky. If you don’t have enough diced apple, you can always add more.
5. Take a Dutch oven and add the oil 2 inches thick on the bottom. Heat over a medium flame and when it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit drop a tiny amount of batter into the oil. If the tiny amount of batter sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready. If the batter burns immediately, turn down the heat.
6. Each serving is one tablespoon of batter. Drop one tablespoon of batter into the Dutch oven at a time. You can typically get 6 to 8 tablespoons into the Dutch oven before it’s time to flip them. Sometimes they flip by themselves.
7. Once they are a golden brown and the center is cooked through, the fritters should be done. This should take a total of 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.
8. Remove the fritters with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl filled with paper towels.
9. Repeat this process using one tablespoon for each fritter and processing 6 to 8 fritters each time until all the batter is gone.
10. Once the fritters have been cooked and drained of their oil, place on a serving dish and lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Tips:

• If fritters do not cook all the way through within 2 1/2 minutes the amount being dished out for each serving is too large. Ensure that it is a level tablespoon of batter.
• Fritters can be overdone without turning black. An overdone fritter is crispy all the way through. The perfect fritter is crispy on the outside but like bread dough in the middle with the occasional bits of apple.
• Fritters can be topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla ice cream, whip cream, apple jam, or apple jelly. They can also have a light donut glaze drizzled on top.
• Fritters are excellent anytime for snack, breakfast, or dessert. For a lovely dessert add vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.
• To store fritters place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Fritters can be baked and frozen for future use.