Apple fritters

Crispy and covered in a sugary glaze, apple fritters are a sweet way to get your 'apple a day.'

I love apples. I eat one almost every day as one of my fruit servings. Fujis are my favorite but I'll eat almost any other kind as long as the texture isn't mealy (Red Delicious is a nonstarter – not crisp enough). Apples are also one of the few fruits I'll bake with so I was quite open to this recipe for apple fritters (meaning: "Deep fried and I can pretend it's good for me because it's got apples in it? Winner!")

The batter was easy to put together. Make sure your oil is hot enough or your fritters will absorb too much grease while it's frying. Don't overcrowd the fritters in your pan and I recommend making them small. I used an ice cream scoop to drop what was supposed to be uniform-size balls of fritters into the hot oil but let's just say, I got the rustic look on these whether or not I was trying to. But that's OK, they're not meant to look picture perfect.

I do recommend frying these long enough to make sure they're cooked on the inside. The outside will brown quickly but keep frying them an extra couple of minutes or so to make sure the insides are cooked. You also want the outside to be a bit crispy. If you don't fry them long enough, they'll be brown but will still be on the soft side when they cool.

After frying, let them drain on paper towels then cool slightly. Cover or dunk in the glaze and let set. These are best eaten soon after they're made. I only had a couple and tried saving the rest but they softened up too much the next day, especially with the glaze. But fresh out of the fryer, they were good.

Apple Fritters
From Seemingly Greek 

1 generous cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1 – 2 teaspoons cinnamon (depending on how much you love cinnamon, I used 1-1/2 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup milk, plus more if needed
1 – 1-1/2 cups chopped apple, your favorite kind for eating, cut to peanut-sized or smaller 
oil for frying
milk and powdered sugar glaze for dipping or just powdered sugar for dusting
(About 1 cup powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk or more) 

1. Heat oil in a pan with high enough sides to immerse the fritters in oil. 

2. Mix all dry ingredients together then slowly add the wet ingredients minus the apple. 

3. Carefully mix until well combined but do not over mix. Gently fold in apple pieces. The batter should be the consistency of a light cake mix. 

4. Once the oil is ready (when a test drop of dough floats to the top of the oil, a drop of water sizzles, or a piece of white bread browns in 60 seconds) then using a cookie scooper or soup spoon, place four or five balls of dough into the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd and watch carefully for the underside to turn golden brown, then gently flip over and continue frying until done.

Adjust cooking times based on size of fritters and temperature of your oil, ideally around 365 degrees F. It is always a good idea to test one to ensure it comes out like you are expecting.