Are you craving something sweet and delicious that the whole family will enjoy? Look no further than our amazing fried apple fritter recipe! Mixing a deliciously golden, crispy exterior with a soft, sweet center, these yeast donuts will become a family favorite.
By taking our favorite choices (Granny Smith and Honeycrisp) apples and using our secret glaze recipe, you can produce a fried apple dough to create donuts to share with family and friends. They’re not too hard, even if you’re not big on baking.
The biggest step requires dicing your apples into small, bite-sized pieces. You’ll keep them around the same size so that they’ll cook evenly. Then, you’ll prep the dough and bake it to produce unforgettable, mouth-sized snacks to share.
So, if you’re ready to create desserts that your family will adore, read on to learn more! We’ll give you the inside scoop on every step required for this snack, including what alternative ingredients you may want to try.
If you love this dessert, try our Baked Caramel Apple Cheesecake dip! It combines a similar bakery style experience to produce bakery sweets that will fill your kitchen with joy. You deserve this kind of unforgettable sweetness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy to make (even your kids could help you out)
- A tasty and balanced flavor that isn’t too sweet
- A “fall” flavor that works beautifully for those cool days
- Adaptable recipe that is easy to scale to bulk
- Great snack option for your kids’ school events
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Cinnamon: Add a touch of spice to your bakery style breakfast sweets by adding cinnamon to your glaze recipe! You can also try allspice for a milder flavor or ginger for something unique.
Applesauce: Give your apple fritters and yeast donuts a nice base by mixing in applesauce. While other pureed fruits, like peaches, can work, your fried apple dough is best paired with applesauce.
Apples: Apple fritters obviously need apples! We strongly suggest Granny Smith because they have such a deep flavor. Want a little sour snack instead? Green apples work, but be careful with their ripeness.
Vanilla: A touch of vanilla gives your fried apple dough a more balanced and rich flavor that your family will savor for years to come. Try maple syrup or honey for even sweeter yeast donuts.
Milk: Your bakery style breakfast sweets need milk for both the dough and the glaze recipe. You can choose whatever type you like, though traditional cow milk is often the best option.
Tips for Success
- Keep your baking temperature at 375 degrees to maintain a consistent fried apple dough
- Clean your apple before making your yeast donuts to avoid any pesticides
- Pick fruit that’s ripe without being overripe to make the apple fritters that the family will love
- Scrub out your pans to ensure bakery style breakfast sweets with a nice taste
- Alter your glaze recipe however you want (though don’t change the base excessively)
Storage & Reheating
Store your apple fritters in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. Yeast donuts should stay fresh that long, making them a great “sharing” option for parties. After that, the fried apple dough needs refrigeration (up to a week or so).
You can even freeze your bakery style breakfast sweets without ruining your glaze recipe. Keep them in there for up to three months and thaw out in the sink before serving again. That step helps reduce excessive moisture in the dough.
Serving Suggestions
- Dust your apple fritters with a little extra cinnamon sugar to make them even tastier
- Serve with an apple cider to get that “fall” feeling that makes yeast donuts so good
- Serve your fried apple dough fritters with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Pair your bakery style breakfast sweets with a nice cup of coffee
- Keep a little extra of your glaze recipe around for fun dipping
Notes
A few years ago, my daughter suddenly decided she wanted to be a baker. She’s always trying new things (her big thing now is astronomy!), and I obviously embraced it. These were some of the first goods that we baked together.
Since then, we’ve shared them with her friends, who’ve made them a neighborhood favorite! We don’t mind giving away our secrets because it’s not about being the best. We simply want everyone to enjoy these tasty, unforgettable snacks.
Making Jumbo Glazed Apple Donuts From Cheeky Kitchen
Ingredients
- 2 Large Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples peeled, cored, and finely diced
- 1 tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp. Granulated white sugar
- 2 ½ tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup Whole milk
- 2 Large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
- Neutral oil for deep frying such as vegetable, canola, or peanut oil
- 2 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ cup Whole milk
- ½ tsp. Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the finely diced apples into a small bowl, drizzle with the fresh lemon juice, and toss thoroughly to coat. The citric acid prevents the apple cells from oxidizing and turning brown while you prepare the remaining steps.
- Pour your neutral frying oil into a large Dutch oven, deep skillet, or heavy-bottomed pot until it is roughly 2 to 3 inches deep. Attach a digital candy or deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches a stable 350°F (177°C).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Whisk the dry ingredients firmly together for 30 seconds to distribute the leavening agents and spices evenly.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the whole milk, room-temperature eggs, and vanilla extract until the wet mixture is completely uniform.
- Pour the wet mixture directly into the large bowl with the dry flour baseline. Use a sturdy rubber spatula to fold the components together just until a few small streaks of flour remain.
- Add the diced apples straight into the batter. Gently fold the apples into the mix just until the flour disappears and a thick, lumpy dough matrix forms. Do not over-mix, or the fritters will turn out tough instead of fluffy.
- Once the oil has reached a steady 350°F, use a large spoon or a ¼-cup measuring scoop to carefully drop portions of the thick batter directly into the hot oil. Fry only 3 or 4 fritters at a time to prevent overcrowding the pan, which drops the oil temperature and makes the dough greasy.
- Fry the fritters for about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side until the bottom edges turn a deep, golden-brown color. Carefully flip each fritter over using a slotted spoon or metal spider wire mesh and fry for an additional 2 minutes on the second side until cooked through.
- Use your slotted spoon to lift the hot fritters out of the oil. Transfer them instantly onto a wire cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain away excess surface oils.
- While the fritters fry, prepare your glaze base. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, whole milk, and vanilla extract until it forms a perfectly smooth, pourable white glaze.
- Allow the fried fritters to cool flat on the wire rack for exactly 2 to 3 minutes so they are still quite warm but safe to handle. Dunk each warm fritter completely into the vanilla glaze baseline, turning it over to coat all the irregular nooks and crannies.
- Place the glazed fritters back onto the wire rack for 5 minutes to let the sugar shell set into a beautiful, crackly crust. Serve warm alongside hot coffee or tea.
