Apple Fritter Poppers

The quintessential deep fried treat is the donut. A deep fried sweet dough with a glazed topping is one of life’s little pleasures that. The donut – a decadent little delight that makes so many people happy. My husband is one of those people who absolutely LOVE donuts. We strolled through Williams Sonoma several weeks ago and they were promoting all things donuts. Everything from the donut dough cutters to Bouchon Bakery donut mix. I must admit, they lured me in. I bought the cutter and the Bouchon mix.

I have a bit of an obsession with collecting cookbooks. Do I use all of them for the recipes? The truth is no. I use them more like reading a magazine – the photos fascinate me along with getting inspiration from many of them. I am running out of room to store my over five hundred book collection. It may be time to do a bit of editing. However, I did add to the collection while on my trip to Williams Sonoma and picked up “Donuts” by Elinor Klivans. It is a delightful book that walks you through making donuts at home with the classics, new flavors and flavors from around the world.

Making donuts has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Last Saturday was the day. My husband adores apple fritters. He goes to a small diner type restaurant every once in a while where they sell giant fritters that are literally ten inches in diameter. I may have one bite, but then the rest is enjoyed by him.

While leafing through my new donut cookbook, I came across apple fritters and knew that would be my first donut making adventure. Adapted the recipe slightly. It was super easy to make the dough since no yeast was required. I used a small one inch scooper that I typically use to make cookies. It turned out to be the perfect size to make little apple fritter poppers. The recipe includes a apple cider glaze which I made and also did a simple cinnamon and sugar topping.

I must admit, they were quite addictive and hard to eat just one. My husband absolutely loved them!

Apple Fritter Poppers

1 C. Flour
¼ C. Sugar
1 t. Baking powder
½ t. Cinnamon
½ t. Salt
1/3 C. Milk
1 Egg
1 T. Lemon juice
Zest of half of a lemon
1 t. Vanilla
1 Large apple, cored, peeled and diced small
Canola oil for frying

In a large bowl stir together all of the dry ingredients. Make a well and add the wet ingredients and stir together well. Add the apple and mix together.

In a deep fryer or large sauce pan, pour the grease to a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium until it reads 360 degrees. Test a bit of dough to ensure it is the correct temperature.

Using a one inch cookie scooper, drop about 4 to 5 scoops of the batter into the hot oil. Be sure to not overcrowd the oil. The fritters should float to the top and puff to about double their size. Deep fry until dark golden brown on the first side, about 2 minutes and then using a slotted spoon or thongs, flip over and cook for another minute. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat until the dough is gone.

Let cool if you are going to glaze and use a wire rack to let excess glaze drip. If you are going to make a cinnamon sugar mixture, then dip fairly soon after removing from the oil so the sugar mixture sticks.

Cinnamon-Apple Glaze

1 C. Powdered sugar
½ t. Cinnamon
2 T. Apple cider or apple juice

In a medium bowl, add the sugar and cinnamon together and stir. Then add the apple cider and whisk together until smooth.

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 C. Granulated sugar
1 t. Cinnamon

Mix well in a bowl.  Roll warm donuts in the sugar to ensure it sticks all over.