These apple fritters are light, crisp, and packed with juicy apple bits in every bite. The spiced batter fries up golden in just minutes, and a simple cider glaze ties it all together with a hint of sweetness. You don’t need any fancy tools, just a Dutch oven, a candy thermometer, and a bit of patience as you fry each batch. They’re a little indulgent, a lot delicious, and perfect for serving with a cup of your favorite hot beverage.
Ingredients Needed
Fritters
- Granny Smith apples
- all-purpose flour – remember to lightly spoon into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Flour easily compacts. Scooping flour straight from the bag can pack in too much, making baked goods dry or dense. Lightly spooning it into the cup and leveling with a knife gives you an accurate measurement for soft, tender results every time.
- sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- apple cider – the non-alcoholic, murky, dark apple juice that you can find in produce departments and roadside stands; if you can’t find the stuff in the gallon jugs, go for something like Simply Apple
- large eggs
- butter
- peanut oil – or other oil suitable for cooking at high temperatures
Glaze
- powdered sugar
- apple cider
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
How to Make Apple Fritters
- Peel, core, and chop apples into 1/4″ pieces, then spread the prepared apples in a single layer on paper towels, patting them dry.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Whisk cider, eggs, and melted butter in a medium bowl.
- Stir the apples into the flour mixture, and add in wet ingredients just until incorporated.
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven until it reaches 350°F.
- Carefully drop 1/3 cup of batter into the oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry and adjust burner as necessary, keeping the oil between 325-350°F.
- Cook 2 – 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Carefully remove from the hot oil and allow to drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
- Whisk together glaze ingredients. When the fritters have cooled for 5 minutes, dip the top half of each fritter into the glaze and return to the cooling rack.
- Let set for 10 minutes.
Storage & Other Tips
- Storage
- Room‑temperature storage (best):
Store cooled fritters in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. - Refrigeration (okay for longer):
Keep fritters in the fridge for up to 4–5 days, but take them out to come to room temperature before serving to restore texture. - Freezing (works well):
Wrap individual fritters tightly after completely cooled, freeze for up to 2 months, and reheat straight from frozen.
- Room‑temperature storage (best):
- Reheating
- Oven: Reheat at 350°F for 5–10 minutes (oven) or ~300°F for 10 minutes (toaster/convection oven) to restore crispiness.
- Skillet method: Warm gently in a dry skillet over medium-high heat (~1 minute per side) to refresh the crunch.
- Air fryer: Reheat frozen fritters in the air fryer at 375°F for about 5 minutes or until heated through and crisp outside.
- Make-ahead: Fry your fritters and let them cool completely before freezing or storing—don’t glaze until just before serving to keep them crisp.
- Dropping the batter: if the batter is sticking to the inside of your measuring cup while frying, try greasing the inside of your cup with some spray oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crisp, tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp hold their shape and balance the sweetness perfectly. Softer apples can turn mushy when fried.
These are definitely best fried for that classic crispy outside and soft inside. Baking won’t give you the same texture, but if you’re determined, try a donut muffin recipe instead!
If it’s runny, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it thickens slightly. If it’s too thick, add a splash of milk to loosen it up. You want it thick enough to coat the apples but still scoopable.
Make sure your oil is hot enough—around 350°F. Too cool and the fritters soak up oil; too hot and they’ll burn on the outside before cooking through.
They’re best fresh, but you can fry them earlier in the day and warm them up in the oven right before serving. Hold off on the glaze until you’re ready to eat!
If the fritters are too hot when you glaze them, the icing will melt. Let them cool for a few minutes first so the glaze sticks beautifully.
Apple Fritters
Equipment
Ingredients
Fritters
- 12 ounces Granny Smith apples about 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼" pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife or 260g
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup apple cider the dark, murky stuff sold in gallon jugs in the fall, not the alcoholic beverage or the light, clear apple juice that is sometimes called cider. If you can't find fresh cider, Simply Apple is a good substitute and available year-round.
- 2 eggs, large lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 3 cups peanut oil or other oil suitable for cooking at high temperatures
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar 8 ounces
- ¼ cup apple cider
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Fritters
- To make the fritters, spread the prepared apples in a single layer on paper towels and pat dry.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Whisk the cider, eggs, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Stir the apples into the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients until incorporated.
- Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees (use a candy thermometer or an instant-read thermometer to check.)
- Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to carefully drop batter into the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan (I can't make more than 3 at a time). Fry, adjusting the burner as necessary, to keep the oil between 325-350 degrees.
- Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Carefully remove from the hot oil and allow to drain on the wire rack.
Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, apple cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg. When the fritters have cooled for 5 minutes, dip the top half of each fritter into the glaze and return to the cooling rack. Let the glaze set for 10 minutes.
Questions & Reviews
Hooray! Always been an apple girl and fritters are my fav. Thank you!!! So excited to try this. Must have been inspired!
These look sensational! Since most of my dreams center around really great apples (and lead to fat pants), I’ll definitely be making these this weekend!
I’m not a big pumpkin fan either. I like pumpkin loaf (in fact I just made one and keep sneaking crumbs from the end piece!) but that’s about it. Love all things apple though!
I love pumpkin, but I also love to laugh and that’s always what Kate is good for. I mean doesn’t everybody dream of fall pastries and wearing fat pants. I’m on some crazy health challenge where I only get sugar once a week and I daydream of what I’ll eat on my sugar day everyday. If I can have some self-control with these Apple Fritters maybe I can avoid the fat pants that day.
How awesome is it to not see another pumpkin recipe?!? The thought of pumpkin pie makes me queasy. I am fantasizing about finding a way to block all pumpkin recipes from my pinterest feed…
I fell very validated to know that someone with a cooking blog shares my feelings toward pumpkin! I just never have been able to understand the obsession! If it’s eggnog flavored, I am all over it, but I also LOVE apples and apple fritters. Thanks for a delicious and easy looking recipe!
Food Network recently did an online pole for the ugliest apple fritter around. My favorite donut shop made the list- The Donut Shoppe in Jacksonville, FL. It is a little hole in the wall place with the BEST donuts ever, including their apple fritter dubbed “The Ugly”. You may never make it to Jax, but if you do, head to the Arlington area and get one. 🙂
How lovely to see a Fall recipe that isn’t pumpkin! More, please! Here in Australia pumpkin is not a Thing; it’s a year-round staple vegetable. It doesn’t come in cans either, which makes trying out pumpkin-based recipes really tedious. Thanks for posting something different.
Maple bars and apple fritters- yes, yes, yes!
So happy to see I am not the only person alive who doesn’t like pumpkin!!! And my husband will be thrilled to see that I can start making him apple fritters! I had never even tried them till I married him and now I love them too.