Are you looking for the BEST Apple Fritter recipe? You should give this easy homemade version a try. The apple rings are fried and then dipped into cinnamon sugar – fall perfection!
I love old fashioned desserts like grandma used to make, and these apple fritters are no exception. Full of all your favorite autumn flavors, they’re the perfect treat to enjoy in your favorite sweater on the porch on crisp fall days! For more cozy apple recipes, see my Quick Apple Crisp and my Brown Sugar Cinnamon Apples!
Old-fashioned apple fritters like from your best friend’s German grandma? The ones you get at those tiny country fairs? Yes, they’re the best.
These cute little apple rings are a favorite come fall with all the fairs around.
But what can I say – they can be hard to come by. And let’s be honest: To buy them in the quantities the kids NEED to eat them gets way too expensive.
All you need to make a just as tasty but cheaper (and more accessible!) alternative at home are a few apples, ingredients for a simple batter and some oil.
Ok, a lot of oil…
And don’t be afraid of the frying part, these apple rings are probably one of the easiest things to make!
This Old-Fashioned Apple Fritter Recipe
- only needs a few ingredients you either have in your pantry already or can buy at the regular grocery store
- is super easy to make – even though the apple fritters are such a special treat!
- makes your home smell like fall – apples, cinnamon and all the warm and cozy flavors!
I’m really trying to make a few simple family traditions happen around the year, and these apple fritters are one I want to keep up for the autumn season.
Along with some other fall recipes (like my absolutely-not-healthy-but-oh-so-good Pumpkin Bread and my Pumpkin Waffles), these are the thing I want my kids to talk about when they remember the autumn days of their childhood ?
How to Make Apple Fritters
Read on for the detailed steps, or scroll down for more tips to make this recipe foolproof and the printable recipe card.
► 1 Prep: Prepare your vessel for frying. You can either use a deep fat fryer (just follow manufacturer’s instructions on how to preheat it). Or make them on the stove!
I don’t even own a fryer, I just make them in a deep cast iron skillet. I slowly heat the oil over medium heat and check it often with a kitchen thermometer.
This skillet is similar to the one I have. (This is an affiliate link and I’ll earn a commission for purchases made after clicking through.)
For further prep, put a few layers of paper towels on a large plate (for draining the hot fritters), along with a medium bowl of cinnamon sugar and a plate for the finished fritters.
► 2 Prepare Apples: I’m generally too lazy to peel things like peaches and apples when making desserts, but for apple fritters I take the burden of peeling upon myself ?
Peel, core and then slice the apples into ½ inch thick rings. If you want to keep them from browning, place them in a bowl with ice cold water plus lemon juice.
Coring works best with an apple corer, but if you don’t have one you can first slice the apples and then cut out the core with a knife or a small round cookie cutter.
You can get an apple corer here on Amazon! (This is an affiliate link and I make a commission for purchases made after clicking through.)
► 3 Make Batter: Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together well (you want to evenly distribute that baking powder!) – then add all the wet ingredients and whisk until a smooth batter forms. You cannot overmix this apple fritter batter. Easy peasy!
► 4 Make Apple Fritters: Drop a small amount of batter into the hot oil to check if it’s ready. If the batter browns and floats to the surface, you’re ready to go!
Using metal tongues coat an apple ring with batter and gently drop it into the hot oil (I can do 3 fritters at a time in my 12 inch skillet). Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden and puffy.
Remove from the oil and quickly drain on the paper towels. Toss it in the cinnamon sugar mixture while still warm (important, or the cinnamon sugar won’t stick to the apple fritters) and set aside on the plate.
Keep going until you’ve used all the batter (or all the apple rings, but I usually run out of batter before I run out of apple).
Absolutely serve these warm! They serve warm vanilla sauce with the apple fritters at our country fair, but I usually don’t feel like doing even more cooking ?
Tips for the BEST Apple Fritters:
- use firm, tart apples for best results – definitely apples that hold their shape during cooking! Something like a Honeycrisp or Granny Smith would work well.
- if you don’t like cinnamon, you can just toss them in some sugar, or dust the apple fritters with powdered sugar instead
- these don’t keep well, so only make as many as you’re wanting to eat immediately (scroll down to see how to scale down this recipe for less people)
Can you make this apple fritter recipe with other types of fruit?
Yes, you can use this batter on many fruits!
You can coat banana pieces, firm peach slices, firm pears or even quartered plums in this batter and then deep fry it to make all kinds of fritters!
Healthy? Not so much (maybe a little, there’s fruit in it?!). Worth it? You bet.
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love:
And if you liked these recipes, there’s plenty more to make family meals easier for you! Be sure to join my FREE recipe circle here to get easy recipes by email.
P.S: If you tried this apple fritter recipe, why not leave me a comment below to let me know how you liked it? I LOVE interacting with you and hearing about your experience with my recipe. Also, by adding a comment and star rating you’re helping Savory Nothings grow and get even better for you!
Printable recipe
Cinnamon Sugar Apple Fritters
Recipe details
Ingredients
For Frying
- 2 cups vegetable oil
For the Cinnamon Sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Fritters
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 medium apples peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch thick rings
Instructions
- Prep: Slowly heat the 2 cups vegetable oil in a deep cast iron skillet or prepare the deep fat fryer. Set a plate next to your fryer with a thick layer of paper towels. Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar coating in a medium bowl and set it next to the paper towel lined plate. Add a large plate for the finished fritters.
- Make apple fritter batter: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, maple syrup, egg and 1 tablespoon oil and whisk until a thick and smooth batter forms.
- Check the oil: Check if your oil is hot enough by dropping a small amount of batter into it. If the batter browns and quickly floats to the surface you're ready to go!
- Fry the apples: Using metal tongues coat an apple ring with batter and gently drop it into the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden and puffy. Remove from the oil and quickly drain on the paper towels. Toss it in the cinnamon sugar mixture while still warm and set aside on the plate. Proceed in the same way with the remaining apple slices until the entire batter has been used. Depending on the size of your skillet or fryer you can do multiple rings at the same time.
Nutrition
More recipe information
Cynthia Phillips says
I think you meant tongs? There are no metal tongues.
Nora says
Cynthia, you are definitely correct. This is one of my oldest posts waiting for a refresh. 2014 me still had a lot of culinary terms to learn 😉 Hopefully I’ll get to re-writing the post sometime this year!
MB says
These are soooo yummy!
Your recipe is spot on!!
Thank you for sharing!!
❣️❣️❣️
Jackie says
There is a farmers market called Saint Jacobs in Ontario Canada, husband and I would go there on a Saturday morning and have to line up for there apple fritters. We now live in British Columbia, so one day was looking on Pinterest and found your recipe. OMG!!!
Made these apple fritters today and they taste just like the ones we had to line up for,
husband can not stop eating them, these will be a Saturday treat from now on.
Ange says
Absolutely delicious…they came out light and fluffy in the middle and crunchy on the outside. Made them for the whole family who thought they were “mmmmm”!
Mary Stinich says
I do similar to this , but in batter I use beer instead of milk. I also peel and I slice apples mite before and put brown sugar cinnamon nutmeg and little clove. Soak overnight. Now dip and fry yummy.
Wilma says
I made these in less than 40 minutes and they were great. I have been trying new recipes while CVIDing and this is my favourite so far.
Cathy says
I’ve tried three different apple fritters recipes and one peach fritter. This was by far the best batter of them all. Sweet and tasty. I followed the directions, but next time (there will be a next time) I will try to cur apples a little thinner. I used green apples btw.
Lisa says
This was our first time making apple fritters and I think this recipe is great! My son made the batter (nice and easy) and it stuck well to the apple slices but I was worried it would be heavy for how thick it seemed. However once they were fried the batter was light and fluffy with just a touch of sweetness! We used four small Gala apples and that made about 20 fritters. Almost all were gobbled up pretty quick by my three boys, which is a good testament to how yummy they were.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad to hear, Lisa! My kids always eat them up in no time, too – glad yours enjoyed them as much as mine!
Dale mays says
Delicious. I did have a hard time getting better to apples
Nora Rusev says
Dale, glad you enjoyed. If the batter doesn’t stick well to the apples (can happen depending on how much moisture they release), you could try adding a couple of extra tablespoons of flour to the batter to make it thicker. Or toss the apple slices in cornstarch before dipping in the batter. OR pat the apple slices dry really well before adding to the batter. Hope that helps!
Eleanor says
Love the recipe easy for Me 80 yr old.
Nora says
Eleanor, I’m so happy to hear this. I hope you enjoyed the fritters very much! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, too, I appreciate it.
Kelly says
Can you delete the maple syrup and still have good results?
Nora says
Yes absolutely, Kelly! You’ll lose the hint of maple, but the recipe is still very delicious. I just made them without the syrup last week and they were so good 🙂
Margaret says
my mom used to make these for us kids as a special after school snack every Friday during the fall. Now I just made these and am transported back to my childhood – absolutely delicious! Thanks for making an old gal very happy.
Nora says
What a sweet story to share, Margaret! I’m glad you enjoyed the apple fritters so much!
KathyVega says
Can’t wait to make ,receipt looks easy.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Oh my! I need this in my life. Must print your recipe. Thanks for sharing
Alex says
Hi! These look so delicious!! I was wondering what kind of apples would work best with this recipe….never made apple fritters before?
Nora says
Hi Alex, I’d say any not overly tart cooking apple should work! You want your apples to be fairly firm so they don’t get mushy and fall apart inside the batter!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
These rings are calling to me!! So easy too…holy delicious!
Nora says
They definitely are! 🙂
dunk says
Thanks so much for the conversion Nora! Can’t wait to make these.
dunk says
Any idea on how to make reduce the serving amount? Like maybe for 1 or 2 apples. I don’t need to serve 40 people. Thanks in advance.
Nora says
You can definitely cut the recipe in half, maybe you have neighbors who would love some apple fritters? It’s a bit harder to cut the recipe even further because of the eggs, but if you really just want to make the recipe for 2 apples you could always try quartering the recipe and using just half of a beaten egg. I can’t 100% vouch for it working though!
The amounts for half the recipe would be:
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon oil
4-5 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch thick slices
And for 1/4 of the recipe
3/4 cups flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons oil
2-3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch thick slices
Let me know how it works out! Hope you’ll like it 🙂
Dana @ 3boysunprocessed says
A baby at a class? Ugh that makes me want to crawl in a corner and never come out! haha Hopefully she sleeps through it all!
Nora says
She’s an angel during class, the constant talking makes her incredibly sleepy 😀
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
These apple fritter rings look delicious!
Nora says
Thank you Jess!!
Sarah | Broma Bakery says
I’m laughing so hard at the idea of taking a baby to pick up randos. And good for you for getting your degree amidst all the chaos! Props, girl. Props.
Nora says
Seriously, only a guy could do that 😉 And thank you, it’s not easy but I’m taking it one day at a time 🙂
Chineka @ Savor The Baking says
These look really delicious. Apple fritters are my favorite type of donuts.
Nora says
Thank you Chineka! Mine too – especially once fall comes around 🙂
Memoria says
Whoa! These apple fritters look AMAZING!! I must bookmark and pin this recipe.
Congrats on the new addition!
Nora says
Thank you SO much! 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
That is too funny that you husband saw the appeal of using your daughter as a flirting technique! Men! 🙂 These apple fritter rings look amazing, Nora! I never knew how easy these were to make! Such a perfect fall treat. Pinned!
Nora says
Yes and of course she was helping him by smiling at everybody 😉 Thank you so much Gayle! They really are not hard to make – and so delicious 😀
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
I love apple fritters!! These look delicious!
Nora says
Thank you Liz!