Do you love the apple fritters from your local donut shop? Homemade Apple Fritters are a fried donut filled with apple pie filling, cinnamon, and drizzled with a simple glaze.
Old-Fashioned Apple Fritters are made with a donut dough and simple to make apple pie filling.
While it does take a bit of time to make these, they are so worth the effort! Delicious cinnamon apple filling inside these light and fluffy fritters.
Why this recipe works
- Soft and fluffy doughnut dough that is stuffed with fresh apple filling. These old-fashioned apple fritters are the perfect treat for fall and winter!
- Made with simple ingredients, readily available in your local grocery store.
- Simple to follow directions.
You can make them the night before and plop in the fridge. For more great apple recipes be sure and try Apple Crisp, Apple Hand Pies, Homemade Pie Crust, Apple Pie Recipe, and Caramel Apples.
Ingredients Needed
- Apples – Use Granny Smith and another variety such as McIntosh. Granny Smith is tart and holds up well. Use another variety, such as McIntosh that will break down and create an apple sauce texture.
- Cinnamon – Warm spice of cinnamon adds plenty of fall spice to your fritters.
- Brioche dough – This soft and fluffy donut dough is perfect for this recipe. Inside the dough is filled with apple filling.
- Glaze – Easy to make glaze made with powdered sugar, splash of vanilla extract, and whole milk. Whisked together to make a thin glaze that nicely coats the top of the fritter.
How to make apple pie filling
Homemade Apple Pie Filling is super simple to make. I use a combination of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp apples. I’ve found this is a great combination.
You can also make this apple pie filling and pipe it into the back of the apple fritters after they are fried. Put the apple pie filing into a disposable pastry bag with a large pastry tip and pipe the pie filling into the back of the apple fritters.
This same apple pie filling is used in my Apple Hand Pies. Don’t have the time for homemade apple pie filling? You can use canned.
How to make Apple Fritters
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk, sugar, and eggs.
Step 2: Add the dough hook attachment, and stir in the flour and salt. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the dough. Scrape the bowl a few times. Beat the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 3: Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5-6 minutes, making a smooth dough. This dough is going to be sticky when you turn it out. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Making it into a rectangle shape, about ½-3/4-inch thick.
Assembling the fritters
Spread the apple filling evenly over the dough. Sprinkle generously with all-purpose flour. This will help absorb some of the moisture from the filling. Sprinkle generously with ground cinnamon.
Roll up, starting at the long end, like you would cinnamon rolls. Cut the dough on a diagonal, then back the other way. You want to end up with pieces about the size of a quarter. Gently push the pieces back into small patties (about 3-4 inches in diameter). You’ll want to sprinkle the pieces with flour as you go. This will be a sticky mess. But well worth the time, effort and mess involved.
Place the apple fritter patties on lined half sheet pans.
After the fritters are fried, you can squeeze in more apple pie filling using a pastry bag with wide tip.
The dough is quite sticky– don’t add more flour because otherwise you might make them tough! You want the dough to be light and airy. Hence why you let the dough rise twice, even before you assemble them into fritter.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this recipe takes some time. Make them the day before and place on a parchment lined half sheet pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, then fry them fresh in the morning. (Go straight from the fridge to the fryer!)
Use plenty of flour sprinkled over top the apple pie filling before you roll up the dough. This will help prevent the apples from taking on too much oil.
Fritters can also be soggy if your oil temperature is too low. If the oil temperature is too low they will absorb too much oil. Use a digital thermometer with a probe to maintain around 375 degrees F.
More Donut Recipes
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Apple Fritters
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Fritter Dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 1 ½ cups whole milk warm
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Apple Pie Filling
- 6 large apples peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Apple Fritter Glaze
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-5 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Apple Fritter Dough
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk, sugar, and eggs.
- Add the dough hook attachment, and stir in the flour and salt. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the dough. Scrape the bowl a few times. Beat the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5-7 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5-6 minutes, making a smooth dough. This dough is going to be sticky when you turn it out.
- After kneading, shape into a round ball and place back into the greased mixing bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and drape with a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes. Turn back into the greased bowl (spray with cooking spray again if needed) and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Apple Pie Filling
- While the dough is rising, make your apple filling. Place the butter and lemon juice in a 10-12-inch cast iron pan over medium heat. Place the chopped apple pieces and the brown sugar into the pan.
- Cook the apples over medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes, until slightly soft. Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water and pour over the apple mixture. Let bubble and thicken. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon so it does not burn.
- Remove from the heat once it's thickened and add the cinnamon and nutmeg. The apple mixture will thicken as it cools. Let cool completely.
Assembling Apple Fritters
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Making it into a rectangle shape, about ½-3/4-inch thick. Spread the apple filling evenly over the dough. Sprinkle generously with all-purpose flour. (about ½ cup or so). This will help absorb some of the moisture from the filling. Sprinkle generously with ground cinnamon.
- Roll up, starting at the long end, like you would cinnamon rolls. Cut the dough on a diagonal, then back the other way. You want to end up with pieces about the size of a quarter. Gently push the pieces back into small patties (about 3-4 inches in diameter). You’ll want to sprinkle the pieces with flour as you go. This will be a sticky mess. But well worth the time, effort and mess involved.
- Place the apple fritter patties on lined half sheet pans. (you should get about 3 rows of 3 on each sheet pan) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.
- While they are in the fridge, whisk together your icing. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. You want it to be fairly thin.
Frying Apple Fritters
- Heat canola oil in a large cast iron skillet to 375 degrees F. Use a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature of your oil.
- Fry for about 2-3 minutes per side. Flip carefully. Once fried, place them on a sheet pan lined with plenty of paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil.
- Let cool slightly before dipping only the tops in the icing. Let drip dry on a cooling rack, placed on a parchment lined half sheet pan. Once the icing is set, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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LAINA says
Can I freeze the fritter patties for frying at a later date?
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Laina,
While I have never done this myself. I would think you can certainly freeze uncooked fritters and fry them up fresh later.
Lexy says
Is there any point in the dough or donut making process that you could pop it in the fridge and finish it up in the morning? I wonder if after you have chopped up the pieces and made them into the patties, you could pop in the fridge to fry up in the morning?
Jessica Robinson says
Of course!!!
I make them into the fritters and plop them on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. You can fry right out of the fridge!
Lexy says
Thank you!! Have you ever measured how many cups of chopped apples it ends up being? The sides of apples vary so much that I am just trying to get a better feel for the amount. Thank you!
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Lexy,
I have not measured by the cup for chopped apples. But, usually you can estimate about 3/4 to 1 cup per apple. You want enough so you taste the apples- but not too much, as it will only push out as you roll the fritters up… Let me know if you have any questions!
Tami m says
Although it took some time to make, these turned out so good!!! Love all of the yummy apple bits! The link to the video really helped. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!!
Jessica Robinson says
While they do take some time and effort, glad to hear you enjoyed them! Thanks for writing!
James Pauley says
Someone mentioned a video you provided. I can’t find it on your website. I can’t wait to try these, a video would help immensely.
Thank you ever so much.
Jessica Robinson says
James,
There is a video of making them right within the post. It’s close to the top.
William Garden says
Can these Apple Fritters be cooked in a Air Fryer?
Jessica Robinson says
Hi William,
I would think that would be fine. I don’t use an air fryer. But I would say just try it out!
Michele LaVere says
Not sure I understand the cutting portion and patty portion……..want to try very much!
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Michele,
You need to cut into small pieces and press back together. Watch the video to see how to do it!
Lois. O says
Looks so rich in flavors and delicious. Adding this to my list of must tries.