Homemade Apple Fritters may not be traditionally Italian, but they are one of my dad's favorite desserts.
So simple to make, these apple fritters with icing are the perfect snack or after dinner dessert with a cup of coffee. No lie, they come together as easy as my recipe for Zeppole Italian Doughnuts called Sfingi.
If you love traditional holiday desserts, try our recipe for Cuculi Calabrese or Calabrian Turdilli.
Jump to:
This recipe for fried apple fritters was inspired by my Bombolini with Crema Pasticcera. And if you are looking for something more on the healthy side, try my Healthy Baked Doughnuts recipe.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
You'll love these Homemade Apple Fritters because they are a:
- Easy to make recipe with ingredients that are in your pantry
- Quick recipe that you can make in about 30 minutes
- Customizable by substituting another fruit like blueberries
- Comfort food taste that will lift your spirits and brighten your day.
Ingredients You'll Need
You will need the following ingredients to make Homemade Apple Fritters with Icing: flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, milk, eggs, vegetable oil, butter, apples, brown sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.
Flour is one of the main ingredients used to make the dough.
Egg is used as a binder in this recipe.
Cinnamon is used to enhance the flavor of the applies like in traditional apple sauce.
Powdered sugar is used to make the icing that covers the doughnuts.
Vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor of the icing
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Homemade Apple Fritters
Start with making the apple sauce. To make the apples sauce, melt the butter in a medium sized frypan add apples and brown sugar.
Let cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until apples are slightly transparent. Turn off heat and add cinnamon. Set aside to let cool.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl and add eggs and milk. Stir together, add more flour or milk as needed.
Take a soup spoon and spoon some of the dough and drop it into the oil using a spatula to guide the dough off your spoon. Turn the fritter once the bottom is golden. It will take about 2 minutes for the fritters to cook.
Place cooked apple fritters on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the oil. Let cool completely before icing.
Storage: Eat immediately. Cover any homemade apple fritters loosely with plastic wrap at room temperature for not longer than one to two days.
Meal Prep Tips
These apple fritters can be made in advance and frozen before icing. Then thaw them out overnight and ice as usual.
When making the icing, pour the milk into the powdered sugar a bit at a time until you get the consistency that you want. Add more milk or more sugar as needed.
Variations
Here are some variations and substitutions for you to consider:
- Apple Sauce - instead of making your own apple sauce, buy pre-made apple sauce and cut down your prep time.
- Powdered Sugar - skip the icing and sprinkle powdered sugar on top for a lighter tasting snack.
- Gluten Free- make a gluten free version of these apple fritters.
- Cheese - substitute cheese and make a savory version - cheese fritters. Omit sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract any other ingredients that don't go well with a savory recipe.
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
In short, no. Fritter batter is similar to a muffin batter without butter.
To fry fritters, get your oil temperature up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. You can easily test to see if the oil is ready by placing a little bit of dough in the fryer and watching to see that it bubbles and cooks the dough.
The best apples for fritters are Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisp Apples hands down!
Dinner Ideas
Recipe Details
Homemade Apple Fritters with Icing
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
Dough
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- vegetable oil for frying
Apple Sauce (14 oz. cooked)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 18 oz apples about 2 small size honeycrisp, golden delicious or granny smith
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Icing
- 2 cups icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup milk or so
Instructions
- To make the apples sauce, melt the butter in a medium sized frypan add apples and brown sugar. Let cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until apples are slightly transparent. Turn off heat and add cinnamon. Set aside to let cool.
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl and stir together to combine.
- Add eggs and milk. Stir together, add more flour or milk as needed to create a smooth but sticky dough.
- Fold in as much of the apple sauce a little at a time into the dough. If the dough becomes to wet, add more flour. If the dough is to dry add more apple sauce.
- Heat up a medium size saucepan filled with about 3 to 4 inches of vegetable oil to about 375℉. Test the oil by placing a little bit of dough and see if the dough fizzes and cooks.
- Take a soup spoon and spoon some of the dough and drop it into the oil using a spatula to guide the dough off your spoon. Turn the fritter once the bottom is golden. It will take about 2 minutes for the fritters to cook.
- Place cooked apple fritters on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the oil. Let cool completely before icing.
- To make the icing, place the icing sugar in a small bowl, add the vanilla and then add the milk slowly to create a thick icing that you can pour over the fritters.
Notes
Storage Instructions:
Eat immediately. Cover any homemade apple fritters loosely with plastic wrap at room temperature for not longer than one to two days.Tips
These apple fritters can be made in advance and frozen before icing. Then thaw them out overnight and ice as usual. When making the icing, pour the milk into the powdered sugar a bit at a time until you get the consistency that you want. Add more milk or more sugar as needed.Nutrition
PIN it for later here
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
sammy says
Fantastic , I will be doing this recipe again and again! Only downside to mine was I found the oil too hot at 375 degrees and fritters looked really dark ( didn't taste burnt though) , so would cook perhaps just a little longer but at a slightly lower temperature
AmyG says
So glad you liked them! And great suggestion - Thank you!