Apple Fritters
Hi everyone. It’s been a little bit since my last post and Thanksgiving has come and gone. If you were in America and were celebrating, then I hope everyone was able to cook and eat lots of delicious food with even more delicious leftovers. I was responsible for the bulk of our family’s meal, as I have been for the past few years. This year though, we got to gather at my twin sister’s and brother in law’s new house. This was awesome for two crucial reasons: first of all, her kitchen is GORGEOUS and has nearly TRIPLE the counter space that my tiny apartment kitchen does. Anyone who loves to cook knows how much this was appreciated by yours truly. Second, unlike the previous years where I end up doing most of the prep and meal cooking myself, this time I had Jas right next to me to help, and she made an awesome sous chef.
Every year, no matter what I always get the same anxiety about the turkey. I just do. Since it is technically the “main dish”, I feel the pressure not to mess it up.Turkey can so easily go from a great entree to a dry, chewy disaster. In the past I’ve done both a dry brine and last year, a traditional brine. This year though, I did something that was completely new and different to me:
An overnight turkey. You read that right. A turkey that cooks overnight so that by the time you wake up early on Thanksgiving morning, the WHOLE THING is already finished.
I know, I know. You’re skeptical. So was I. But just hear me out: I actually got this recipe from my grandmother, who informed me that before I took over the responsibility of cooking the bird for the family, THIS was the method she used to cook the 20-24 lb turkeys for our entire family. And judging that those birds were all absolutely delicious, I decided to go ahead and take her word for it and try it out on the turkey this year myself.
Basically, all you have to do, is season the turkey all over with melted butter and a flavorful spice rub. Then, stuff the cavity with celery, apples, onion, chicken bouillon cubes, sage and marjoram. 4 cups of boiling water get poured into the bottom of one of those giant roasting pans, then you make sure the lid to the pan is closed tightly. The turkey is roasted at 475 degrees for one hour, then you shut the oven off and DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.
That’s it. Seriously. That’s all you have to do.
I took the pan out at 9:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning and looked inside. The whole thing was not only done, it was still moist, and the skin outside had a decently browning on it. Oh yeah, and it was delicious too. I just couldn’t believe it. It was like…magic.
I’m so impressed with it that I’m seriously considering roasting ANOTHER turkey using this method and sharing the recipe on the blog so that you guys can get in on this. Plus, with both our and my brother in law’s families over for dinner, we weren’t left with hardly any leftovers and I already miss that turkey, so another one would actually not be unwelcome here.
What does any of that have to do with today’s post? Oh, nothing at all. In fact, I’ve had this post in my folder for a while now, but I just haven’t gotten around to sharing it yet. I made these little babies the same weekend that I made the absolutely heavenly Deep Dish Apple Pie from my last post with the rest of the apples we picked from the apple orchard. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good doughnut. Probably the only thing I love more than a good doughnut is a good apple fritter. When it’s done right, it’s just SO good.
And these are more than good guys. Trust me on that. They’re everything that an apple fritter should be: the glaze is sweet and just thick enough to form those lovely crevices in the fritter, which is soft and perfumed with the fresh apple on the inside. Don’t let the lengthy recipe scare you- they’re really not that hard to make. It does get a little messy in cutting off the apple filled dough into portions to fry, and you do have to make sure that the apples stay stuffed in. But even if you lose a few, that’s still totally fine. Just do what I did and fry off the spare apple chunks by themselves; they taste just as good as the apples.
Guess what? I’ve already started on the 12 Days of Christmas series that I do here on the blog every year and I am SUPER excited to share the first two recipes I’ve got done for you guys. They’re probably two of my new favorite Christmas treats I’ve made- and considering how many Christmas treats I’ve cranked out in my life, that’s really saynig something. I’m thinking on actually starting before we get to the point where it’s twelve days before Christmas. In the first place,I’m just that excited to share the recipes with you guys, and in the second, it will give me a little more leeway and less pressure to have twelve recipes and posts ready to post in twelve straight days. Regardless, Day 1 is coming soon, so stay tuned for that. 🙂
(I doubt anyone’s still there, but I’m also linking this post up to Fiesta Friday #96)
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Apple Fritters
Recipe Courtesy of Chow.com
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe for Basic Yeast Donuts (see below)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 sweet-tart baking apples, such as Honeycrisp or Pink Lady, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- Flour, for dusting
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar, also known as confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Warm water, as needed
- Vegetable oil for frying
For Basic Yeast Donuts
- 2 3/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to 105°F to 115°F
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Directions
For Basic Yeast Donuts
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the warm milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Add the remaining flour and the butter and mix until incorporated. Continue to mix on medium speed until the dough is soft and smooth (it will be slightly sticky). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free place to rise for 1 hour, or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
To form Apple Fritters
Mix the dough and let it rise according to directions for Basic Yeast Donuts. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the apples to the pan and sprinkle with the sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender and the liquid becomes a syrupy glaze, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness.
Spread the apple mixture onto half of the dough, then fold the other half over the apples.
Using a bench scraper or a large knife, cut the dough into 1/2-inch strips, then cut the strips into 1/2-inch pieces in a cross pattern.
Scoop up the pieces and rearrange, cutting them again in a cross pattern. Make sure the apples are well dispersed throughout the dough.
Flour your hands really well and form the dough into a log measuring 12 inches long and about 3 inches wide
Sprinkle the log with flour and slice it crosswise into 12 pieces. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with flour. Transfer the uncooked apple fritters to the baking sheets, smashing the pieces of dough and apple together. Tuck in any apples that stray, and press each fritter into a flat round. (Make sure you really press the pieces together and flatten before you let them rise, or the fritters will come apart during frying.) Let the fritters rise until puffy, about 20 minutes.
To make glaze: Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add enough water to form a loose glaze. Set aside and cover with plastic wrap until you need it.
Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil (the oil should not come more than halfway up the pan). Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350°F. Using a spatula, carefully and gently lower 1 or 2 fritters into the oil. Don’t crowd them.
Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, turning a few times, until the fritters are light golden brown and cooked through.Remove with a spider or slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool slightly before glazing.
Repeat with the remaining fritters. Be sure to keep the oil temperature consistent while frying. While the fritters are warm, dip the rounded side into the maple glaze, letting the excess drain back into bowl. Place back on rack to set.
Yum! These look great!
Thank you Debbie 🙂
Oh my goodness… DROOL!! These look SO delicious Jess. Apple fritters are one of my favorite treats to get when I want to indulge. I almost feel like they are one of those things that I shouldn’t know how to make 😉 Glad to hear you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and had a special sous chef, always a bonus!
Yeeeeah, that’s kinda how I felt after I made doughnuts for the first time too Heather- like I had just made a HUGE mistake for my thighs lol Luckily, I’m lazy when it comes to using the deep fryer so I don’t make them very often. Thank you 🙂
These just look mouth watering! I love apple fritters. And I would love to try to make these. But then I hear the word fry and yeast and I want to run. I am still such a chicken when it comes to certain aspects of cooking. And you are my hero. You are always making things that intimidate me. I aspire to be you! 🙂 I still have hope. I haven’t given up on yeast or pie crusts yet. In the meantime I will live vicariously through your pictures! Looking forward to the 12 days of Christmas! 🙂
Thanks Shari, that’s so sweet of you to say. Yeast baking is like jumping in a pool- you just have to hold your nose, jump and “Do it”. I’ve had my share of hiccups and there are some things I’m STILL too chicken to make myself like ciabatta and croissants. We get to them when we get to them 🙂
Apple fritters are my very favorite, and your fritters look exactly like the bakery I go to. I’ve never heard of that turkey method! I bet you were really anxious to make sure that bird was done. I can’t wait to see your 12 days posts this year.
Omg Julie ten minutes after I put that bird in the oven I was shoving my face against the glass door in anxiety, as if that would change or help anything. I said a prayer, I even woke up before my alarm clock lol. My grandma knew I’d be like that so she was VERY insistent that I could not touch that oven door handle until the next morning. So I didn’t…and it really and miraculously turned out great lol
Thanks 🙂
LOL! I would do the same thing!
Haven’t make these in a while. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
You’re welcome, this was actually my first time making them myself 😉
I’m still here and I’m so glad I came by! Your grandmother is so awesome!! I have another turkey in my freezer (not sure why and how) and I might just give your grandmother’s method a try. It sounds too brilliant not to! And the apple fritters? YUM! Apple anything is my favorite 😀
I really do NOT think you’d be disappointed Angie. If you want the specific recipe I hand wrote out from her recipe book, just let me know and it’s yours 😉 Thank you <3
Oh yes, please!! XOXO