Glazed Apple Pie Fritters

Each month senior Test Kitchen editors Jesse Szewczyk and Shilpa Uskokovic share a must-make recipe and dive deep on why it works. Come bake and learn with us—ask questions, share pics, listen to our podcast, and lots more here. And don't forget to join the Bake Club Group chat over on Substack.

Is it even fall if you haven’t been apple picking? And have you even been apple picking if you didn’t end the day lining up for piping hot cider doughnuts?

This recipe is designed to recreate that experience—apple-sweetened dough, a hint of grease, a jolt of sugar and spice—without having to wait for yeast to rise. Ricotta and baking powder deliver tenderness and lift, as with some Central and Eastern European pastry doughs.

We then borrowed the best bits from a cake doughnut (crumbly, fluffy insides) and a state-fair fritter (big, juicy chunks of fruit) for a treat that tastes like fried apple pie. Making these chubby little sweets may be even quicker than a drive to the orchard.

Cooking the apples in plenty of butter and sugar before adding them to the batter has a twofold effect: The fruit becomes luxuriously tender, and the sugar caramelizes, introducing deep, full-bodied apple-pie-like flavor. Find more great apple recipes here: Caramel Apple Snacking Cake; Buttery German Apple Cake; and Apple-Walnut Upside-Down Cake.

Recipe information

• Total Time 45 minutes
• Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

3

¼ 4

½ 2½

1 2

½ 1¼ 1

2

Special Equipment

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

• Step 1Cook 3 large Honeycrisp or Fuji apples (about 1½ lb.), peeled, cored, cut into ½" pieces, ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. (packed; 75 g) light brown sugar, 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, 2½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until apples are softened but still retain their shape and liquid is syrupy, 15–20 minutes. Let cool. Step 2Pour vegetable oil into a medium high-sided skillet fitted with thermometer to come ¾" up sides; heat over medium-high until thermometer registers 325°. Step 3Meanwhile, whisk 2 large eggs and ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. whole-milk ricotta in a large bowl until smooth. Sift 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour and 1 tsp. baking powder over and, using a rubber spatula, mix until mostly combined (it will look dry and clumpy). Add apple mixture, scraping pan well to get all of the syrup, and fold into batter (it will look broken at first but will come together quickly). Step 4Working in batches of 4 or 5 and using a #16 cookie scoop or ¼-cup measuring cup, drop batter into skillet. Flatten each fritter slightly with scoop and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet to drain. Step 5Whisk 2 cups (220 g) powdered sugar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl. Add a splash of whole milk; whisk, adding more milk or powdered sugar a little at a time as needed, until a thick but pourable glaze forms. Working one at a time, dip warm fritters in glaze, turning to coat. Transfer back to rack; let sit until glaze is set, about 15 minutes. Do Ahead: Apples can be cooked 1 day ahead. Let cool; transfer to an airtight container and chill. Reheat slightly before folding into batter.