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Crispy, crunchy, and addicting! These Honeycrisp apple fritters are quick and easy to throw together. Use up all those delicious fresh-picked apples and watch these fritters disappear!
That first bite of homemade apple fritters really takes you to some other planet. Especially if you’ve got a warm mug of coffee in the other hand.
My Honeycrisp fritters recipe is quick enough to throw together as a special treat for weekend breakfast. We’re making quick fritters, so there’s no yeast to be messed with. When the fritters are fried and cooled, I dip them in a homemade maple glaze that will make you want to dance the minute these apple fritters touch your lips.
It’s all the crisp fall scents and flavors together in one bite. And have mercy, it’s delicious.
I tested this recipe half a dozen times before I settled on the one I’m sharing today. It all started as a yeasted dough. I shared the first batch with neighbors/friends, and they loved it so much, I figured this was the recipe I’d be sharing with you. But after a few more rounds of recipe testing (that didn’t go as expected), I realized that these apple fritters, though divine, needed to be easy enough for us to throw together on Saturday or Sunday morning for a fall family breakfast or brunch. And the way to do that is to swap the yeasted dough for a quick version and shave off some of the prep time.
And to tell you the truth, today’s quick apple fritters recipe is just as delicious as it’s yeasted friend.
What are apple fritters?
Apple fritters are made with fresh apples and either a yeasted dough or a dough that uses a leavening agent such as baking soda or baking powder. Yeasted apple fritter doughnuts take longer to make as they require rising. The quick version uses leavening agents to help the batter rise and they are ready in no time. Dunk the warm apple fritters in a simple glaze, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, or serve with ice cream.
What ingredients do you need to make apple fritters?
- Flour: flour is used as the base of the apple fritters.
- Baking powder: Is the leavening agent used in this recipe to help the fritters rise. The carbon dioxide released when the baking powder (base) and the buttermilk (acid) combine aids in making the fritters light and airy.
- Sugar: We’re using sugar in the fritter batter for a bit of sweetness. But most of the sweetness will come from the glaze.
- Salt + flavorings: kosher salt, ground cinnamon, vanilla, and pie spice help flavor the fritter batter. You can use either apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice for this recipe. Either works for this recipe. I usually have pumpkin pie spice on hand, so I toss that in!
- Eggs: you’ll need two large eggs at room temperature for this recipe. You’ll want to beat them before adding them to the fritter batter lightly.
- Butter: Melted butter is used in the fritter batter to help bring the dough together.
- Buttermilk: reacts with the baking powder (leavening agent) used in this recipe and causes the fritters to rise and become light and airy instead of dense.
- Apples: I use crisp apples for this recipe, but feel free to use the ones you like. The best apples are the ones that are either sweet or sweet and tart. So think Granny smith apples, gala, honeycrisp, pink lady and others. Dice the apples up finely for this recipe so that you get a crisp bite of apples in each bite.
- Oil: You’ll want to use any high heat oil that you typically like to use for frying.
- Powdered sugar: is used in the maple glaze at the end.
- Maple syrup: we’ll use a tablespoon in the maple glaze we’ll make to glaze the apple fritters
- Milk: is used to make the glaze for these fritters
How to make the most delicious apple fritters:
- The first thing you want to do is preheat your oil. Add the frying oil (use vegetable oil, avocado, canola or water you prefer) to a large saucepan or dutch oven and stick a candy thermometer in there to make sure the oil stays at our desired temperature.
- Mix the fritter batter. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Then add the wet ingredients: beaten eggs, melted butter, and buttermilk to the bowl. Stir in the diced apples until evenly combined.
- Fry the fritters. Drop the batter into the fryer using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop into the hot oil. You’ll want to fry just 3-4 fritters at a time (if you used a saucepan) that way you can make sure they aren’t overcooking. They’ll take roughly 3-4 minutes to cook up until golden brown. Remove them using a slotted spoon to a baking sheet lined with a paper towels. You can also place them on a wire rack set on a baking sheet to help drip off excess oil. This also helps reduce moisture from accumulating. Do not glaze warm fritters, allow them to cool completely before glazing.
- Glaze the fritters. In a medium bowl, combine the powder sugar, salt, maple syrup, and whole milk. You can add a pinch of pie spice to the glaze – it makes a great addition. Whisk the glaze. Then dip fried apple fritters in the glaze one at a time. And place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let sit for a couple of minutes so they glaze hardens (or serve immediately!) Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
FAQs about Honeycrisp fritters:
- What kind of apples can I use to make apple fritters? A Honeycrisp apple or a Pink Lady apple will forever and always be my first choice for apple fritters. But if you prefer a more tart apple, you could also use Granny Smith. Fuji apples would also work well here. Or use a combination of your favorite apples for this recipe.
- Can I use gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose? Unfortunately, I’m not sure. This recipe has only been tested as written. My advice would be to check online to see if someone else has managed to make a GF apple fritter successfully, and then compare this recipe to theirs and see if you think it may work.
- What’s the difference between apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice? Apple pie spice contains cardamom in the spice mix, whereas pumpkin pie spice contains cloves. All the other ingredients (cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg) are in both spices.
- What did you sprinkle on top of the fritter in the pictures? I just used sparkling sugar for pictures! It’s not really part of the recipe, just more so for pictures as it adds more interest. You could certainly add some if you’d like – it’ll give you some crunch and sweetness.
Other apple recipes you’ll love:
- Quick Warm Cinnamon Apples
- Autumn Apple Crumble Bars
- Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake
- Apple Pie French Toast Casserole
- Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
Easy Maple Honeycrisp Apple Fritters
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Fritters:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon EACH kosher salt AND pie spice pumpkin or apple
- 1 teaspoon EACH: ground cinnamon AND vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 2 large Honeycrisp apples peeled and diced (~ 3 ¼ cups)
- Oil for frying
Maple Glaze:
- 2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt plus a dash of pie spice, optional
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- PREP: Heat the oil in a medium pot to 360ºF. Use a candy thermometer to make sure the oil stays at this temperature by increasing or decreasing the heat as needed once the oil is hot. While the oil is heating, make the batter.
- MIX: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and pie spice. Then, add beaten eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and buttermilk. Stir in the apples until combined spread throughout the batter.
- FRY: Once the oil is hot, drop the batter into the fryer using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop. Fry in small batches so the oil doesn’t drop in temperature too much. These will take you roughly 3-4 minutes depending on the size. When golden and cooked, remove from oil using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Let cool before glazing.
- GLAZE: Combine powdered sugar, salt, and pie spice (if using) in a medium bowl. Add the maple syrup and milk and whisk to combine. If the glaze is thick, add another small splash of milk until it just clings to the back of the spoon. Dip the fritters in glaze one at a time and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Serve warm!
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
In agreement with Staci, this recipe worked great for gluten-free. I used King Arthur gluten-free bread flour and they turned out perfectly. Thank you!
I made this with Gluten Free Flour and it turned out great!
I used vanilla paste that was the only other difference ☺️
(King Arthur measure for measure brand gluten free flour)
Love the recipe! Closest to a donut I’ve had in a longggg time!
celiac approved ✔️
Absolutely loved this recipe! It truly is easy and maybe took me about an hour total from start to finish because I had made larger fritters (18) that took an extra minute or so to cook each batch. But these were exactly as described, crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside and the glaze was so great on top. I added a dash of the Apple spice to the glaze as mentioned and can’t wait to eat some in the morning with my coffee. Baking can be tough to nail and I felt so proud this turned out a well. My husband even said “you’ve outdone yourself” Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Hi Raafia! I am so glad you gave the fritters a try! Hope you enjoyed with your morning joe and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
These looks yummy! About how much oil are you putting in your pot?
Hi Colleen! You’ll need in the ballpark of 4 cups of oil if you’re using a small/medium pot. It’ll really just depend on the size of the pot you use. I suggest filling the pot at least half full so the fritters don’t end up sinking to the bottom!