Every once in a while, I will ask for recipe inspiration from my readers. Ideas to test out someday in the kitchen. I’m always up for ideas! Do you know one of my most requested recipes? Apple fritters. Yep, my friends like their donuts.
I was a little intimidated by this request. I have fond memories of craving apple fritter donuts when I was pregnant with my daughter. Not a good craving, I might add. It was so hard for me to leave the grocery store without walking by the bakery and adding a fresh apple fritter to the cart. Those were my pre-gluten-free days. Oh, the freedom!
After making these cinnamon sugar donut holes, the fear was gone and I was ready to take on another donut recipe. These little apple fritters are tested and approved. A light cinnamon dough, tiny bites of fresh apples, a simple glaze coating. You get the crispiness on the outside from quickly frying the donuts, but the center stays fluffy and tender. So thank you to all of those who requested an apple fritters recipe. I hope you enjoy these fried bites of apple sweetness!
- 1 cup Sarah's gluten free flour blend
- 4 tablespoons cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut or almond milk
- 2 tablespoons organic non hydrogenated shortening, melted
- 1 1/4 cups peeled and finely diced apples (about 2 apples)
- oil for frying*
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
- In heavy pot or saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil over medium-high heat until oil reaches 340 degrees.
- While oil is heating, prepare donut dough by sifting together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in mixing bowl.
- Add coconut milk and melted shortening. Stir just until dough comes together. Fold in finely diced apples.
- Using small cookie scoop, make balls of dough and gently drop 3-4 into heated oil. Cook on each side 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.
- Carefully remove apple fritters from oil using tongs and allow to drain on paper towel lined plate.
- While donuts cool slightly, make simple glaze by mixing together powdered sugar and coconut milk in small bowl.
- While still warm, dip apple fritters into glaze to coat. Place on cooling rack to allow excess to drip off. Best served warm or same day.
This is so exciting! I have always said if I’m going out in a blaze of glory it will be with donuts! I used to be a donut fanatic!!! I can’t wait to try these!
Just made these fritters last night. They are very yummy – especially while warm. I’d make them again with a couple slight modifications which I list below. Watch the oil temp and make sure you keep it close to 340F, if it drops too much they’ll get mushy on the inside. We stored a couple of these overnight to see the impact on the fritter texture. Not surprising, they were no longer crisp (similar to most GF treats the next day) but the flavor was still great. If you need to store them before enjoying, I’d suggest glazing immediately prior to serving.
Next time I’d add a little more sugar to the fritter dough (perhaps an extra Tbs) and I think using apple cider in place of some of the almond milk would help elevate the apple flavor. I added ~ 1/8tsp of cinnamon to the glaze to give it an extra punch.
I have been GF for 15 years and have not had a donut or treat like this in all that time because I HATE to fry stuff. I hate the hot splatters, etc. But I wanted a special treat on Christmas morning so I decided to live on the wild side. I substituted canola oil for the coconut oil because I’m allergy to coconut–and they turned out amazing (after I slightly burned the first few and figured out how to the get temp of the oil just right). I doubled the batch, and I ended up making WAY too many. I thought I’d throw the extras in the freezer, though I was certain that would ruin them. But it didn’t! For days afterward, I popped a few in the microwave whenever I wanted a snack, and I couldn’t believe how well they held up! They didn’t turn soggy and they even retained some of their crunch. I love this recipe! I would make it all the time if it wasn’t so darn unhealthy. Why can’t fried food be good for us?
Thank you for sharing, Jenn! I’m so glad to hear that they froze well for you. Now you have me craving donuts 🙂
Hi, I would love to try this recipe. What is your flour blend because the link does not work?
Just fixed it!
Wow. These were SO good. I have to admit I did not make them vegan- I used 1/2 cup of raw milk and 2tbsp of butter. But we were SO impressed. Cannot stop eating them. Really glad to come across this recipe!
Sarah! What did I do – the batter was too thin and I got thin apple cake. It didn’t bind enough. I followed the recipe – except I used Trader Joe’s Gluten Free flour and two tablespoons of vegan butter instead of shortening, I ran out of flour and would have just added more. Any insights?
It is the flour blend, as they all don’t work the same. The Trader Joe’s flour blend is high in starches and doesn’t contain xanthan gum, which is a binder. The Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1-to-1 works very similar to my blend. Hope that is helpful!