These comforting and classic Bakery Style Apple Fritters are loaded with tart apples and warm spices, fried to perfection, and dunked in a buttery vanilla glaze.
As I write, it is raining outside my window. The leaves that were green last week are slipping into a glorious orange. Inside, warm lamplight fills the room, laundry is drying, and a bouquet of dark orange mums graces the kitchen countertop. Fall is here, and restful Saturdays inside without the hurry of Summer activities are the perfect time to cook and bake cozy and comforting recipes.
These homemade glazed apple fritters are just the recipe to make on said Autumn day! They are a very close sister recipe to my incredible Old-Fashioned Peach Fritters, but just the Fall version. Both recipes are made with the same dough and glaze as my legendary Best Glazed Yeast Doughnuts. My festive Eggnog Custard Donuts also share this great dough recipe! These fritters are made with plenty of tart apples throughout and a flavorful combination of cinnamon and allspice.
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Texture - These doughnuts are soft, fluffy, yet dense in a good way, and filled with plenty of tender apple pieces.
- Flavor - Tart apples, cozy spices, and sweet, rich vanilla glaze are a winning combination in my books!
- Method - Homemade doughnuts shouldn't be intimidating! Just try, I think you will be surprised by how fun and achievable it is!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these bakery-style apple fritters.
Ingredient Notes
- Yeast - This recipe requires active dry yeast, also commonly called traditional yeast, which needs to be dissolved and activated in warm water before adding to the recipe.
- Butter - As in most of my recipes, I use salted butter in these fritters. You could use unsalted butter with an extra pinch of salt in both the dough and glaze instead to ensure proper flavor development.
- Flour - This recipe requires all-purpose flour for proper flavor and texture.
- Apples - If you want a sour bite to contrast the sweet glaze and more apple flavor, use Granny Smith apples. If you prefer a sweeter, more subtle apple flavor, use Gala apples or another red apple. I peel the apples, but you could leave the skin on for another textural dimension.
- Frying Oil - You will need about 1 liter of neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point that is suitable for frying. My favorite for doughnuts is sunflower oil, but canola or vegetable oil also work well.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Stir together the warm water, ½ teaspoon of sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the warm milk, melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Whisk in the frothy yeast mixture.
Step 3: Add 2 ½ cups of flour and mix until the dough begins to come together. Turn the mixture out onto the countertop and knead, sparingly adding flour until the dough is just still tacky but not sticking to your hands. Be careful not to add too much flour!
Step 4: Knead the dough for a total of 3-5 minutes or until smooth, soft, and a finger imprinted into the dough bounces back.
Step 5: Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough is fluffy and doubled in size.
Step 6: Cook the peeled and chopped apples in 1 tablespoon of butter until slightly tender. Let cool.
Step 7: Punch down the risen dough and transfer it to a lightly floured countertop. Stretch out with your hands or roll out using a rolling pin into a large rectangle about 12"x 20". Top half of the dough with the cooked apples, cinnamon, and allspice. Lastly, sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of flour.
Step 8: Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and then cut the layered dough into pieces approximately 1"X1".
Step 9: With a few pieces of the layered dough at a time, form them into fritters. Press and fold them together, nestling the fruit inside as best as you can. Add flour to help the pieces stick together if the apples are juicy. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with flour, and let the fritters rise in a warm place for 15-30 minutes while you heat the oil and make the glaze.
Step 10: Make the glaze by bringing the milk, butter, white sugar, and salt to a rolling boil for 2 minutes while whisking. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Step 11: Fry the risen fritters in the heated oil, maintaining a 350℉ temperature as best as you can. Fry on each side until dark brown in color. Remove from the oil and let sit on a paper towel-lined plate for a few minutes to soak up excess oil before transferring to a wire rack.
Step 12: Coat the slightly cooled fritters in the warm glaze, being careful not to burn your fingers (use a utensil), and place the back on the wire rack for excess glaze to drip off.
💡 Top Tip
While these fritters will still be good for a few days, like most doughnuts, they are best eaten fresh the day they are made! Bonus if they are still warm!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Apple fritters are fried doughnuts that are made with a yeasted dough, chopped apples, and spices. After frying, they are coated in a glaze.
🍎 More Apple Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Homemade Apple Fritters or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Bakery Style Apple Fritters
Ingredients
For the Fritters:
- ¼ cup warm water (110℉)
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (traditional yeast)
- ½ cup warm milk (110℉)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter * melted
- 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½-2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped apples *
- 1 tablespoon salted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 litre oil suitable for frying *
For the Glaze:
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons salted butter *
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the warm water (110℉), ½ teaspoon of sugar, and the active dry yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy and activated.¼ cup warm water, ½ teaspoon white sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the warm milk (110℉), melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until combined. Whisk in the activated yeast mixture.½ cup warm milk, 3 tablespoons salted butter, 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add about 2 ½ cups of flour and mix until a loose dough begins to form. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead, adding a little bit of flour at a time just until the dough is still tacky but no longer sticking to your hands when you knead it. Knead for 3-5 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, and a finger imprinted into the dough bounces back. Place in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough is doubled in size.2 ½-2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- While the dough is rising, cook the peeled and chopped apples in 1 tablespoon of butter for a few minutes over medium heat until slightly tender. Let cool before assembling the fritters.1 cup chopped apples, 1 tablespoon salted butter
- Punch down the risen dough and transfer to a lightly floured countertop. Stretch out with your hands or roll out using a rolling pin into a large rectangle about 12"x 20". Top half of the dough with the cooked apples, then sprinkle the cinnamon and allspice over the apples. Lastly, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour over everything.2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling, and then cut the layered dough into pieces around 1"x 1". Take a few pieces of the layered dough and form them into fritters. Press and fold them together, nestling the apples inside as best as you can. Add flour to help them stick together if the apples are juicy. They will not be perfect, but don't need to be!
- Place the fritters on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet that has been sprinkled with a little bit of flour. Let rest and rise for 15-30 minutes while you make the glaze and heat the oil to 350℉ (at least 4 inches deep in a high-temperature safe Dutch oven or heavy pot).1 litre oil suitable for frying
- Make the glaze by bringing the milk, butter, white sugar, and salt to a rolling boil for 2 minutes while whisking. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.⅓ cup milk, 2 tablespoons salted butter, ⅓ cup granulated white sugar, 1 pinch salt, 1 ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fry the risen fritters in the heated oil, maintaining a 350℉ temperature as best as you can. Fry on each side until dark brown in color. Remove from the oil and let sit on a paper towel-lined plate for a few minutes to soak up excess oil before transferring to a wire rack.
- Coat the slightly cooled fritters in the warm glaze, being careful not to burn your fingers (use a utensil), and place them back on the wire rack for excess glaze to drip off. Enjoy!
Notes
- I use salted butter, but you could use unsalted butter with an extra pinch of salt in both the dough and glaze.
- If you want a sour bite to contrast the sweet glaze and more apple flavor, use Granny Smith apples. If you prefer a sweeter more subtle apple flavor, use Gala or other red apple. I peel the apples but you could leave the skin on for another textural dimension.
- A neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point that is suitable for frying. My favorite for doughnuts is sunflower oil, but canola or vegetable oil also work well.
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