A surprising trick for making bakery-quality apple fritters at home

My husband and I spent months asking people for food recommendations before traveling to Memphis, Tennessee in June 2022. We were inundated with barbecue reviews (and left the trip to Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous ribs because it's worth it) and Southern restaurant guides, and friends who actually lived in Memphis repeatedly insisted we visit a certain donut shop.

Reader, need I not say that this was the one recommendation that exceeded my wildest dreams?

We visited Gibson's Donuts every morning of the trip and left with five donuts and an apple fritter each time. The donuts were of course delightful, but the apple fritters were excellent. The Platonic ideal. In their overwhelming glory. Each one is the size of a newborn's head (or so I imagined), covered in the thinnest, most beautiful glaze, evenly filled with chewy, tart apple chunks, and thick, funnel cake-like dough that crunches at every turn. At the beginning of summer, they ate like your best Strawberry Festival bake sale. We returned in August and it was the perfect way to prepare for fall.

When we came back at the end of October, the people at Gibson's knew us. Related: our first baby was born on that road. My husband showed up at Gibson's at 5am the day after she was born and announced, “I'm having a girl,” and I hear the whole store cheering. All the L&D nurses, nodding in approval to the Gibsons, got a donut and I got an extra apple fritter that morning.

The next 72 hours were a blur. But what I remember most clearly is eating a 2.5-day-old baby bound for New York at 33,000 feet, strapped to my chest, her beautiful, sweet-smelling head covered in apple shavings. I wonder if I have already failed as a mother. Laughing at my husband, “It's as big as his head.” It was a wild time. But I spent years—more grounded in reality than I was that week—searching for other, better apple fritters. They don't exist. However, this recipe comes close.

Making the ideal apple fritters requires many, many tests

I spent a few days in Birmingham this summer eating apple fritters made by our test kitchen colleague Liz Mervosh. We talked about what it really means to achieve the Platonic apple fritter ideal, and it all came down to the thickness-to-fluffiness ratio of the scone, the size and texture of the apple piece, and the sweetness of the glaze.

The most important of these elements was the thickness of the fritter. Through repeated testing, Liz discovered that the ideal batter should be thick and gooey. Not only does this allow for an A+ coating on the apple pieces, but it also gives you time to flatten the fritter while it cooks in the oil. (Liz found that a large soup spoon worked best here because it gave her more control over shaping the dough.) As for the actual patty thickness, what are you aiming for? You don't have to extend your jaw to bite into the final product, and if I didn't mention it, it should be big and round. This also allows the injection molding to be external rather than internal. This is what you want! The opposite results in too much raw chewing; so you literally get golden brown, crispy-crunchy edges with every bite. Flatten accordingly.

Best for apple fritters

As for the whole fruit thing, Liz landed on the Granny Smith as her favorite apple. “It's firm and holds its texture,” Liz writes, “and of course, its tartness is a perfect contrast to the sweetness of the glaze.” He tested batches containing raw apple pieces and pre-cooked apple pieces. In the end, we wanted more tartness (and less rawness) than the old Granny Smith apple chunks could provide. When Liz added lemon juice to her baked apple version, we knew she had it: “Pre-cooked apple with lemon melts into the batter much better than raw apple chunks,” she notes.

Making an optimal glaze for an apple fritter

Finally, for the glaze, Liz added cider to the equation, going from “familiar thing you're happy to eat anytime” to “completely and utterly satisfying thing you just can't.” imagine it to exist on a cold day without.” The use of a barely-visible coating gives the experience a nice, shiny stickiness that you'll later realize is more on your finger than in real time.

It's just that apple fritters can be as much fun as babies if done right. Happy baking.

Cooking method
(Keep the screen awake)

For the Apple Fritters:

• 42g unsalted butter (1 1/2 ounce; 3 tablespoon)

• 226 g Granny Smith apples

• 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1 medium lemon

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon plus a pinch of diamond crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

• Rapeseed oilfor baking

• 355 g all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon apple pie spice

• 2 lold eggslightly beaten

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

• 285 g confectioners sugar

• 5 tablespoon cider

• 1 pinch kosher salt

1. For the Apple Fritters: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook with a wooden spoon, stirring constantly, until the milk solids settle to the bottom of the pan and turn a light golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Add the apples and stir to coat the butter evenly. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are crisp-tender and still hold their shape, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the apples are browned in the sugar mixture. Transfer the apples to a large plate and refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.

2. Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet; put aside. Fill a large Dutch oven with 1 1/2 inches of canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 190°C (375°F).

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, apple pie spice, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt; put aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla. Add the sour cream mixture and cooked apple to the dry ingredients and fold with a flexible spatula until you have a thick batter.

4. Working in batches of 3, carefully drop about 1/2 cup of the batter into the hot oil and immediately press the fritter with the back of a spoon until the fritter is about 4 inches in diameter. Bake, adjusting the temperature as needed to maintain temperature, and use a slotted spoon or slotted spoon to flip the fritters halfway through. Cook for about 5 minutes until fritters are browned, puffed and cooked through. Transfer the finished jerky to the prepared rack and repeat the process with the remaining racks.

5. For the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, cider, and salt until smooth. Working with one fritter at a time, dip the top of the fritter into the glaze so that the excess glaze drips off. Place the fritter back on the grill, glazed side up. Repeat with remaining jerky. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Special equipment

Large skillet, wire rack, 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet, large Dutch oven, spider web oven, or slotted spoon

Comments

If apple pie spice is not available, you can use pumpkin pie spice or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg for the fried dough.

Preparation and storage

Apple scrambled eggs are best served immediately, but in a pinch (or if you're taking them on a plane) you can keep them in a paper bag at room temperature for up to a day.