Easy Apple Fritters

I have been making these Apple Fritters for years. They are a Christmas morning tradition and an occasional Saturday morning treat. Make them this weekend…you will thank me.

I've experimented and tried to clean up the ingredients a bit and they turned out great! Then on Thanksgiving a few days ago, I made them with GF flour, Xylitol and also substituted the canola oil for coconut oil - I think I messed with them too much. The consistency wasn't quite the same, but they were still very good. So use substitutions as you see fit for your family's dietary needs. The skeleton of this recipe is hard to mess up!!!

Fritter:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (GF all-purpose flour works, too)
• 1/4 cup sugar (or baking Xylitol)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup milk (coconut milk or almond milk works too)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apple (with or without the skin)
• canola oil (for frying)

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Pour oil into saucepan so that it is approximately 1 1/2 inches deep.  Heat oil on medium-high while making the dough.  Oil is ready when dough sizzles in the pan and floats to top.  
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon.  
3. Stir in milk and egg until just combined.  Fold in chopped apple.  
4. Carefully add dough to oil in heaping teaspoons.  Don't crowd the saucepan too much - the dough will expand a bit. (I cook 4-5 at a time in a 2 quart saucepan)
5. Cook until brown, about 2 minutes, then flip with a fork or slotted spoon.  Cook another 1-2 minutes, until both sides are browned.  
6. Transfer briefly to paper towels to absorb excess oil, then transfer to cooling rack.  
7. Make glaze by stirring milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl.  Drizzle over apple fritters.  Best served warm.

I always double this recipe for my hungry family and serve next to eggs. I figure the protein will somehow balance the sugar overload to avoid late-morning meltdowns.

This is how they usually look - puffy and round. The first batches all disappeared quickly and by the time I took pictures, they all flattened out (as in the pictures on top)