I’m human. I make mistakes. But this one was massive—bigger than my face! Â
A few days before our brunch date, my mom and I stopped by a local shopping center in the middle of running errands. She walked into Peet’s for a chai latte caffeine fix, while I wandered over to the donut store for a sweet afternoon snack.
Hoping for a chocolate sprinkle donut, I opened the door and sighed. There were only three donuts left in the glass case: a bear claw, a glazed twist, and an apple fritter. The owner walked over, so I stuttered, “Umm, I’ll… I’ll take the apple fritter please.”
She slipped the glazed twist into the paper bag too, on the house. I saved the twist for Mom—it was like a glorified donut hole, which was what she wanted—and took a nibble of my first-ever apple fritter. And another nibble. And another. And…
By the time we pulled into the driveway, I had eaten the entire thing. Originally light and airy and bigger than my face, the apple fritter now settled like a rock in my stomach. But it was just so good! There has got to be a healthier way to eat a fritter, I thought.
So back at my own house, I did just that—I made baked apple fritters!
These taste just like the insides of apple fritters, just without all of the grease! Add a little cinnamon if you like spices in your apple treats.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly coat a muffin top pan or baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the diced apple. In a separate bowl, stir together the oil, applesauce, milk, ¼ cup sugar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet, stirring just until moist.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin top indentations, OR drop batter onto the prepared baking sheet into 12 blobs. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray, and sprinkle the remaining 1½ teaspoons of sugar on top. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes. Cool in/on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
UPDATE: The votes are in, and the Basics of Food Photography Composition series will start this Friday! It will run 8 weeks, and each technique will be posted just before the weekend so you have a little time to play around with it yourself. I’m really excited to share these tips with you, so stay tuned!
Ann says...
hi theses look YUMMY!!! I only have baking apples or pears (ooo pear fritters now theres a thought!!) im guessing id have to cook the apples first to soften them up. what I was wondering is I have one of those mini doughnut makers, that sit on your counter ,( like the George forman grills) do you think this would work to cook them in?
Amy says...
Ann, you’re a genius — pear fritters sound amazing! The baking apples should work too. I like my apples to still have some texture to them and not soften too much, so I’d probably skip the cooking step. But that’s just my personal preference! I’m fairly certain that the recipe should work in an electric donut maker too. I haven’t tried it in mine yet, but my donuts usually take 6-9 minutes to bake in that. I’d love to hear what you try!
Ann says...
Ill try the pears I think lol i’ll be sure to let you know. also I don’t have canola oil will sunflower oil work ok?
Amy says...
Any neutral-tasting oil should work just fine. I’m excited to hear how they turn out!
Ann says...
OMG they are GOOOD!!! heres my post about them
http://redheadedgirlmakes.blogspot.com/2013/11/pear-fritters.html
Amy says...
That’s so exciting Ann!! I’m so happy for you that they turned out. And thank you for your sweet comments about me in your post — I’m blushing! 🙂
CB says...
These sound delicious! What could I substitute for apple sauce?
Amy says...
Thanks! You could try substituting plain yogurt or mashed banana, but the taste and texture will be different. I hope you enjoy them if you try the recipe!
CB says...
Thanks!