Light and Fluffy Fritters

Doughnut making is not something I have done before. I have always wanted to try though.

I think this was the perfect recipe to start with. Apple fritters are generally shapeless blobs, so you can’t really mess them up.

My husband enjoys taking my baked goods to work with him. He likes taking the credit for having a wife that can cook. I like to share what I make, so it’s a win/win.

Knowing that he wanted to take these to work, and knowing that I wanted to present fresh doughnuts, I made these in two parts.

After dinner, before bed, I made the batter. It is a very simple batter and whips together quickly. I really could have made it in the morning - it only took about 6 minutes. I did make it, cover it, and refrigerate it overnight.

While cutting my apples, I placed them in a mixture of lemon and water. This prevents browning of the fruit. This worked great especially since they weren’t used immediately.

I used shortening for the frying. I was all ready to pour oil into the pan, but thought the Mid Century cook probably would have used lard or shortening. I am glad I did this. Shortening seems to me to melt into a thicker solution than hot oil.

The thicker shortening helped, in my opinion, the fritter batter from spreading out too much. I guess I don’t really know if the result would have been the same with hot oil, but this is my supposition.

The batter puffs up while it is frying. This creates a pillowy dough around the apples. Which is quite lovely.

The apples cook, but stay somewhat firm. So you get a nice apple taste with each bite. I have had many apple fritters where you can’t really find any apple pieces. This recipe is packed with apple, so you get apple with every bite.

The recipe calls for dusting the fritters with powdered sugar. I did that with a few. I also whipped up a quick glaze that I dipped the fritters in. To make the glaze I used 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. I dipped the tops of the fritters while they were still hot in the glaze. The glaze melted on and looked like what you see on apple fritters in the bakery.

These fritters were a big hit! I almost didn’t mind that I got up at five am to make them!

APPLE FRITTERS

1 1/3 Cups Sifted Flour

1/4 Teaspoons Salt

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Egg

2/3 Cup Milk

3 to 4 Tart Apples

Sift dry ingredients and add well beaten egg and milk. The batter should be just thick enough to coat the apples. If the batter is too thin, add a little more flour - too thick, a little more milk. Pare, core and dice apples. Combine with batter. Fry in 365 degree oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar immediately if desired.