The main task with frying the fritters is to make sure they are not more than one inch thick, and, fry them just long enough to cook the interior, which will be about three to four minutes per side.
Have fun making and eating the apple fritters and don't be surprised if your family asks for them often.
Ingredients: (makes 18 medium size apple fritters)
1 quart of vegetable oil for deep frying
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 tbsp. of sugar
2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of salt
2/3 cup of milk (or a bit more if the batter is too thick)
2 extra large or jumbo eggs
1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
3 cups of apples, diced
Coatings:
I provide directions here for two different types of coatings. The choice is yours. They are both great.
If you want a sugar and cinnamon coating then use the ingredients and direction immediately below and later in the recipe.
1 cup of sugar mixed with one tsp. of ground cinnamon in a wide, shallow bowl
If instead you want a glaze coating like glazed donuts, then whisk together 1 1/8 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and three tablespoons of milk. After the fritters are made and still warm, place each one in the glaze, flip it over, lift it out of the glaze with a large fork to let excess glaze drip off, then put the fritter on a plate.
Now we'll proceed with directions for making the fritters.
Directions:
Heat the quart of vegetable oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees F. Be sure to use a quick read frying thermometer for accuracy.
Core and dice the apples while the oil is heating. It is not necessary to peel them.
Put the raw apple pieces into a wide shallow bowl and microwave them until they are hot, as in starting to form steam within the microwave oven, perhaps two to three minutes. Remove the bowl and set the diced apples aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Pour in the milk, eggs and one tbsp. of vegetable oil and whisk until the batter is well blended.
Mix in the diced apples and whisk or stir until they are evenly distributed.
If the batter is too thick (which can happen due to differences in flour) add a bit of milk and mix again.
Drop by spoonfuls or small ladles of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side depending on the batter thickness. Note that you do not want to have thick fritters, ergo larger than one inch thick, as the interior will not have time to cook before the exterior gets too dark.
Fry in small batches, like three or four fritters, so the fritters are not crowded and so the oil temperature is maintained. Be sure to test one fritter for doneness as you do not want raw batter inside the fritter. If necessary, adjust the frying time for both sides.
Remove the fritters from the hot oil using a slotted spoon and drain them briefly on a wire rack or on paper towels.
Check the oil temperature between batches and make sure it is 350 degrees F before starting each batch.
Roll the drained warm fritters in the bowl containing the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat them evenly. Alternatively, use the glaze recipe provided earlier, along with directions for using the glaze.
Place the fritters only one or two layers deep on one or more plates.
Serve warm.