Apple Fritters

What’s for Breakfast?

Well, one morning a while back, I had this crazy idea to shake things up a bit. Inspired by Shawn and those yummy donuts he made for us over Christmas (his mom’s recipe which I will give you if you’re good), I whipped up a batch of apple fritters that turned out to be nothing short of amazing. It was a very successful experiment. An apple went into my fav pancake recipe, blobs of which got fried in peanut oil and tossed into cinnamon-sugar. These  oddly shaped fluffy nuggets with warm, soft little cubes of sweet-tart apple inside were the result. 

Ready for a Road Trip

Tomorrow, we leave for Cambria, a sleepy seaside town on the Central Coast resident to artists. There is nothing to do there but eat, sleep, repeat. We will be winding down and banishing the clock for a few days.

Everyone and everything seems at ease there. Nature flourishes with bees buzzing over rosemary blossoms and happy butterflies fluttering around wildflowers. Before we hit the road, I want us to have a special, but quick breakfast of warm apple fritters. 

No special equipment is needed to make this recipe, but I suggest you grab yourself a spider. It’s a Chinese cooking tool with a wooden handle and a metal spider-web head, perfect for scooping goodies out of hot oil. It also works well for fishing pasta out of boiling water. For frying, I prefer peanut oil as it will carry a high heat great.

Apple Fritters

Feeds 4 hungry travelers generously

Ingredients
Batter
1 Granny Smith apple
3 Tb butter
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon
2 cups flour
2 Tb baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tb sugar
pinch salt
Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups peanut oil for frying

Instructions
Heat a couple tablespoons of butter just until melted.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Beat egg and milk together.

Add vanilla, lemon zest and melted butter.

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a big bowl.

Gently stir egg mixture into dry ingredients.
Wash and peel apple. Cut into small, 1/2-inch cubes.
Add the apple to the batter and stir until just combined.
Let the batter rest for a few minutes.

In the meantime, pour peanut oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and set
it on low heat.

Line a dish with a couple sheets of paper towels and set next to stove.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar with another 2 tsp cinnamon powder in a small, shallow dish and set aside near stove.

Test oil with a drop of batter. It should float to the top and bubble.
Drop heaping tablespoons of batter carefully into the hot oil, maybe 3 or 4 at a time.
Do not over-crowd the pot as it will bring the temperature of the oil down too much.

Use a spider to flip dumplings gently so cook the other side.
Remove and set onto paper towels to drain.
Toss into cinnamon-sugar and coat well.

Family Memories