Bavarian Apple Fritters

I've been reading the Diary of a Mad Hausfrau blog.  Most of the recipes are German, but made familiar to an American audience.  She publishes about as often as I do, making it a reasonable rate of new ideas.  As much fun as it is to read a blog daily, the backlog of bookmarked recipes can get excessive, until you finally decide it isn't worth making any of them.

I have researched apple fritter recipes before, then decided not to make them for one reason or another.  Usually, that reason had to do with not having a deep fryer.  I think I'm going to break down this year and ask for one for the holidays.  A small one isn't expensive and ultimately saves oil because I'm not throwing it out after every use.

This recipe is not exactly like her ApfelKrapfen.  I tweaked it as I went along, mostly by simplifying the process, as well as cut it in half.  After the first four were frying, I decided that her idea of how big they should be was not what I had in mind.  The rest are half that size, meaning that my half recipe still makes 18.  Bear that in mind if you read both and can't figure out why they don't seem to match.

1-1/2 C flour
1/4 C milk
1 package (2-1/4 tsp) yeast
1/4 C sugar
3 Tb unsalted butter
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 Granny Smith apple
1/3 C golden raisins
3 Tb candied orange peel
oil for frying
1 tsp cinnamon stirred into 1/4 C sugar

1.  Warm milk to 100º.  Stir in sugar, butter, and yeast and allow to get foamy.  The butter does not need to melt.

2.  In a stand mixer, stir together 1 C flour and salt.  Add milk mixture and beat into a crumbly mess.  Beat in egg, and it will look more like a soft dough.  Add the other half cup of flour, and it's a real dough, but still on the soft side.  Allow to rest in the mixer while you start the next step.

3.  Core the apple and chop into itty bitty pieces.  I never peel apples unless truly necessary, but you can peel it first if you prefer.  I also chopped the raisins because they were big.  I couldn't find candied orange peel this early in the season, and substituted half the amount in candied ginger.  Stir all of that into the dough.  It's not going to look or feel like a bread dough, more like a yeast scone dough.  Allow to rise 45 minutes in a warm place.

4.  Heat 1/2" of oil to 375º.  I used a 6" skillet to make it easier to get them out.  You can use a deeper pot or, ideally, a deep fryer.  Set up a plate with paper towels to drain them.  The next plate is for the cinnamon sugar.  Then set up a rack over a sheet pan for the finished project.  It took up a bit of space, but each step made the process easier.

5.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface and lop off pieces about 1-1/2" to 2".  Make into balls and place in the oil.  Turn when the bottom is browned, about 2-3 minutes.  I got 4 of the large or 5 of the smaller fritters in the pan at once, which made the oil come up higher.  They do expand a bit as they fry.  When the other side is golden, remove with a slotted spoon to the paper towels to drip off most of the oil.  Then roll in the cinnamon sugar before placing on the rack to cool.  You may need to add more oil and/or let the temperature recover after each batch.

Makes 18

Difficulty rating  :)