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Welcoming Friday and the autumn apples with these Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze. Sweet Honeycrisp apples in a light and airy batter with warming fall spices, fried and coated with a sweet vanilla coffee glaze. If you’re heading out apple picking this fall, make these fritters. They’re easy to make and beyond delicious. Truly the ultimate fall treat.
Before we get into today’s post, I want to take a minute to acknowledge the importance of this date. Nineteen years ago today so many lives were forever changed by terrorist attacks. I know that a lot of memorial events have been canceled this year, but as Alice M. Greenwald, head of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum stated, “This year, its message of hope, endurance, and resilience are more important than ever,”.
So please take a moment to remember all those we lost, to have hope for our future, and to be grateful for all that we have.
Apples…
For me, September is all about the apples. I know many of you are looking for pumpkin recipes right now (which I can see by the number of people making last year’s chocolate chunk pumpkin cookies). But it’s my thinking that we’ve got all of October and November to embrace all things pumpkin, so let’s leave September for the apples.
Enter these fritters. Oh, how I love them. I’ve been wanting to make apple fritters for the longest time and have had this recipe idea in the back of my head all summer long. Everything from the cinnamon spiced fritter to that sweet vanilla coffee glaze. I knew exactly how I wanted to create these, so when it was finally time, I couldn’t have been happier. Sounds dorky, I know, but I really love September apple season.
I’ve made fritters before, but it was many years back. And while the recipe was good, these are better and so much easier. My older recipe uses a yeasted dough. That’s great, but it’s much more time-intensive and will give you a fritter more like a doughnut. These on the other hand are quick and easy, light and airy, and just beyond good.
And the best part…these are so easy!
If you’ve made a basic pancake batter, you can easily make these fritters. The batter is basic – flour, eggs, milk, etc. But then what makes these fritters extra special?
First, the spices. Instead of just a plain fritter, I really wanted these to be warming and smell like our favorite spiced latte or apple cake baking away in the oven. I used a mix cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, which I always find to be the perfect autumn spice blend.
Second, the apples. As you guys have probably noticed, I love using Honeycrisp apples for both cooking and baking. I find them to have the best flavor, the perfect amount of sweetness, and always to be crisp. The other thing I do? I like to leave the skin on my apples. I know this is a little controversial, as some might say the skin adds an odd texture, but I find the skin to be one of the more delicious parts to the apple and never understood why you’d peel it away.
Of course, this is just my personal preference. If you already know you don’t enjoy apple skins in your baked apple treats, just peel them away. The recipe is great either way.
Moving along…
Once the batter is mixed up, simply fry it in oil and you’ll have perfect apple fritters minutes later.
So I usually try to avoid frying at all costs. For instance, I love an “oven fry” when possible. But for a really good autumn apple fritter, you need to break out the oil and do a little fryin’.
Annoying? Yes, for sure.
But, worth it? Yes, for sure. Especially if you’ve just picked up a couple of buckets of fresh apples from your local farm or market.
As the apples are frying, you slowly start to get wafts of cinnamon and sweetness flowing through the air. If fall had a scent, this would be it. It’s delightful.
Now on to that glaze…it might just be my favorite.
So, I don’t love a straight powdered sugar glaze. I find it to be pretty bland and really, it’s just too sugary for my taste.
With this glaze, I wanted it to be exciting, but not overpowering. I wanted the flavors within the glaze to help highlight the flavors in the fritters. I’ve always loved anything with autumn spices and a side of coffee, so naturally, I thought the glaze needed to be one flavored with coffee. The perfect fritter pairing, right?
I used my favorite espresso powder, a nice splash of vanilla, and a drizzle of maple syrup, to create a coffee glaze. Not too strong, not too sweet, but just right. Especially when you dunk a warm fritter right into it.
Delicious.
So with that, can I encourage you all to go apple picking this weekend? Oddly I’m on Ohio right now for my cousin’s wedding. I’d love to hit up one of the local farms for their fresh from the tree apples. Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll have any time in between wedding festivities, but it would sure be fun!
Any of you who are close to an apple farm…or just have a market close by (so that should be all of us), let’s agree to make these fritters. And if not this weekend, sometime soon. I promise you guys, these are the fall breakfast, afternoon snack, or after-dinner dessert we’re all in need of most this season!
My suggestion? Apple picking on Saturday…then Sunday afternoon fritter making…with a side of your favorite latte. Such a perfect way to spend a fall weekend.
See you guys on Sunday for another favorites post.
Looking for other sweet apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Sweet and Salty Chocolate Drizzled Cider Caramel Apples
Double the Streusel Apple Butter Bars
Lastly, if you make these Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spiced Honeycrisp Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze
Servings: 20
Calories Per Serving: 131 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/2-3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
- 3-4 Honeycrisp apples, peeled (if desired) and chopped
Vanilla Coffee Glaze
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1-2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-3 teaspoons instant coffee
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, 1/2 cup milk, and maple, and mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter. If the the batter feels thick, add 1/4 cup milk to thin. Fold in the apples.2. Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop tablespoons size balls of batter into the oil for 4-5 minutes or until golden and crisp on all sides. Remove and drain on a wire rack with paper towels underneath.3. To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, maple, vanilla, and coffee powder. Add a pinch of flaky seas salt. Drizzle the glaze over the warm fritters. Eat warm. And enjoy.
Really LOVED your Apple Fritter post and the remembrance for 9/11 – we all should extend a plate of #HBH Apple Fritters to those we love and enjoy friendships with as a way to celebrate the fall season. Thank you.
Thank you so much Millette! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Love love these!! They seem calorie friendly – you say 99 calories – is that for one. They/mine are on the small side so hoping the calorie count is for more than one!!
Hey Linda,
This is an estimated count for one. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I’ve now made these twice since the recipe came out. I find I’m craving them constantly. They’re perfect. I don’t go for the coffee glaze, rather I just use a simple powdered sugar and milk one, but the texture and the flavor of the fritters are just so so good. I fry in vegetable oil, which has been fine. I also have used sugar in place of maple syrup in the batter and that was good as well. I would also say, make sure you have your whole set up ready before frying. The first time I didn’t have the wire rack ready for the first batch of fritters and it was a bit chaotic. If you’re thinking of making them, do it. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much Kel! I am so happy these turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
These were amazing fresh and I want to put the glaze on all baked goods this fall. I did have trouble with my fritters getting soggy, they didn’t harden as I would have expected. I ended up tossing what we didn’t eat fresh. Should they harden? Did I need to fry them longer?
Hey Catio,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am sorry you had issues with them getting soggy! I am wondering if you adjusted the recipe at all and what kind of oil and flour you used? All of these could have made an impact on the recipe as well as if the oil was not hot enough, you want to have a temp of 350. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Just made this recipe and subbed the milk for Trader Joe’s Oat milk and they turned out perfectly delicious. Loved how easy and flavorful this recipe was 🙂 I ended up using Fuji and Granny Smith apples because that’s what I got at the orchard and it still tasted great!
Thank you so much Hannah! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!! xTieghan
So so so easy to make and super delicious. Do you have a recommendation on storing extra fritters? Refrigerate or no?
Hey Rose,
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! I like to store in an airtight container on the counter. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was so yummy and great for a brunchy snack during late mornings, especially during the Fall! I only used 2 honey crisp apples because my apples were HUGE! After cutting the two up, it probably came out to be 4 cups of diced apples. I made the batter as stated in the instructions. This made about 25ish medium sized fritters (a little larger than 1 bit sized). Since it’s just two of us, and these aren’t great to store/re-heat, next time I will cut everything in half; or maybe I’ll only fry half and save the rest for later; OR, store and reheat in the air fryer? Not sure what I’m going to do with all the leftovers yet… 🙂
Hi Lauren! I am so happy these turned out so amazing for you!! Thank you for trying this one! These for a snack on a cool day is the best! xTieghan
So good and easy to make vegan with almond milk, dairy free butter and flax egg. Comes together so quick. Great recipe!!
Thank you so much for trying this one, Melissa!! I am really happy this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
We used 4 gala apples as we had them on hand, and went with the higher number given how larger Honeycrisps are in our region. We definitely added the extra 1/4 cup of milk to get the batter the right consistency and fried them in canola oil. They were delicious fresh, though I’d decrease the apple next time. They did not keep well, as the glaze does not harden like you’d find on a bakery-purchased apple fritter. They ended up quite soggy the next day.
The glaze is really delicious! We didn’t have instant espresso on hand, so we used cold brew concentrate. It had a wonderful mocha-esque flavor.
Thank you for trying this one, Ashley! I am really happy this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Looks delish. I think some of the advertising is covering the directions about the butter, but it’s listed in the ingredients and in directions.
Thank you Erin! Is there anything I can help you with? xTieghan
Dont like coffee, but i had some tiger spice chai powder that i used instead. It was awesome!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Diane! xTieghan
Do you have any recommendations for storing these? I made (what I thought was) a small batch, and I have a bunch left over. Should they be refrigerated? Stored at room temp? Suggestions please! And, by the way, made these for breakfast today (because Friday!) and they are delicious!!
Hey Janina,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try. I like to store in an air tight container on the counter. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This recipe was very easy to follow and turned out pretty good – I didn’t have ginger on hand so I substituted with 1/8 cardamom. This glaze is absolutely addicting, the critters need it in my opinion, I didn’t find much flavor in them otherwise, but maybe that’s due to the ginger thing. I kind of wish they were coated in some sort of cinnamon sugar.
I fried in vegetable/olive oil because that’s what I had, I didn’t end up with crunchy or crisp fritters. Are these supposed to be that kind of texture? Mine were pretty soft and tender-like. Maybe it’s my oil choice. I flipped them under the broiler and that got them a little crispy but they’re very dark in color now, not so pretty. Maybe I’ll try again with canola? I also had to add a little more milk because of the thickness of the batter, but I’m also wondering if that’s what caused the fritters to be soft, too. Any tips or suggestions to try again? Still absolutely delicious and they didn’t even last a full day! Thanks!
Hey Kiley!! Next time stick to using all vegetable or canola oil or another neutral oil like peanut oil. Either should give you a better result.
I don’t think it was the added milk, but more so the use of olive oil. Olive oil is not meant for deep frying, so I think that is your issue. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Hope these tips help next time around! Thank you!! xTieghan
So delicious!! This is the second recipe I’ve made of yours (first were the Blueberry Cinnamon Crumb bars) and both are winners and keepers. I’ve just recently “found“ you online and I look forward to making more of your interesting and beautiful dishes!
**For this recipe, I did substitute Swerve confectioners sugar for the glaze. With this, a 1:1 substitute made the glaze too sweet. For anyone else trying this alteration, definitely dial back the Swerve.
Wow yes!! I am so happy you have been loving my recipes thus far, Vanessa! Thank you so much! I hope you continue to! xTieghan
We. Add these last night. We put them in an airtight container but now they are no longer crispy. Anything you’d suggest to keep them crispy? Let me know. Thanks.
Hey Lauren,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! Try popping them in the oven for a few minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan