These Baked Apple Fritters Are My Favorite Shortcut Fall Dessert

I’ll be honest—a baked version of a crispy fritter was no small feat to create. Frying gives a fritter that signature airy, crispy, and deeply golden texture. That being said, frying requires time, effort, and dealing with the inevitable mess. This baked version is more similar in texture to a scone, but the result is still a beautifully balanced, soft, and tender apple dessert. Not to mention, they're far easier to make and take way less time than a traditional fritter. My baked fritters are chock-full of apples, which maintain their tart crunch even after baking. The glaze coating was mandatory (obviously), and it gives the fritters an extra touch of sweetness. These are the perfect treats to kick off the fall baking season—serve them with a cup of coffee as an extra-sweet morning breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up. Since the dough is so easy to make, these can be ready in just about an hour with ingredients you most likely already have on hand. Meaning: fritters all fall long!

How To Make Baked Apple Fritters

INGREDIENTS

• All-Purpose Flour: There’s no need for a higher protein flour like bread flour with these. All-purpose flour gives these fritters plenty of structure while keeping them soft. Plus, you most likely have all-purpose flour on hand!
• Granulated Sugar: There’s just enough sugar in these to keep them sweet and balance out the tart apples. The glaze will add even more sweetness to the fritters.
• Baking Powder: Without a leavener, these fritters would be too dense. Using baking powder helps the fritters rise and gives them a soft, airy crumb.
• Cinnamon & Nutmeg: Some warm spices are a must in apple fritters, and cinnamon and nutmeg work perfectly together.
• Kosher Salt: There’s just enough salt in the recipe to help the spices and apple shine brighter. These won’t taste salty at all.
• Butter: Cold butter is important for this recipe. The small pockets of butter will melt and release moisture in the oven, creating more lift and a biscuit-like texture to these fritters.
• Granny Smith Apples: I like using Granny Smith apples for their crunchiness and the tartness they add. Honeycrisp or Gala apples are also great options for baking.
• Eggs: The eggs play a host of roles here: They bind the dough together, provide moisture and richness, and even help with the leavening. Do be sure to stick to large eggs to keep the ratios accurate.
• Heavy Cream: I love using a rich cream in these fritters to bring the dough together. Since these won’t be getting fried, it’s a good replacement to add some decadence to the fritters.
• Vanilla: Some vanilla gives more warmth and a floral flavor to the fritters.
• Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar dissolves better than regular sugar and makes the perfect base for the glaze.
• Milk: You only need a little bit to thin the glaze out. Water can be used, too, but milk adds more flavor to the glaze.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First things first, preheat the oven to 425°. You’ll need 2 baking sheets for these, so you can go ahead and line them with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together. You want everything to be combined well so you don’t end up with pockets of baking powder in your fritters. Then add the butter and work it into the dough just like you would for a pie crust or scones. Rub it between your fingers until the butter is broken down into pea-sized pieces. Keep tossing the butter in the flour throughout because you want the butter to always be fully coated in flour.

Add the apples and toss those into the flour so that they're coated as well.

Baked Apple Fritters

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, cold cream, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and the eggs are fully incorporated. Add this to the flour mixture and gently stir until a shaggy dough comes together. The dough should look a lot like scones or biscuits and will be lumpy.

To scoop the dough into portions, you can use a 1/4-cup measuring cup or a cookie scoop. Scoop the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 3" between each one. They should be in nice mounds and not flat discs.

Baked Apple Fritters

Bake the fritters until tops are golden and bottoms are starting to darken, 12 to 15 minutes. You can rotate the trays about halfway through from top to bottom to help with even coloring. After they come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

While the fritters are in the oven, you can make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, a pinch of salt, and milk until smooth. You need the glaze to be thin enough to dip the fritters into, but also not watery. If it seems too thick, add more milk 1 tsp. at a time until it’s the right consistency.

Baked Apple Fritters

Dip the fritters while they are still warm, but not too hot to handle and hold onto. Dip the tops of the fritter into the glaze, then hold it above to let the excess drip off into the bowl. Place back on the wire rack and let the fritters cool completely.

Baked Apple Fritters

You can spoon any extra glaze onto the fritters if you want a thicker coating.

Baked Apple Fritters

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Use cold ingredients: Make sure to work with cold butter, eggs, and cream. This will help keep the butter from getting too warm, and we want the butter to melt and steam after going into the oven. This will give us more lofted and softer fritters
• Space them out: Give the fritters space on the sheet trays. If you only have one, place the dough in the fridge while you bake your first batch.
• Don’t use overripe apples: You can swap out the type of apples if you have others on hand. Just don’t use any that are soft or mealy.

Storage

The fritters are best the same day that they are made, but any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Baked Apple Fritters

Baked Apple Fritters

Made This?

Let us know how it went in the comments below!

Yields: 14

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Fritters

• 2 1/4 c.

  (270 g.) all-purpose flour

• 3/4 c.

  (150 g.) granulated sugar

• 2 tsp.

  baking powder

• 1 1/2 tsp.

  ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp.

  kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp.

  finely grated fresh nutmeg

• 6 tbsp.

  unsalted butter, cold, cubed

• 2

  medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped

• 2

  large eggs

• 1/2 c.

  heavy cream

• 1 tsp.

  pure vanilla extract

Glaze

• 2 c.

  (228 g) confectioners’ sugar

• 1/4 c.

  (or more) milk

• Pinch of kosher salt

Directions

Fritters

1. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add butter and rub with your fingertips until pea-sized pieces form, tossing to keep butter coated in flour. Add apples and toss to combine.
2. In a small bowl, mix eggs, cream, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and mix until a dough comes together; it should be lumpy and sticky.
3. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup or large cookie scoop, scoop batter onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 3" apart (about 7 per sheet).
4. Bake fritters, rotating sheets top to bottom halfway through, until tops are slightly golden and edges are firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Glaze

1. In a medium bowl, stir confectioners’ sugar, milk, and salt; it should easily run off of your spoon. Add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time if needed, until glaze is thin enough to dip.
2. While fritters are still warm, dip tops into glaze and return to rack. Let sit until glaze is hardened, about 10 minutes.