Baked Apple Fritters are an easy donut shop favorite that you can make at home now. These fritters are baked instead of fried, making them an easy treat to whip up on a whim.
Baked Apple Fritters
This is one of the first recipes I make in the fall and they are an awesome way to warm up the kitchen on a chilly morning.
Apple Fritters are one of my husband’s favorite bakery treats and I love that I can make this hassle-free recipe at home.
Apple Recipes
Apple recipes are a favorite with my family year-round, but there’s something about them that calls to me even more through the winter.
These Baked Apple Cider Donut Muffins are another bakery-style treat that the kids love. And the Caramel Apple Puff Pastries are an impressive pastry that looks so much fussier than they actually are.
(If you haven’t tried Puff Pastry Danishes, put them on your list as well. Because there is honestly nothing else with the ability to impress with such a minimum of effort!)
Last but definitely not least, Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls are a brunch favorite.
How to make baked apple fritters with no yeast
This recipe uses no yeast and instead starts with a biscuit-style dough. To start, mix together the dry ingredients.
Flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder are combined in a mixing bowl. Then, you’ll cut in butter until small crumb sized.
Here’s a tip: Take a stick of frozen butter and grate it directly into the dry ingredients, then stir. It’s a quick and easy way to start the crumb mixture.
Next, toss in some finely diced apples to coat with flour.
Last, you’ll gently stir in some milk to make a thick batter. (The lack of egg in these apple fritters, makes them very tender.)
Drop by big spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Can you bake apple fritters?
Yes, but I would use a recipe like this one that is meant to be baked. You don’t want to try baking a dough or batter recipe that is intended to be fried.
After you make the dough and scoop it onto the cookie sheets, you’ll bake in a 400°F oven.
After the fritters are baked, you’ll brush them with a thin powdered sugar glaze, and pop them under the broiler for a few minutes, until slightly browned.
I picked up that broiling tip from Maegan at The Baker Mama when she shared her baked blueberry fritters.
Broiling the initial glaze not only gives these apple fritters a nice caramel color, but it crisps the outside of the fritter to make it more similar to its deep-fried cousin.
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it. Leave me a comment below or give it a rating in the recipe card. Happy Baking!
Baked Apple Fritters
Ingredients
For the Fritters
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter cold
- 1 1/2 cups finely diced apples
- 3/4 cup milk I used whole milk
For the broiled glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk or juice
For the finishing glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until pea sized. Or I like to freeze the butter and grate it in with a cheese grater.
- Gently stir in the apples. Then add the milk, stirring just until combined.
- Drop by 2-inch spoonfuls onto a well greased baking sheet. (makes about 12-15 fritters)
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until just lightly browned. Meanwhile, make the broiling glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and apple juice together until smooth. Remove the fritters from the oven, turn the broiler on and immediately brush with the glaze.
- Place the fritters under the boiler, about 3 inches away and broil for 2-4 minutes until the glaze is browned and caramelized. Rotate the pan if needed.
- Let cool on wire rack for several minutes. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk for the last glaze and brush onto the warm fritters. The are best enjoyed warm.
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 9/9/19 – recipes notes and photos updated 1/20/21}
Alli says
Apple fritters are my favorite thing ever. We can’t get enough.
Courtney O'Dell says
These apple fritters were so tasty!
Katie says
These look simply divine! Saving the recipe!
Laura Reese says
Thanks for such a delicious fall recipe.
Edwin Moskwa says
Rather than cube the apples I grated them and used peanut oil. They were sweet enough so did not include the glazes. They were pretty good , but not as crispy as the store-bought ones.
Thom says
Great recipe
Just a heads up that if you use salted butter
(All I had on site) then best to cut the salt back to 1/2 tsp. A little salt otherwise
A.R. says
We made these during the lockdown and it brough back fond memories of childhood while being able to create some for our children. These were great! We added ginger and lemon zest and accidentally 8oz of coconut based yogurt. Omitted the egg and WOW! Glad to try your recipe. Fun easy and completely like the classic fried just a ton less oil! And so light!!
Susan Gale says
Made these today! So delicious and easy. Assumed you meant packed brown sugar for the 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mine made 23😊. Tried to leave a picture, but couldn’t figure how to do it.
Emma says
Can the dough/batter be kept in the fridge for use the next day?
Emma says
Could I make the batter ahead of time? Thanks 🙂
Ronda says
These were absolutely delicious. I followed the recepie exactly and couldn’t have been happier.
Brenda Botkin says
I made these apple fritters and mine flatened out like a pancake. What did I do wrong?
Thanks so much,
Marilyn says
Baking powder can go flat (stale) if stored near heat or if old. If you haven’t used baking powder for a while or if it is stored close to your stove or oven, that might be why.
Diane L'Arrivee says
This was super easy to make and my family loved them. Will make this again!
Krista says
These are delicious! Love the caramelization broiling gives them. These were better than some I made in the air fryer. Thank you!
Tracey Purcell says
Just made them, used 2 large apples, a bit more than the recipe. Used 2 tbsp each, were more like cookies and had to bake for 23 minutes to get a browning. I only used 1 layer of the glaze, they were plenty sweet. Quite delicious! I put half of the dough in the refrigerator to bake tomorrow.
Amanda McEwen says
Made these just this morning. What a delight. Now there’s a whole batch ready for school lunches this week.
Mary Jane Davidson says
These turned out awesome! I microwaved my chopped apples till they were tender with half of the brown sugar, let them cool and then made them. I also used my Belgian waffle iron to make half of the batch as I was getting impatient and they were AWESOME!!!
Lori says
Any recommendations on how to store these? I made them yesterday and they looked and tasted so good. Foiled them on a plate on the counter over night and they’re now soggy. Wonder if there is a way to prevent that from happening…
Pam Gentry says
Just made these and they were delicious! The only thing I changed was to the finishing glaze – I added a hint of maple extract and pure maple syrup to it. Definitely will make them again
Sandra Udinson says
Ii made the apple fritters and they were yummy but mine ran can you tell me what I might have done wrong. Thank you
Esther says
Would I be able to use something else in place of the brown sugar?
Mallory says
White sugar would probably work, but change the flavor a bit.
Josh says
These fritters have absolutely no flavor. I am annoyed that I spent my time and ingredients on this.
Dawn says
I followed the directions exactly and these were perfect and so delicious!
Charlene Noland says
My husband loves Apple Fritters so I thought I would try it. It turned out great. I had to bake them for a couple of minutes longer because it was a little doughy in the middle. I didn’t put them in the broiler because mine is on the very bottom of the stove. They were delicious.
Mary says
I’m so happy to hear that the fritters were a hit, Charlene!
John Nevin says
As a rookie, I tried this recipe as I love Apple Fritters. Did the recipe as noted, but the fritters didn’t cook all the way through. they are still great and will make them again. Thankyou
Mary says
I’m glad you liked them, John!
Jackie says
Oh my god these are good. I added a bit of ginger and nutmeg because I love them with apples. the broiled glaze adds so much more than I expected
Mary says
I’m so happy to hear that you love the recipe, Jackie!
Diane says
Tasted ok but didn’t stick together.
Mary says
Without being in your kitchen with you, it’s hard to guess what might have gone wrong, Diane.
Lisa Marie Bristol says
all I have is margarine , would that work?
Mary says
If you typically use margarine in your baking without any issues, it should work fine. That said, I’ve never tried this recipe with anything other than real butter, so I can’t say for certain how it might work.
Diana says
Looks great I’m going to try it then pour a bit of 100% dark maple syrup on them.
Eunice says
Was asked to make a gluten free apple fritter for a conference. Everyone loved it. Thank you for posting this.
Jona says
Delicious
Mary says
Thank you, Jona.
Bill Callcott says
Can you use gluten free flour ?
Mary says
Bill – I have not tried it with GF flour. However, I am guessing if you use a 1:1 GF flour substitute you should be fine.
Eileen says
These were delicious, I didn’t make the glaze for them but sprinkled with cinnamon sugar & they were perfect, healthier!
Mary says
That is a great swap, Eileen.
P Merkis says
The fritters were not crisp on the bottom as I had hoped. I think they need to be cooked longer. The taste was good. Not sure I’ll re-try this recipe.
Mary says
Hmm that is odd, but I am happy to hear the flavor was good.
Pamela Henry says
What a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Mary says
You are quite welcome, Pamela.