Cinnamon-Cardamom Apple Fritters

During Thanksgiving week, the focus is on the big turkey dinner. But for many of us, the festivities continue throughout the weekend as family comes and stays for a few days. Don’t limit your special meal to a single dinner then gorge on leftovers. It’s easy to make a special breakfast that’s sure to delight children and adults with homemade apple fritters. This recipe makes delightful little irregular-shaped fritters that are tossed with spiced sugar, confectioner’s sugar or dipped into yogurt.

Children love helping with the recipe by peeling the apples and cutting them into little cubes. To make the recipe even more special, take the kids to a local orchard to buy the apples.

For the fritters it’s best to use apples that aren’t too tart nor sweet, such as HoneyCrisp, Gala or Fuji apples. I like adding some ground cardamom to my batter but you could make the fritters just with cinnamon sugar if you prefer.

CINNAMON-CARDAMOM APPLE FRITTERS

1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 quart vegetable, canola or peanut oil, for frying
Candy thermometer (or cubes of bread) for checking the temperature of the frying oil
Deep heavy skillet
Confectioner’s sugar for serving (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add the milk, eggs and butter to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended.

Toss the cubed apples with the spiced sugar then shake the apples in a colander over a bowl, reserving the leftover sugar. You’ll toss the fritters in the spiced sugar after frying.

Add the apples to the fritter batter and gently stir to combine.

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet to 375 degrees. Make sure the oil does not come more than halfway up the sides of the skillet so it doesn’t overflow when you are frying the fritters. If you don’t have a candy thermometer to check the temperature, when the oil begins to shimmer carefully put a small cube of bread in the oil. At the correct temperature, the oil will bubble around the cube and the bread will brown in about 30-40 seconds.

As a test, carefully drop one large spoonful of the batter into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute on each side until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fritter from the hot oil and let it cool on a paper-towel lined plate. Cut the test fritter in half to check for doneness. If the fritter isn’t quite cooked through the middle, use less batter for each.

Don’t overcrowd the skillet when you fry the rest of the fritters. Cooking them in small batches is best. Drain each one briefly on the paper towels, then toss with the reserved spiced sugar, or dust with a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately.