Description
These Air Fryer Apple Fritters offer a crispy yet soft and juicy treat that’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Made with simple pantry ingredients, crisp apples, and a fragrant cinnamon batter, then air fried to golden perfection and topped with a luscious apple butter glaze, they’re a delightful way to enjoy the flavors of the apple orchard with minimal fuss and maximum flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Cinnamon Dough
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Milk (2% m.f. or higher)
- 1 tsp Fresh lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 large Egg, room temperature
- 1 Medium Apple (crisp, sweet, and hard, like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), washed and diced into small cubes less than 1cm
Apple Butter Glaze
- 1 tbsp Melted Butter
- 1/2 cup Icing Sugar
- 1 tsp Apple Butter
- Lemon Juice from 1/2 a lemon (approximately 2 tsp plus additional drops as needed)
Instructions
- Make the Apple Fritter Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate small cup, combine milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and let it rest for about 3 minutes to create homemade buttermilk. Stir in vanilla extract and break in the egg, mixing thoroughly with a fork. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula to create a thick batter. Gently fold in the diced apples until evenly distributed.
- Prepare the Apple Butter Glaze: In a small bowl, combine icing sugar, melted butter, apple butter, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Mix well, then add additional drops of lemon juice as needed until the glaze achieves a loose, spreadable consistency.
- Preheat the Air Fryer: Set your air fryer to 400°F and preheat for 2-4 minutes to ensure a hot cooking environment for crispy fritters.
- Prepare the Air Fryer Basket: Place a parchment paper liner sized for your air fryer basket inside the basket. Lightly spray the parchment with a light cooking oil spray such as avocado oil spray to prevent sticking.
- Cook the Fritters: Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the air fryer basket, fitting 2-3 fritters per batch depending on basket size. Lightly spray the tops of the fritters with cooking spray. Air fry at 400°F for approximately 4.5 minutes, then pause and carefully flip each fritter. Spray tops again with cooking spray and cook for another 4.5 minutes. The fritters are done when the edges are golden brown, puffed, and crackling.
- Cool and Repeat: Remove the cooked fritters gently and place them on a cooling rack. Repeat air frying with remaining batter in batches.
- Glaze the Fritters: Place parchment paper underneath the cooling rack to catch excess glaze. Spoon a generous amount of the apple butter glaze on each cooled fritter and spread evenly over the surface. Let the glaze set until firm.
- Serve and Enjoy: Once glazed and set, serve your warm, crispy, and flavorful Air Fryer Apple Fritters as a delightful breakfast, brunch, or dessert treat.
Notes
- Use a crisp, firm apple variety such as Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp for the best texture and flavor.
- If your fritters turn out soggy, it may be due to excess moisture from softer apples—pat diced apples dry with a paper towel before mixing into the batter.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and add an extra tablespoon of milk if needed to achieve proper batter consistency.
- This recipe is family-friendly but requires parental supervision during air frying because of the hot oil and high temperatures involved.