Spiralized Apple Fritters

Your love of apple fritters and spiralizing combines into one with these spiralized apple fritters. Don’t tell your zucchini, it might get jealous.

Summer is slowly slipping through our fingers like grains of sand. While I am excited for college football season to begin, at the same time I am still enjoying being able to walk outside without a jacket and will forever covet all the summer fruits and vegetables. On the up side, the U-pick farms in the area will soon have apples aplenty which means it’s time to transition the spiralized summer zucchini/zoodle trend into something suitable for fall. To cut to the chase, yes I spiralized apples. And then battered and fried them. Proof that everyone can enjoy a spiralized recipe.

Instead of the guillotine-looking torture device that I normally use for spiralizing, I tried out OXO’s new hand-held spiralizer which works just as well to create uniform, curly noodles from an assortment of vegetables and, evidently in my case, fruits. For my bigger apples, I did have to trim them down a bit to fit them through but that minor detail was overshadowed by the fact that it cored the apple while is did it’s fancy spiral display. It’s just like the apple peeler, slicer and corer that I use for pies/applesauce making but it’s hand-held and makes spiraled threads instead of an accordion.

These fritters were actually oven-fried but not in a way that is much healthier than frying them in a regular saute pan, it’s just less messy. The oil was heated in the oven on rimmed baking sheets and then the fritter batter was dolloped into the hot oil just as if it were in a saute pan. Just as crispy too! To enjoy these warm morsels I also made a maple-Greek yogurt dipping sauce or topping.

One year ago: Skirt Steak with Kale Chimichurri Sauce

Two years ago: Eggplant Manicotti with Creamy Pesto Filling

SPIRALIZED APPLE FRITTERS

Makes 1 dozen fritters

Ingredients:

FRITTERS

1/4 cup + 2 tsp olive oil, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

1-1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

3 apples, spiralized (I used unpeeled Gala but you can use any crisp apple and peel if desired)

TOPPING

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Cinnamon-sugar, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once preheated take out two heavy non-stick rimmed baking sheets, pour 1/4 cup of the oil into the baking sheets and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes to heat the oil.
2. While the oil heats, in a small stir together the yogurt and syrup for topping. Place in fridge until ready to serve.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, egg, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined (do not overmix). Using a spatula, fold in the apples.
5. Carefully remove pans from the oven and place the apple mixture in spoonfuls onto the oil. Flatten and contain the mixture using a spatula.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden and crisp. Remove from the oven, flip over and bake for another 10 minutes or until crisp and golden on both sides.
7. When done, transfer the to a paper towel lined sheet to drain. Serve immediately topped with maple yogurt mixture and cinnamon-sugar, if desired.

Source: Adapted from Inspiralized and The Veggie Spiral Slicer Cookbook.

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