The Best Apple Fritters Are Made With Instant Pancake Mix



There are many types of apple fritters — the thick, doughnutty yeast-raised sort, or the lightly battered apple rings — but it’s the craggy, apple-chunk-studded, soft on the inside but crisp on the outside variety that most people love. There’s only one problem: getting the right consistency and thickness for the batter. Now there’s a fix for that: pancake batter. The resulting apple fritter is pure fried-apple perfection. It’s crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and the simple vanilla glaze is just the nudge it needs to send it over into “special occasion treat” territory. 

 

Ingredients: 

  • • 1 cup complete pancake mix 
  • • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • • 1 medium apple, chopped (about 1¼ cups of chunks) 
  •  • ½ cup water 
  • • Oil for frying

Icing Glaze:

  • • 2 cups confectioners sugar 
  • • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • • ¼ cup water

Directions:

  1. 1. In a small pot, heat 2 inches of frying oil to 375°F. Place a wire cooling rack over a sheet tray. 
  2. 2. Add the complete pancake mix to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix in the cinnamon. Add the chopped apple to the dry ingredients and toss until thoroughly coated. When the oil is ready, stir the water into the mixing bowl until no dry patches remain and a thick batter forms. 
  3. 3. Scoop the batter into the frying oil, about quarter-cup scoops, and let each fritter fry for one minute on each side. They should become puffed and well-browned. Dab the excess oil off on a paper towel and let them dry on the wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the batter. 
  4. 4. For the glaze, mix all of the ingredients together in a deep bowl until all the lumps dissolve. Add one apple fritter to the bowl at a time and use a spoon to help cover the top completely in icing. Scoop it out with a fork and allow excess icing to drip off briefly before returning it to the wire rack to dry. Repeat with the remaining fritters.