Super easy baked apple fritters are made with a sweet brown sugar cinnamon dough, tart Granny Smith apples, and finished with a vanilla bean glaze. No fryer or oil required!
If you love fritters but are trying to cut down on fried foods, this is the recipe for you! These baked apple fritters take a shortcut by using refrigerated canned biscuits - they'll be ready to eat within 30 minutes!
What Kind Of Canned Biscuits Do I Use?
This particular baked apple fritters recipe calls for cutting up the canned biscuit dough into little pieces and pressing them together with chopped apple. I recommend the "flaky" variety to get that... wait for it... flaky texture. If you want to slam together these fritters and you only have regular canned biscuits in your fridge, though, go ahead and use them.
If you want to clean up the ingredients in these fritters and don't love the idea of using canned biscuits, try an organic brand such as Annie's - I love their flaky biscuits when used in recipes like this one.
Regardless of the brand and variety of biscuit that you end up using, you'll need about 16 ounces of dough for this recipe.
Tips For Baking Fritters In The Oven
We fry foods to get that crisp crunch on the outside, but sometimes we want that same experience without the extra fat and calories from the frying oil. But how do we come close to that texture when baking? Here are a few tips:
- Use a Roasting Rack - when you bake fritters directly on a baking sheet, no air gets to the bottom of the fritter and moisture will build up under there, resulting in a soft texture. By elevating the fritters on a roasting rack, air will be able to reach all around the fritter and help it crisp up on all sides.
- Use Convection Bake - most newer ovens come with a convection bake setting, which uses a fan to circulate the air within the oven. This feature reduces hot and cold spots in the oven, but also pushes air underneath the roasting rack and is perfect for "oven frying" food.
This is a great roasting rack to use
What Kind Of Apples Should I use?
Granny Smith apples are the gold standard when creating apple-based desserts, and I highly recommend that's the kind you choose for these fritters. Granny Smith apples are quite tart when eaten raw and hold their shape well when baked or cooked. The extra tartness gets tamped down when combined with other ingredients in apple desserts without stamping out the apple flavor itself.
You'll need about a cup of chopped apple for this recipe. One large Granny Smith apple could be enough, but I recommend buying at least a couple to make sure you have enough.
Can I Make These In Advance?
I realllllly recommend that you eat these soon after baking them to enjoy the bit of crunch on the outside. If you have some leftover and want to reheat them, place them in a 350F oven until warmed. I do not recommend microwaving them - they'll get super mushy.
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Baked Apple Fritters
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 12 fritters 1x
Description
These tasty shortcut apple fritters are baked, not fried, and are made with a sweet cinnamon dough filled with tart apples and topped off with a vanilla bean glaze.
Ingredients
Fritters
- 1 16oz can of flaky biscuits (refrigerated kind)
- 2 TBS light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granny smith apple, chopped small
- 2 TBS butter, melted
Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- ¾ tsp pure vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
- 3-6 tsp milk, any kind
Instructions
- Preheat oven to convection bake 325F OR regular bake 350F. Place an elevated roasting rack on a baking sheet, spray rack with cooking spray, and set aside. If you don't have a rack, line the sheet with parchment.
- Cut each biscuit into small pieces (I cut each biscuit into 10-12 chunks)
- In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon, making sure to push out any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the biscuit pieces and chopped apple and toss with clean hands until pieces are fully coated with the cinnamon and sugar.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to drop fritters onto the prepared sheet. Use your fingers to push the pieces of dough together so that they'll stick to themselves when baking. You should get about 12 fritters.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter over the fritters.
- Bake for 13-17 minutes or until golden brown. Convection bake will bake faster and will be done at the lower end of the time recommendation, so keep an eye on them.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly while mixing the glaze.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla to a bowl. Add about 3 tsp of milk and whisk. Continue adding milk a tsp at a time, stirring after each addition, until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle the warm fritters and serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
If you want to 'clean up' the ingredients a bit, use an organic brand of canned biscuits (Annie's is what I use)
Using a roasting rack and the convection setting on a traditional oven will allow the fritters to get a crunchier outside by allowing air to circulate above and below the fritters.
This is the roasting rack I use - there are many sizes available.
If you do not have a rack or a convection setting, you can absolutely make these with a parchment-lined sheet and the regular bake setting on the oven.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
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