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September means apples first, pumpkin later. These shortcut apple fritters bake up flaky and golden—no frying, no fuss. Think cinnamon-sugar Honeycrisps tucked between buttery layers of puff pastry, then finished with a simple vanilla (or vanilla-coffee!) glaze.
They’re quick for a weeknight treat and cute enough for a weekend apple-picking spread. Warm from the oven is best… and they smell like a cider mill.
I say this every single season, but this is my time of year. These are the days I love so much. It’s funny because I’m in New York this week for multiple events and meetings, but it feels more like summer here. It’s 90 degrees and humid, but I’m still in my fall mode and so happy to be!
With September here, it’s time to focus on our apple recipes! Too many people jump ship and go right to pumpkin everything. But as I say every year, September is for apples, October is the time to break out the pumpkin recipes.
With that in mind, I have so many new apple recipes coming up – both sweet and savory! But per usual I had to share one of my favorites first. These apple fritters are the best treat!
When I set out to make these, I had every intention to make a more traditional fritter, but baked, not fried in hot oil.
I adore a really great apple fritter made with local apples. Especially a New York State Empire apple (perfection). Just like the ones we used to get in western New York when I was little. Those memories inspired me to want to share a baked fritter recipe that would be just as delish.
Unfortunately, the baked fritters I was attempting to make weren’t turning out so great, so I kept thinking. And then while I was hiking I had this idea.
They aren’t classic fritters, but they’re so delicious. And they’re the easiest way I could think of to bake up a delicious apple fritter.
Details
Step 1: layer the pastry
We’re working with puff pastry for these fritters. The idea is to sandwich chopped-up apples between two sheets of puff pastry.
You’ll first want to layer the pastry with butter, apple butter, cinnamon sugar, and then the apples.
Next, roll the pastry up into a log and cut it into cute little rolls. As I type this out, it sounds kind of tricky, but it’s one of the easiest things.
Use the photo as guidance. And what I love about a fritter is that they’re naturally messy. The more not perfect they are, the better!
Don’t stress.
Step 2: flatten the pastries
Now that you have cute little apple rolls, you need to flatten them down so your fritters will be perfectly baked all around.
Use the palm of your hand to flatten each roll down.
Step 3: bake the fritters
Next, bake each fritter inside a paper cupcake liner. I ordered these on Amazon. Of course, you can skip these if you prefer and just bake the fritters directly in a sheet pan.
The liner just helps contain any apples that fall out.
Step 4: the glaze
I kept this glaze simple. These fritters are pretty darn yummy just as they are.
Powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and sea salt. I sometimes add a touch of coffee too, which highlights that delish vanilla flavor.
You can dip or drizzle each fritter in the glaze or just skip the glaze altogether. I do one quick dip and always an extra sea salt sprinkle. Tis so delicious.
FAQ:
Can I skip the cupcake liners?
Yes—bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan and space well. Expect a few caramelized juices; slide a spatula under quickly while warm.
How do I keep the pastry from unrolling?
After slicing, press to flatten and tuck loose ends under. Chilling the log before slicing helps the spirals hold.
My apples were juicy and the bottoms got soggy—help?
Pat diced apples dry and keep to a single, even layer. Bake until bottoms are deep golden and crisp; use the middle rack and preheated pan for extra insurance.
Can I make the glaze ahead?
Yes, whisk and refrigerate in a sealed jar. It will thicken; loosen with a splash of milk and re-whisk before dipping or drizzling.
Looking for other sweet apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Sweet and Salty Chocolate Drizzled Cider Caramel Apples
Double the Streusel Apple Butter Bars
Lastly, if you make these Shortcut Easy Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Shortcut Easy Apple Fritters
Servings: 12 fritters
Calories Per Serving: 622 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- 3 cups chopped honeycrisp apples
Vanilla Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1-3 teaspoons instant coffee powder (optional)
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Arrange 12-15 paper cupcake liners on a baking sheet. 2. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl.3. Lay one pastry sheet flat on your counter. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon apple butter, then sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar. Arrange 1/2 of the apples over the sugar. Place a second sheet of pastry directly over the apples to cover. Gently press down to seal everything inside. Roll the dough into a log, like a cinnamon roll. 4. Cut the log into 6-8 rounds, placing each in the prepared paper cupcake liners. Repeat with the remaining pastry/apples. Use the palm of your hand to smoosh the round down to about 1/2 it's size (see photos). Sprinkle the tops lightly with any remaining cinnamon sugar. 5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden brown. 6. To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients in a bowl, adding additional milk as needed to thin. Dip or drizzle the glaze onto the fritters. Eat warm. And enjoy.
This post was originally published on September 8, 2023
Yumm!!
A deliciously easy recipe 🍎
We enjoyed them hot out of the oven last night & then again at room temperature this morning! (Just as good!)
We also made & used Tieghan’s
Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter for this recipe.
Thank you sooo much Susan! xT
These were delicious and very easy, I have already made them twice. A big hit with my family and work. I added maple syrup to the glaze on the second batch, so good.
Thank you
Thank you so much Dawn! xT
Holy Smokes! So good and so easy – definitely a keeper
These were delicious and so easy to make. Which is a good thing because they disappear quick and you’ll want to make another batch. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! xT
WOW these are incredible!! 10/10. I didn’t have muffin liners so just put them on parchment paper and they were fine, no sticking. The coffee icing really made these stand out. Honestly pretty easy to make and definitely recommend eating warm 😋
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! xT
The flavors here are good, but like others I had problems with all of the sugars hardening on the bottom causing the cupcake liners to stick. I think parchment paper would work better but I’m not sure. They do taste remarkably like an apple fritter although my kids wanted me to leave the coffee out of the glaze.
I also had a reading comprehension problem with realizing I was supposed to make two “logs” with all of the ingredients. Re-reading the instructions I’m not sure how I missed this but reading through the comments it seems like I wasn’t the only one. I think maybe I was just following steps in the video instead of reading the recipe. I will definitely try these again, doing it right next time!
Unfortunately this recipe didn’t turn out for me. Flavors were there!
I baked for an extra 5 min until the tops started to burn. The bottoms were still raw. The fritters stuck to the cupcake liners – I saw other comments saying the same and meant to spray them, but forgot. The apple juices that came out during baking caused the cupcake liners to stick to the pan too.
Might try to recreate in a different shape / bake at a lower temp for longer.
Hi there! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it xT
Hello! If I don’t have apple butter, could I use apple sauce in a pinch? Or would that be too watery?
I used cinnamon applesauce and it was great!
Yes, applesauce should be fine! xT
Absolutely amazing. Love the flakiness, the apples inside are so good. So so good. I used alll the same amounts except only used 2.5 pastry sheets. It worked out perfect! I also baked mine longer. Maybe 40 mins.
One question, all of mine stuck to the cupcake wrappers so I had to scrape off the bottoms. Any tips for avoiding that next time? Thanks!
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I really hope you loved it! 🙂
These were amazing! Sooo good. But I also had the problem with the cupcake liner sticking to the bottom of the pastry. When removing liner, lost bottom part of fritters.
Can you make these in advance and freeze them or will they not turn out well?
Hey Katie! I haven’t ever frozen these before but I’m sure that would work fine! xT
I will be going to grocery for ingredients asap. These looks simple and delicious 😋
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
Im baking now but not sure I did it right. In your IG story it looked like you did another layer of apples and cin/sugar on the top of the second sheet? Hoping mine turn out!
they look amazing,
Help! Mine turned out so raw. 🙁 I’m thinking the dough got too warm but any other advice would be helpful. So bummed.
Oh no I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything you did differently? xT
Your recipe temp and time were a bit different from the box for the puff pastry. I think next time I would try going lower and slower. I have a gas oven so it can get really hot.
TBH I’m kind of confused how this is a fritter … everything about this makes it an apple cinnamon roll. “Fritter” literally means fried, and it’s an entirely different process, shape, and end result.
Yes, you’re right. Fritters are something that’s been battered and deep fried. This recipe would more accurately be called an apple danish, croissant, puff pastry, turnover….
In reading the recipe the instructions say to use half the apples between the pastry layers. It never mentions using the other half. Did you only use a cup and a half of apples?
I was confused initially too.
The ingredient list calls for 4 pastry sheets but she only used 2 in the recipe.
I realized it is for a double batch because it makes 12 and she only showed 6.
I will half the recipe. Looks yummy!