• Please note the directions below are shortened. For full details and tips, please read the full post and/ or watch my video for visual instruction. This recipe is intended to be baked OR fried, not both.

Step 1: Make Fritter Dough

• In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, sugar, active dry yeast and salt. Create a well in the middle of this flour mixture.
  3 cups all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, ½ teaspoon salt
• Pour lukewarm water into the well you created. Lukewarm water is 100 °F (warm to the touch but shouldn’t produce steam).
  1 ⅓ cups lukewarm water
• Gently stir the flour mix and water together until a ball of dough starts to form.
• Lightly flour your counter surface and dump the dough onto this flour. Knead a few times, until the flour is incorporated and the dough feels smooth. This dough is fairly sticky to the touch but should be workable (without large pieces sticking to your hands and pulling off the ball of dough).
  2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Lightly oil the bowl you mixed the dough in (to prevent dough from sticking) and place the ball of dough back into the bowl, covered with a kitchen towel/ tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size (30-60 min, depending on weather conditions).

Step 2: Cook Apple Filling

• While the dough rises, prepare your apples.
• Peel and dice some apples. Place apples into a pot with vegan butter or margarine, sugar and ground cinnamon.
  2 ½ cups apples, ¼ cup vegan butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Place your pot over medium heat and cook until the apples soften, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally then set aside when done.

Step 3: Form Fritters

• When dough is double in size, generously flour rolling surface and dump out the dough. Lightly flour the top of the dough.
  2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Roll dough until it’s about 2 cm (¾ inch) thick.
• Spread cooked and cooled apples across one half of the rolled dough.
• Fold the dough over the apples, forming a half-circle, then press down and flatten slightly.
• Cut dough into fritter-sized pieces, about 2 in/ 5 cm squares.
• Grab a piece of fritter dough/apple mix and form into a fritter. Fold all four corners of the dough into the center, then seal the edges to keep the apples in. Optional to then fold this in half so the corners are in the center and seal around the open edge.

Step 4a: Bake Fritters

• To bake, place fritters onto a parchment-covered baking mat and lightly brush with vegetable oil.
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Bake in a preheated 350 °F oven for 20 minutes. Proceed to glazing.

Step 4b: Fry Fritters

• Fill a pot with at least 3 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat.
  5-6 cups vegetable oil
• Test the oil is ready by placing a small piece of dough into the pot – it should immediately sizzle and rise to the top.
• Start with one fritter. Place it into the oil and flip after 2 minutes. The dough should be golden brown. Fry the other side for 2 minutes – again, it should come out golden brown. If the dough isn’t brown, the oil may need longer to heat or you may need a higher temperature setting on the stove. If the dough browns more quickly than 2 minutes, the oil is too hot.
• Once you cook your tester and get the oil to a good heat, fry the remaining fritters in batches, keeping an eye on the oil heat as it may need adjustment.
• When cooked, remove fritters from the oil and place onto either a baking rack or paper towels.
• When all fritters are cooled, proceed to glazing.

Step 5: Glaze Fritters

• In a small mixing bowl, stir together icing sugar, vanilla extract and plant-based milk. Adjust glaze thickness to taste.
  1 ½ cups icing sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons plant-based milk
• To glaze, brush glaze onto both sides of the donut.