This post is sponsored by Ontario Apple Growers, who I love for their apples that are fresh and crunchy all year long- even in February! And what better use of Ontario apples than to make Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Fritters! Donut-y apple fritter goodness all baked up and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Yus puh-LEASE!
I had a hankering for a donut-like treat. I think it's something about the February blahs that makes me crave sweets even more than usual but I had a bit a dilemma. I also wanted something not too bad for me because I have an upcoming trip to Jamaica, and this girl plans to have a 6 pack by then...or at least not a winter one pack. Plant power!
So, I pulled some sneaky-deaky tricks outta my sleeve to meet both qualifications. I took fresh sliced apple rings and dipped them in a simple homemade batter. I baked them instead of fried then, then I lightly (ok heavily) sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar. The result is a small apple stuffed cinnamon sugar fritter that are only 100 calories each! Introducing: Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Fritters!
I was actually shocked when I calculated the nutrition. Now I don't feel quite so guilty for immediately scarfing down 4 of them...whoops!
Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Fritters are so scrumptiously yummy served still warm from the oven. Soft, fluffy dough encasing a sweet apple center, then a cinnamon sugar topping just makes them! Wonderful served with coffee or tea. Omnomnom.
To Make Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Fritters:
Use an apple corer to core the apples, then slice the apples into ¼" thick rings. If you don't have an apple corer, you could alternatively, slice the apples first, then use the tip of a knife, a small round cookie cutter, or a shot glass to cut the core out of each slice.
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry and combine until the batter just comes together. Don't over-mix, lumps are totally cool.
Take an apple ring, one at a time, and dunk it in the batter. You can use a spatula to help flip and coat. You want a nice thick coating of batter. This part will be messy! Then place the batter coated apple on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Like so. Give them a bit of a room as they will grow. You may need two baking sheets.
Bake for about 20 minutes until the batter is puffy and just begins to get golden. Let cool for 5 minutes before handling.
They really won't be the prettiest of things, but that's where cinnamon sugar comes to the rescue!
Melt the vegan butter, and then brush a little on the top of a fritter, then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar mix.
I love them best when still warm from the oven! They are still good the next day but not quite as good, so if you don't think you will be able to devour them all fresh, feel free to half the recipe.
Vegan Baked Apple Cinnamon Fritters
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- 2 tablespoons light oil, such as vegetable or canola
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 - 3 gala apples, cored and sliced into ¼" rings
Topping ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
Instructions
- OVEN: Preheat to 375F (190C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You may need two sheets.AIR FRYER: Preheat your air-fryer to 350F (180C).
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together ¾ non-dairy milk with all the remaining wet ingredients (except for the apple slices). Pour wet into dry and combine until the batter just comes together. If your batter is too thick, add more non-dairy milk to reach a thick batter consitency, up to ½ cup more non-dairy milk. Don’t over mix, lumps are totally cool.
- Take an apple ring, one at a time, and dunk it in the batter. You can use a spatula to help flip and coat. You want t a nice thick coating of batter. This part will be messy! Then place the batter coated apple on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- OVEN: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the batter is puffy and just begins to get golden.AIR FRYER: Lay in a single layer in your air fryer basket, you will need to work in batches. Fry for 10 to 20 minutes until the batter is puffy and just begins to get golden.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a small bowl. Brush a little melted vegan butter on the top of a fritter, then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar mix. Repeat with the remaining fritters. I love them best when still warm from the oven! Omnomnom.
Nutrition
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
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Varsana Myers says
Dang it, Sam, ya did it again! I love this recipe! Its simplicity is wonderful and I love its originality. Kudos!
Molly Hooper says
I always write these reviews before I even make the darn recipes but it's because I'm so excited. Making this and your chocolate pudding cake tomorrow for some guests I'm having. I know it'll be a hit, you are the greatest! Happy Halloween!!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks, Molly!!! I hope you love everything 🙂
Michelle says
OMG these are so tasty! I have to start by saying I had no clue how to cite an apple, so I ended up with a bunch of chopped apple pieces instead of rings. I decided to do something a bit different after that mistake. I placed 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of a loaf pan and then layered the apple pieces on top, then another layer of batter and then I did this again. Baked it for 25 minutes at 375 and it was delicious, tasted like some amazing fried dough you would enjoy at a carnival!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Michelle! For the future, you can make coring an apple easier by using an apple corer. 🙂
Cassidy says
These were great! I used the full amount of milk and it was the perfect consistency. The only thing wrong was I would have preferred my apples thicker, but that was my fault not yours. I got my boyfriend to cut them and he went a bit on the thin side. A great fast pudding. Will definitely be making these again.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed them Cassidy 🙂
Elena says
I think the mistake is in the milk, it is 1¼ as in the ingredients or ¾ as in the instructions?
Anyway, I made them and they were delicious!
Sorry, english is not my first language 😛
Sam Turnbull says
Yeah, I added that change to start out with less liquid and add more if needed so the recipe works for everyone. So happy you enjoyed them!
Bethany says
So I made these tonight and we were very pleased. I'm pregnant and the baby wanted a warm apple dessert. I'm really lazy and I always decide to make dessert at the last minute and so this recipe seemed perfect. It's the only fritter recipe that has baking instead of frying and I appreciate only having to slice the apples because peeling and chopping is too much work. I read the reviews so I was very sceptical about it. I changed two things 1. I added the wet ing to the dry ing a little at a time until it was thick and sticky. I did not end up using all of the wet ing. 2. I baked them on a greased baking pan because I don't have parchment paper. Once you put the apples on the pan the batter starts to slide off. This worried me, but as it turns out plenty of batter stays on and that batter that slid off crisped up and became an awesome crunchy, buttery, cinnamon-sugary cookie that really complemented the soft apple. We made 3 apples worth and they are all gone! The baby in my belly is very happy! Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved the Bethany! Hmmm... not sure why everyone is having leftover liquid. So bizarre that it comes out differently for me! I think I will make it an edit in the recipe. Thanks for the detailed message, so happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Gina Caracci says
I tried this recipe and the batter was super soupy. I tried to add more flour but saw it would have taken alot more than I was willing to use for two apples. So it ended up being sliced baked apples with sugar and cinnamon on top. They actually tasted bad so had to toss the whole thing. I thought maybe I wrote the recipe wrong but I had it right. Will reduce amount of liquids next time. Great idea though!! Baked apples anything is awesome! Thanks Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
As soon as I saw your comment I immediately whipped up anther batch of batter, because it's extremely important to me that my recipes work correctly. I didn't find anything wrong with the recipe tho, and my batter was nice and thick just like it should be. I did edit the recipe a tad as I noticed I had written "1/8 cup of oil and 1/8 cup of lemon juice", which I changed both to "2 tablespoons". That's the same measurement, however, it's just a bit easier to read and measure when it's in tablespoons. So perhaps that's where the recipe went off for you? Really not sure what happened but I'm sorry that the recipe didn't work out 🙁
Gina Caracci says
Your so sweet! 🙂
Hmmm.. Im not sure where I went wrong though. maybe I will just cut the liquids in half to start next time. and add if needed?.. I actually had so much batter left, I poured it into a pie pan to see what would happen. (It cooked but had a weird consistency.) I want to say I put more fluids than it said but I kept double checking before I put it in. Ill let you know when I try it again. At least you got to enjoy them again unexpectedly..lol!.. Thanks Sam 🙂
Maria says
Hi Sam,
These were very good! I only had granny smith apples on hand so I used those.
My batter turned out a little more runny than in your picture. Could it be because instead of using 1-1/3 cups of all-purpose flour, I used 1 cup of AP flour and 1/3 of spelt flour?
Also, thanks for the info about white sugar. I didn't know it might not be vegan (I used brown sugar).
Love your blog and recipes 🙂
Maria
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Maria, So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I'm not familiar in baking with spelt, so possibly.
Just a heads up, brown sugar is usually just white sugar with molasses added to it, so you might want to check the brand your using is vegan-friendly. So happy you are loving my blog!
Olwyn says
Would aqua faba work as a replacement for oil which I react to? I am trying to find oil substitutes or leave it out if the recipe will still work ...
Sam Turnbull says
I know some people use applesauce in baking to replace oil, but I have not tried it myself with this recipe so I can not guarantee it will work. Hope that helps!
Victoria says
Do you happen to know if using almond flour and coconut sugar instead of regular flour and sugar would yield the same results?? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it myself, but from my research, you might need to add a little more baking powder to help the almond flour rise more, and the coconut sugar shouldn't be a problem to swap. Hope that helps!
Hedda says
Love your recipes, but a little confused when it comes to white sugar. Is there a vegan option available?
Melissa says
Yes I was thinking the same thing. White sugar isn't vegan. I will just substitute with vegan cane sugar.
Sam Turnbull says
Sometimes bone char is used to whiten the sugar, but that is most common in the US, and not so much in other countries. You can check with the brands to make sure there is no bone char used. Redpath sugar (a common brand in Canada) is totally vegan. If you can't find the info online, organic sugar is always vegan.
Hedda says
Thank you, Sam. I know a lot of people get confused about that. I always swap out with another type of sweetener as in raw sugar, cane, organic brown, or coconut.