Maple-Glazed Air Fryer Apple Fritter Recipe

While fritters are traditionally made with fried batter, frying can be a messy and even somewhat dangerous process. For this reason, many fried foods have been adapted for the air fryer, and here, recipe developer Deniz Vergara gives apple fritters just that convenient treatment. As she tells us, these fritters aren't exactly like their oilier counterparts, as their texture is "a cross between a pancake and a cake donut," made with a batter that's "not too runny and not too thick." If your air fryer has a basket and you're wondering how you'd keep the batter from dripping through, Vergara says a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom should easily prevent this problem.

"This recipe for air fryer apple fritters takes minutes to make," Vergara tells us. "They taste like cake on the inside, but they're crispy and golden on the outside." As a final touch, she complements the fruity flavor of these easy fritters with a maple-flavored glaze.

The batter for these simple apple fritters is made with flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, milk, sour cream, butter, vanilla extract, and an egg. You'll also need apples, of course, along with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and almond extract for the glaze.

Preheat air fryer to 350 F.

Make the fritter batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sour cream, butter, and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients unto the dry ingredients, mixing with a spoon or spatula just until combined. (Do not overmix).

Fold in the diced apples.

Line the air fryer basket or tray with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.

Using a ¼ cup measure, evenly space out 4 fritters on the parchment paper. Flatten the batter a bit with a spoon and spray the fritters with a little more cooking spray.

Air fry for about 10-12 minutes, until golden.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small pot, whisk butter and maple syrup over low heat until smooth. Sift in the powdered sugar and whisk to dissolve.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the almond extract and milk until smooth.

Drizzle the glaze onto the fritters and allow to set for a few minutes before serving.

Vergara says she uses Honeycrisp apples in her fritters, although she tells us that "any apple that is crisp, tart, and sweet will work." Her recommendations include Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, and Pink Lady, while Crispin, Cortland, Jonathan, McIntosh, and Northern Spy are also among the best types of apples for baking. (An air fryer, after all, is essentially a mini convection oven, so air frying = baking.)

You can also make these fritters with other types of fruits, too. Vergara suggests choosing ingredients with the seasons, such as peaches or berries in the summer or pears in the winter. "The texture will just be a little different," she notes. You needn't even stick to making air fryer fritters out of fruit; if you omit the dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in the batter and replace the apples with fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels, you'll have yourself some good old-fashioned corn fritters. You might want to skip the maple glaze with these, but they'll taste great with a drizzle of plain maple syrup or melted butter.

As with most fried foods, Vergara prefers these fritters when they're fresh from the air fryer, saying, "This is how they taste the best, especially when you drizzle the glaze on them while they are warm." Still, any leftovers can be either refrigerated or frozen, and Vergara says you can heat them back up in the air fryer (once thawed) when you're ready to enjoy them. Store the glaze separately so you can add it to the freshly warmed fritters.

If you find that your leftover fritters aren't quite as flavorful the day after you make them, there are plenty of ways to put them to good use by chopping them into bite-size pieces and re-purposing them for brunch dishes, dessert recipes, and more. Apple fritter bread pudding, anyone? You could also use leftover fritters in place of regular bread for overnight baked French toast with apple, cinnamon, and maple flavor notes.