COOK + A Winter's End Fritter

In a cozy corner of Philadelphia, COOK, a 16-seat kitchen classroom, bustles with nightly activity from our fair city's best-loved chefs, producers, and purveyors. Naturally, we were honored when Chef Rudolf of our own Styer's Garden Café was asked to lead an evening class using his favorite late winter ingredients. The lucky guests were treated to an enviable menu of Chef Rudolf's favorites, but when he showed us his plan for the meal we never made it past the starter: homemade apple fritters. We can think of no better use for the last of the apples knocking around in the cellar, so without further ado…

Winter's End Apple Fritters

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Honeycrisp apples
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar to dust

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Next, combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Peel, core, and dice apples to 1/4". Add diced apples to batter and stir to just incorporate. If the batter appears overly wet or runny, add a bit more flour.

In a deep saucepot, add 3 inches of vegetable oil and bring to 350°. Be careful to keep the oil's temperature steady, and be sure there is ample height above the oil in the pot.

Using a standard ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon, carefully scoop batter into oil. Allow each fritter to fry for approximately six minutes, turning each one halfway through. Remove from oil and lay out on paper towels to absorb any excess.

Dust with powdered sugar to finish and enjoy!