Brooklyn Salt : Fried Apple Rings

I can’t remember who told me about fried apple rings, but I made sure to file them away in the recipe queue in my brain. I figured that autumn would be a perfect time to bust them out and I happened to have a huge Northern Spy apple on my kitchen counter this weekend. Fried apple rings are like instant apple pie. Imagine hot apple pie filling inside of a warm donut, covered in melting powdered sugar. Have you passed out yet?

They’re so good. However, this is a dessert to make for a bunch of friends, otherwise you’ll be stuck eating a stack of fried apples by yourself; fun at first but could lead to a serious fried food coma. I restricted myself to one ring and was proud of my restraint. Then I snuck a half a ring more. Make these fried apple rings for your Halloween party or after a long day of apple picking. If you drizzle them with warm salted caramel, you get extra points. Happy Halloween!

RECIPE (adapted from http://www.whats4eats.com/desserts/jewish-apple-fritters-recipe)

2 to 4 servings

2 small or 1 jumbo baking apple(s), cored and sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of table salt
1 large egg, separate the yolk from the white
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
Vegetable oil for deep frying (just enough for the apple rings to float in)
Powdered sugar (called confectioner’s sugar)

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a shallow bowl.

2. Beat the egg yolks with the water.

3. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks; this may take several minutes and a good amount of arm power.

4. Preheat the oil over medium heat in a sauce pan large enough to hold 3 to 4 apple rings, or a small sauce pot, in which you can probably fry up one ring at a time.

5. Mix the yolks/water mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter which will be as thick as pancake batter, maybe a bit thicker.

6. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a spatula until well incorporated.

7. Dip the apple rings one at a time into the batter to coat completely and let any excess batter drip off. Deep fry one or a couple rings at a time in the hot oil, turning as needed, until lightly browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. With tongs, transfer the fried rings to a paper towel-lined plate. You can put the fried rings in a warm oven as you repeat with the remaining apple rings; this way, you can serve them all nice and warm.

8. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.