The specific shaping of Tara O’Brady’s apple biscuit fritters is paramount.Tara O'Brady
Last month, cookbook author and television host Alton Brown deep fried rings of biscuit dough to make "bonuts." The creation, not dissimilar to a cronut, had more lift and layers than a traditional yeast or cake doughnut, while boasting a similar resolutely golden crust.
Deep frying biscuit dough isn't new – canned biscuit dough has been taking a hot-oil bath around campfires and in home kitchens for years – but Mr. Brown's recipe caught my attention because he used homemade biscuit dough.
I had erroneously assumed that the tubular confines of canned dough contained a magic that made the doughnut transformation possible. Now knowing that not to be the case, I wondered if a biscuit fritter was in the realm of possibility.
I wanted to meld biscuit and doughnut with the fast-food fried apple pies of my childhood. Subtlety wasn't my aim: I envisioned a sticky, caramelly, intensely cinnamon-stained fruit filling in contrast to a crisp-edged dough.
I started with my standard fluffy biscuit recipe, swapping in buttermilk in place of the sour cream or yogurt for a slightly wetter, lighter dough. Macerating the apples before cooking them in browned butter coaxed the rounded sweetness of the fruit into the fore. Everything came together quickly.
Some caveats: Fritters often use a yeast dough because fruit is slippery. A second rise once the fruit is worked into the dough allows the dough to expand and wrap the pieces within its clingy embrace. With a biscuit dough, there is no such expansion prior to cooking.
And, with a fritter of any sort, if the fruit is too wet, the pieces will sweat once they hit the heat: Unless that moisture is properly cooked off, the surrounding dough will be left raw.
To address both these concerns, the specific shaping of these fritters is paramount.
Most of the fruit is folded into the dry biscuit ingredients, so that any excess moisture is wicked away. The rest of the fruit is rolled into the dough roulade-style, to further delineate the layers.
I also keep the raw fritters thin – they will also expand upon cooking – and muss their edges so that the dough isn't too dense. These measures ensure the fritters are cooked properly, right through to their centres. As an added boon, the layers ruffle prettily this way.
To finish, my household's consensus was for a glaze, so I kept it to a simple one of maple syrup whisked with confectioner's sugar and vanilla. It is imperative that this lacquering be applied while the fritters are hot, so the glaze will melt and thin into a smooth, shatteringly-fine finish.
Turns out, biscuit fritters are not only possible, but actually remarkably successful.
Editor's note: A previously published version of this recipe omitted baking soda from the ingredients list. This version has been corrected.
Servings: Makes 12 to 15 smaller fritters
For the apples
Juice from half a lemon
4 crisp apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch (6 mm) dice
6 tablespoons (80 g) packed light brown sugar
A pinch medium-grain kosher salt
1/4 cup (60 g) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the biscuits
4 cups (510 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon medium-grain kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, very cold
2 cups (355 ml) well-shaken buttermilk
Oil, for frying
For the glaze
1/3 cup (80 ml) maple syrup, preferably Grade B
2/3 cup (95 g) confectioner’s sugar
Seeds scraped from a vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
A good pinch medium-grain kosher salt
Method
Toss the lemon juice and apples together in a medium bowl. Fold in the sugar and salt. Cover, and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl until the butter begins to brown and smells nutty. Strain the juices from the apples into the pan and cook, stirring on occasion, so that it reduces to the consistency of maple syrup, five minutes or so, depending on the amount of juice there was to begin with. Tumble in the apples, and cook, stirring. They’ll release more juice, then go tender and take on some colour in eight to 10 minutes. The pan should be relatively dry and the apples should be sticky and almost catching – you should hear faint sizzles. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, then set the fruit aside to cool.
Set out some paper towels on a plate, and a baking rack over a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pour oil to a depth of about 2 inches (5 cm) in a heavy, high-sided pot or Dutch oven with a deep fry thermometer clipped to the side. Preheat the oil to 350 F (175 C) over medium heat.
Make the biscuit dough. In a decent-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the butter over the dry mix. Gently toss the butter strands through the flour with a fork until coated. Chill for 10 minutes.
Fork a generous half of the apple mixture through the flour and butter. Drizzle the buttermilk over all, then use the fork to stir it into a wet dough with loose flour remaining. Tip everything out onto a clean work surface. Quickly knead the dough until smooth and holding together, packing any dry flour into the dough, then folding the dough over itself to incorporate.
With a lightly floured pin, roll the dough to a rectangle about 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Dust lightly with flour. Scatter the remaining apples on top and press to adhere. Then, working from a long end, roll the dough tightly into a log, forcing out any air. Pinch the seam and edges together. Turn the roll so a short side faces you, then flatten the roll and fold top to bottom in thirds, like a letter. Press down firmly, then roll the package out to a scant 1-inch thickness. Cut into squares.
Squash one square to half its height. Fold its corners inward to form a rough round. Rustle the fritter in your palm to disturb the layers. Using a spider or slotted spoon, lower the fritter into the hot oil. Fry the fritters two or three at a time, depending on the size of your pot and taking care to maintain the oil temperature. Flip fritters as needed. When done, the fritters should be verging on chestnut brown and feel light for their size, which should take about two minutes for each side. Drain well on paper towels. Make the glaze by whisking the ingredients together, then dunk the hot fritters into this slurry. Place the enamelled beauties on the rack to set before eating.
Note
Apples may still escape the dough during the frying. Skim them out with the spider, drain them on the paper towels and then add the glaze.
To feed a crowd at once, hold fritters in a warm oven until all are fried. Glaze right before serving. This is also a good trick if some thicker fritters need extra cooking.
Instead of the icing, try a spiced sugar made with 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon and 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger.