The Great Pandemic Experimentation Series: Apple Fritters
2020. The world was still figuring out sourdough starters, everyone had learned to cut their own hair (with varying degrees of success), and I was standing in my kitchen staring at a bag of apples, wondering what questionable culinary adventure to embark on next.
Enter: homemade apple fritters.
Why Apple Fritters?
Look, when you're living through a pandemic and can't just swing by your favorite bakery for a treat, you have two choices: accept a fritter-less existence, or become the fritter provider your neighborhood needs. I chose the latter.
I stumbled across a glazed apple fritter recipe from The Kitchn, and something about it spoke to my pandemic-addled brain. Maybe it was the promise of crispy, golden, apple-studded dough. Maybe it was the glaze. Honestly, it was probably the glaze.
The Tech Stack (Of Ingredients)
For those following along at home, making apple fritters from scratch requires:
Patience (more than I thought I had)
Apples (obviously)
A willingness to deep fry things in your home
The acceptance that your kitchen will smell like a county fair for the next 48 hours
More patience
Did I mention patience?
The recipe itself was straightforward, but like any good coding project, the devil was in the implementation details.
The Process: A Journey in Iterations
Version 1.0 - The Optimistic Beginning
I mixed my dough with the confidence of someone who had watched exactly zero YouTube videos about proper frying technique. The batter came together beautifully. The apples were diced to perfection. I heated my oil and thought, "How hard could this be?"
Spoiler alert: It's not hard, but it does require attention to detail.
Version 1.1 - Learning Curve
The first fritter hit the oil and immediately taught me about temperature management. Too hot, and you get a crispy exterior with raw interior (the baking equivalent of a null pointer exception). Too cool, and you get a greasy mess (memory leak, anyone?).
I adjusted. I monitored. I hovered over that pot like a DevOps engineer watching an ill-advised deployment on Friday.
Version 1.2 - Production Ready
By the third batch, I had found my rhythm. Golden brown exteriors, fluffy interiors studded with tender apple pieces, and that glaze—oh, that glaze. It set up perfectly, creating that signature crackly coating that makes apple fritters so irresistible.
The Deployment Phase
Here's where it gets interesting. In normal times, you make something delicious, you eat it, maybe you bring some to the office. But in August 2020, sharing food with neighbors had taken on new significance. We were all starved for connection, even if it had to happen from six feet away.
I packed up some fritters, walked them over to my neighbors’ porches, sent some texts, and retreated to a safe distance. One by one, they emerged, picked up their packages, and gave the socially-distanced thumbs up.
The reviews came in via text:
"These are AMAZING"
"Can you make these every week?"
"Did you really make these?"
"I ate three. Don't judge me."
Load Testing Results
Let's talk throughput. The recipe made enough fritters to:
Satisfy my household (barely)
Share with three neighboring households
Have exactly zero left over by the next morning
The disappearance rate was impressive.
Lessons Learned (The Retrospective)
What Went Right:
The Kitchn's recipe was solid and reliable — good documentation matters
Fresh apples made all the difference (garbage in, garbage out applies to baking too)
Double-dipping the fritter makes for a thick, delicious crust
Community building through carbs is a viable pandemic strategy
What I'd Do Differently:
Make a double batch (always plan for scale)
Invest in a proper candy thermometer sooner (monitoring tools are worth it)
Accept that my kitchen will smell like donuts for days (some technical debt is worth carrying)
Unexpected Benefits:
Discovered I actually enjoy deep frying
Strengthened neighbor relationships during an isolating time
Proved to myself that bakery-quality treats are achievable at home
Created a craving I now satisfy annually
The Legacy
Those apple fritters became a moment of joy during a difficult time. They were a reminder that even when the world feels uncertain, you can still make something delicious and share it with people who matter to you.
Plus, they were objectively fantastic. My neighbors said so, and neighbors don't lie about fried dough.
Would I Make Them Again?
Absolutely. In fact, every fall when apples are in season, I get the itch to heat up that oil and relive the glory days of August 2020. The smell, the texture, the satisfaction of pulling off something that seemed intimidating but turned out to be totally manageable—it's all worth it.
If you're looking for a baking project that feels special but doesn't require professional training, apple fritters are your answer. Just make extra. Trust me on this.
The Recipe
I highly recommend checking out The Kitchn's Glazed Apple Fritter recipe that I used. It's well-written, tested, and most importantly, it produces fritters that will make your neighbors very happy.
Have you tackled any ambitious baking projects during the pandemic? What food experiments did you try that surprised you with their success? Drop a comment below—I'd love to hear about your culinary adventures!
P.S. - If you're one of my former neighbors reading this and wondering if I'll make these again... the answer is yes, but you have to ask nicely. 😉
