Today I’m sharing a new fall recipe we fell in love with the past couple weeks. Now I can’t lie to you these don’t come out looking all beautiful. They are ugly but scrumptious! My Apple Critters Recipe is a very quick dessert to whip up. It is not overly sweet, but oh my goodness it sure is addictive!
Apples Everywhere!
After a recent apple picking trip, we found ourselves overloaded with apples. I wanted to use them up before they went bad, so I had to figure out what to do with them.. I also wanted recipes that used a lot of apples (not just a few) and I knew I needed to store some of these apples as well!
FYI – check out this list of the best family-friendly orchards for apple picking in Massachusetts if you want an amazing experience! This is a fall bucket list item for sure.
What do I do with all these apples?
Freezing Apples For Apple Recipes
My first choice of storing these apples was an easy way to make them convenient for baking apple pies. Freezing my apples seemed like the best and longest solution.
First, wash your apples. Cut each apple in half, then cut each half into 4 or more slices depending on the size of the apple. Remove the core from apple and place slices on a baking sheet.
As you probably noticed I did not peel my apples. I rarely ever peel any of fruit or vegetables.
Most of the best nutrients and vitamins are in the peel of the fruit.
I found it fastest to cut one large bowl all at once to fill my cutting board, then to use my paring knife to core them all after they were sliced. Once your baking sheet is covered in a thin layer, freeze the apple slices for 4-6 hours.
Once they are frozen completely, store the apple slices in large freezer bags. Freezing on trays will help them not stick together.
I did the above for my first 5 batches of apples, and then my neighbor told me she skips the trays in the freezer and goes straight to the bag. Sure, they stick together but you’re not handling the apples twice and this cuts down on time too.
You can freeze these in smaller bags so they are portioned for your pie making, or you can allow to defrost slightly and knock off what you need and return the rest to freezer. This is how I did my next 5 batches.
Storing apples
You can store apples in the crisper of your fridge as well. Make sure to inspect them for any brown spots because ‘one bad apple’… well you know how it goes lol. My crispers are plump full.
You can also store your apples by wrapping them in newspaper and storing them in apple boxes up to two layers deep. Keep the boxes in a cool dry area. This must be done before the apple gets too ripe. Also, make sure apples are bruise-free. We did not do this, this year as we had gotten hail again and had a bit of pitting on our apples.
Apple Critter Recipe
The best way to use up apples is to make something delicious with them! This Apple Critters Recipe is ugly but oh so scrumptious! The best thing about this recipe is that it uses a good amount of apples too. This recipe is a quick mix with a bit of wait time, and then a very quick deep fry at the end.
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cup of flour
- 2 1/2 Tbsp white sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/2 tbsp oil
- 14 apples (medium-sized)
- Enough oil to deep fry in
Supplies
- large bowl
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups (wet & dry)
- knife
- cutting board
- medium-sized bowl
- mixing spoon
- deep fryer or deep frying pan
- tongs
Recipe Instructions
Chop the Apples
For this recipe, I do peel the apples. I have yet to try them with the peeling on but I will update next time I make them and let you know!
Then I go ahead and cut them up removing the core and stem. I chop them into small bite-size pieces. Set them aside. This step takes the longest, so I do it first.
Mix your Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If you wish to add some cinnamon you can add a bit now.
Wet Ingredients Mixture
Beat your eggs until the yolk is mixed. Add in your milk and oil and whisk until well mixed.
Combine your dry and wet ingredients
Slowly add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients ensuring to mix until smooth and free of lumps.
Add Apples to blended recipe mixture
Once all your wet ingredients are gently blended in add your bite-size apples and stir until covered. Let your mixture sit for approximately 20-30 minutes.
Heat your oil for deep frying the Apple Critters
I used a large deep frying pan since my deep fryer has decided to call it quits on me.
I filled the frying pan just above the halfway point so that the apple critters could float without touching the bottom.
Once the 30-minute standing time has passed and the oil is hot it is time to start frying them. Using a large spoon scoop some mixture into the hot oil. Keep adding the mixture scoop by scoop being careful to leave a bit of space in between each.
I recommend if you are using a deep frying pan to do this, ensure no small children are in the vicinity and to wear long sleeves.
Once they are golden brown use tongs to flip them. They take about 2 minutes to get nice and golden on one side depending on how hot your oil is. Once they are golden on both sides I like to poke them with a toothpick and if it comes out clean I know they are done. If not give them another flip and check again in one minute.
Remove Your Apple Critters
Have a plate with a piece or two of paper towel on it ready for when your Apple Critters Recipe is done its frying. Place them on the paper towel to help catch any of the oil then once cooled you can move them to another container lined with some paper towel for storing.
Repeat Frying Step for Remaining Mixture
Continue to fry the remaining mixture until it is all used up. I believe it was two batches for this size in my large frying pan. It will take a few more batches in most deep fryers.
Storing Your Apple Critters
You may have some leftovers – and guess what – they are perfect for freezing! Simply put into freezer bags and freeze once they have completely cooled. I only had some leftovers to freeze because we made a second batch after this one.
Enjoying Our Apple Critter Recipe
These smell absolutely amazing so the anticipation to try one will hit before they have cooled. They taste incredible when warm and just as delicious once cooled. I actually find the apple becomes more flavorful once they have cooled. You can always warm them for a few seconds in the microwave if you would like a hot treat. These are a great snack for after school or a nice dessert after a hearty meal like our Roast Beef Perfection!
Yes, we know they aren’t pretty! But once you try them you will get past the ugly and love the scrumptious flavour!
Do you know what kind of apple I am?
We would love to hear what kind of apple you think this might be! This year the largest was about a medium-sized apple you would find in store they have a sweet white center and red skin. the apple tree is grafted with a crab apple tree which I believe makes this tree ever so hearty and yet hard to decipher its exact type.
A Bunch of Apple Recipes!
While I love my apple critters recipe, I wanted to collect a few other apple recipes as well. These are some of my favorites:
Sangria Recipe with Apples from Traveling Party of 4
Jenny from Traveling Party of 4 has an amazingly tasty Sangria Recipe made with apples! You can check out her guest post for the White Sangria live on our blog!
Quite honestly if you have a million apples to cut up and deal with you should mix yourself a pitcher of this before you get started haha. This is a delicious quick and easy drink that is also perfect for fall tailgate parties and gatherings in the backyards! I hope you enjoy Jenny’s Sangria!
Jennie from Failure To Thrive No More
Jennie has an Autumn Gingerbread Fruit Pizza and you guessed it, it’s topped with APPLES!! The cream cheese frosting has me drooling. This is such a unique recipe that is sure to satisfy your fall cravings! Be sure to add it to your fall baking list!
What is your favorite Apple Recipe?
We love a good apple pie recipe and I have one that is knock-your-socks-off amazing! I will be sure to share it with you as soon as I get the chance to whip up some pies this fall. What is your go-to apple recipe?
Looking for another not too sweet dessert?
Although these cookies are most sought out a Christmas time they are perfect all year round! Grab some seasonal cookie cutters and get baking these buttery melt in your mouth Sugar Cookies!
Thank you for coming & checking out our Apple Recipe!
I hope you enjoy our Apple Critters Recipe as much as we do! The kids can not seem to get enough of them and I would be lying if I said I could only eat just one or two haha. Thank you for coming for another Easy Recipe. Now that you have a new recipe to use up all those apples let us know what you think.
