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Apple fries are one of my favorite sweet treats! Crisp apple wedges are lightly battered and fried in a pan, then sprinkled with a cinnamon-sugar mix. Pair with our creamy, caramel-infused dip.
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I originally created this recipe because my husband and I both developed an allergy to raw apples. Apparently it was a virus that went around a few years back that made it so neither of us could eat a raw apple without our throats starting to swell and get itchy. The only silver lining is that we could still eat apples if they were cooked.
Fall came around and I was depressed that I couldn’t eat caramel apples so I decided I was going to find a way to make it work. And that is how these apple fries were born.
Apple fries with caramel dip are like eating your own little apple pie with every bite. The fried apples are lightly battered and fried in a shallow pan, then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. The dip is creamy and rich with caramel flavor. The two together are a delicious combination and a must-try for apple season.
This light and tasty dessert is a perfect weeknight treat that is so simple to make! It is so simple to make and always a family favorite. Slice your granny smith apples and get ready for a sweet and savory delicious treat!
Ingredients to Make Apple Fries
Homemade apple fries come together quickly in just a few steps. These ingredients are all pantry staples and great to have on hand to make these over and over again. Take your apples and turn them into dessert with
- Granny smith apples – Wash and slice the green apples.
- Buttermilk – This gives the apple flavor, and helps the flour coat and hold firm to the apples.
- Sugar – A two-part ingredient. Use for part of the coating and then used again for sprinkling over top of the slices once they are hot.
- Wondra flour – Helps coat the apples and gives them a thickness before frying them. They will fry up better with this flour.
- Oil – Fill the pan with either vegetable or canola oil to fry the apples.
- Cinnamon – Sprinkle overtop the hot apples with sugar.
How to Make Apple Fries
Take your apples to the next level with sweetness and fried to-perfection apples! This fall dessert recipe is so simple and comes together quickly for all of your favorite fall gatherings. Make these in batches and enjoy a sweet treat your family will love!
- Prepare – In a frying pan, or deep fryer, heat vegetable oil for frying. Mix together the buttermilk and sugar in a medium size bowl. Peel and slice apples and add them to the buttermilk mixture as you go to prevent browning.
- Coat – Spread Wondra flour evenly in a shallow dish. Pull the apples out of the buttermilk mix, one at a time and lightly coat all sides in the flour.
- Fry apples – When the oil is nice and hot, gently place coated apples into the oil so they are not touching, when the bottom side begins to turn golden brown, flip them over and brown the second side.
- Let cool – Quickly remove to a lined baking sheet with paper towels to soak up excess grease and cool. Sprinkle immediately with cinnamon and sugar while they are hot.
Tips and Modifications for the Best Apple Fries
These apples are fried to make a great dessert, side dish, or garnish and are always a huge hit! Change the ingredients to what you have at home and best for your family. These are some suggestions and ways to make your apple fries even better!
- Flour mixture – Substitute cornstarch or all-purpose flour for the Wonda flour. They are both thicker compared to Wonda flour but will help for frying.
- Slicing fruit – Cut them into long slices for fried apple sticks or slice them into small bite-sized squares.
- Apples – A tart, crisp apple, such as a Granny Smith, is the best combination for a sweet and savory dessert. This is perfect blend with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Spices – For a more desired flavor add apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, or ginger and nutmeg separately.
Homemade Caramel Cream Dip for Apples
You can’t make these apple fries without also making the delicious dip that goes with it! It’s a bit different than the usual caramel apple dip recipe. This crowd favorite is a simple combination:
- Cream cheese – an 8 ounce package, softened.
- Cool whip – one 8 ounce tub to whip into the cream cheese mixture. You can also whip heavy cream and half a cup of sugar and mix with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Caramel sauce – I like the flavor of Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel as an option. You can also make this with our homemade caramel butterscotch sauce. It’s so delicious and is a perfect dessert dip. If you’re in a hurry you can just use this caramel sauce without adding the Cool Whip or cream cheese layer. Store it in the refrigerator until time to serve.
- Add ins (optional) – Add toffee bits, crushed candy bar, or Heath bar bits to the dip to add a little crunch.
Use this caramel cream dip for as a dipping sauce for not just apples, but all sorts of things. It’s a delicious after school snack. Just pile a serving dish with all kinds of fruits, crackers and pretzels and a pot of homemade caramel apple dip. Try it with these snacks:
- Sliced pears
- Pretzels
- Bananas
- Graham crackers
- Bread stick dippers
Storing and Reheating
Store the extra apple fries in an airtight container in the fridge for five to seven days. When ready to reheat, place in an air fryer, oven, or microwave. Heat up until they are all warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any kind of apple for this apple fries recipe but the best apples we prefer are tart and honeycrisp, fuji, granny smith or pink lady apples. Braeburn and galas work great for this recipe too. Never make it with a really sweet and soft apple like a red delicious, though. These types of softer apples cannot withstand the frying process. They will get mushy and the flavor is not as good.
Use a cutting board and set the apple upright. Slice it in half and place the half cut-side down. Cut it in half and into thinner slices by cutting at an angle. You can also use an apple slicer that is round and has several sharp dividers to cut and slice the apple into sections.
We love to dip our apple fries into the caramel cream dip, butterscotch caramel, or homemade caramel. You can also scoop vanilla ice cream on top and drizzle with caramel for an extra special treat or make it simple and top with whipped cream.
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More Apple Recipes
If you have an abundance of apples this year or are just looking to try some new recipes, we have several to share with you! From baking to cooking, each recipe is simple and delicious!
Apple Fries
Video
Ingredients
For the Apples:
- 4 to 5 tart apples Granny Smith or Pink Lady
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup Wondra flour
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup cinnamon
For the Dip:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces Cool Whip or 1 cup whipping cream with ½ cup sugar- whipped until stiff
- 1 cup caramel sauce store bought or homemade (see above)
Instructions
- In a fry pan, or deep fryer heat vegetable oil for frying. Mix together the buttermilk and sugar in a medium size bowl. Peel and slice apples and add them to the buttermilk mixture as you go to prevent browning.
- Spread wondra flour evenly in a shallow dish. Pull the apples out of the buttermilk mix, one at a time and lightly coat all sides in the flour.
- When oil is nice and hot, gently place coated apples into the oil so they are not touching, when the bottom side begins to turn golden brown, flip them over and brown the second side.
- Quickly remove to a tray lined with paper towels to soak up excess grease and cool. Sprinkle immediately with cinnamon and sugar while they are hot.
For the dip:
- Mix together the the cream cheese and cool whip until completely blended then stir in the caramel sauce. Place into a bowl for dipping and drizzle a little extra caramel sauce over the top.
Notes
- Flour mixture – Substitute cornstarch or all-purpose flour for the Wonda flour. They are both thicker compared to Wonda flour but will help for frying.
- Slicing fruit – Cut them into long slices for fried apple sticks or slice them into small bite-sized squares.
- Apples – A tart apple is the best combination for a sweet and savory dessert. This is perfect blend with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Spices – For a more desired flavor add apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, or ginger and nutmeg separately.
I have an air fryer couldn’t you lightly use Pablo bread crumbs seasoned with cinnamon and sugar but first spray apples with coconut oil then cook similar to a French fry could be a different taste but similar maybe?
Mmmmm, sounds yummy! My husband and I used to get these same type of Apple’s at The Boston Fish House on the south side of Chicago. The also made fried strawberries coated in sugar. Delish!!
Woah– fried strawberries??? YUM!!!! That sounds amazing!
can they be fired in air fryer
Great question, we haven’t used an air fryer for this recipe but if we do, we will add it to the recipe. If you try it out, let us know how it goes!
I saw that wet batter food cannot be used in air fryer because the air flow will push the batter away from the food. Article did suggest frying in oil on stove top until batter is set then finish in air fryer. I too was hoping these could be done in air fryer.
I have not tried this fried apples yet , but it sounds wonderful. The point of air frying is to limit use of oil. So I was thinking what if I freeze after battering, then put in air fryer and spray with coconut oil. I think I’ll try.Will let you know how it turns out.
These sound delicious and I want to make them for my Bible Study. But the link to make caramel is not working.
I’m so sorry, I just fixed that on the recipe. It links to our Caramel Butterscotch Sauce here: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/3-dessert-dipping-sauces/
These look delicious! My daughter has they same thing. She can’t have them raw but she can have them cooked. There are other fruits and vegetables that are the same as well. We took her to the allergist and she said she is allergic to the pollen that is in it. So, she is on allergy shots and they think she will be able to eat them again. She is 14 now but He has had it since she was about 4 or 5. She had eaten them for a little while and drank apple juice and then she said Mom, it hurts my throat. That is where it all started.
Oh I share your pain with the raw apple allergy. I must try these!
I’m making this for my final project in my Film class how many servings should I make for a class of 25?
The answer depends on how many slices of apple you want to serve per person in the class. I cut 8 slices per medium-sized apple when making this recipe. If you use 5 apples, that will be 40 slices of apple. I think 4 apple slices (or one-half of an apple) is a good serving size per person. If that works for you, then One batch of this recipe (using 5 apples) will serve 10 people. If you triple the recipe, you will have 120 apple slices and can serve 4-5 slices per person. Hope this helps! Good luck with your project!
Oh my goodness these look delious! I’ll definetly be trying a batch, even though we’re off-season. I’m sure my daughter will devour them!
hola soy de Argentina quisiera saber a que le llaman suero?
y si la harina es comun o leudante?
gracias
Hola Marcela, la harina es una harina común, pero cualquier harina debe funcionar en esta receta. La salsa de caramelo es una cobertura de helado caramelo que viene en un frasco. Aquí hay fotografías de ambos. ¡Gracias!
should the apple itself remaining crispy or will/should it soften?
Thanks for asking, Tina. The apples are crispy on the outside and softer on the inside. If you want them to be crispier, cook them a little longer in the oil.
Will the apples turn brown after frying?
No, the apples don’t turn brown because they are cooked after you fry them. Thanks for asking!
So good and so bad at the same time! Oh boy do I love anything caramel related around this holiday season! Definitely going to try these apple fries soon!!
The comments about fresh apple allergy made me wonder about the sprays that are used on apples. My daughter lived in the midst of a huge apple orchard in WA. They moved because the apples were sprayed several times before harvest. One of the workers told her to keep her children inside and wash down the outside play equipment after he sprayed the trees due to spray drift. Some of the sprays were so strong that she found dead birds afterward. She now uses soap and water and really cleans the apples before eating.
The allergy is actually a reaction to whatever is sprayed on the fruit. Wash with baking soda and water.
It’s not the spray for me. It’s the same after I’ve thoroughly wash and remove the peel.
I will be making these! I am also allergic to raw apples and I love caramel apples. These seem to be a very close alternative!! Thank you!!
My question is close to above, we have our 1st quarter teacher appreciation luncheon on Friday and was wondering if I made the night before if they would still be tasty the next day?
They would not be as good. They really taste best freshly made and hot, like regular french fries.
I too am allergic to most raw fruits and veggies. My allergist said when you cook them it releases the allergens that cause the problems. I will be trying this recipe tonight, as I too miss apples oh so much! Thank you
This makes me so excited!! I too have the same kind of Allergy to raw apples ! I love apples and now i can only eat them baked or cooked…Same with peaches and plums… I am very excited to try the apple fries. Thank u for the recipe!
Have you tried using an air fryer?? Curious if it would work instead of frying in oil?
I actually don’t have an air fryer so I’m not sure! Let me know how it goes if you do try it!
How do you store these? Do the apples need to be put in the fridge?
We made them for my son’s school class as part of an apple project, and they are so delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
We have never had any leftover to store, haha. I would probably refrigerate them.
I think that it would work well with plain flour at well, but overall this recipe seems so delicious! What an easy and simple treat for entertainment or children!
You Pretty Ladies are always coming up with something New & Different! I have never seen or heard of this one before-How Unique! I’m definetly going to make this & be the envy of everyone all through Autumn!
Quick ?.. what is the buttermilk that you are using?? 🙂
Usually just whatever brand happens to be at the grocery store. Any brand works great.
1 cup whipping cream plus 1/2 cup sugar is way too much if you’re looking for “cool whip” taste. Maximum 1/3 cup of sugar to 1 cup whipping cream should do.
Your recipe would be more of a super sweet topping for apple pie, pumpkin pie and other such treats that aren’t too sweet already.
Sorry. Not trying to sound like a snotty reviewer. And I’m ready to try your recipe! Sounds amazing!!!