One of my favorite moments in football is when a player gets a touchdown and does a victory dance.

So much joy.

So much feeling of accomplishment.

You know, that whole “you can’t even come close to fucking with me right now” attitude.

That is exactly how I felt after I made these doughnuts.

Apple Fritter Doughnuts with Maple-Vanilla Glaze

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:

• 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
• 2 tbsp warm water (105º-115ºF)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting & board
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 5 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• vegetable oil or shortening for frying (about 8 cups)

Apples:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 3-4 apples, pitted, peeled & diced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Maple-Vanilla Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• whole milk, as needed

For this recipe, crisp-tart apples work best. Granny-Smith would be a great choice.

It’s inevitable. Some apples will fall out when frying. I removed them with a slotted spoon & drained on a paper towel. Once cooled, I added them to the glaze.

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl stir together yeast, 2 tbsp sugar & warm water until yeast has dissolved. Set aside until the mixture’s surface is foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, milk, butter, yolks, sugar, salt & cinnamon. Add the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
3. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Beat the mixture at low speed until the dough has formed, about 3-4 minutes. They dough will be slightly sticky but should easily pull away from the bowl when scraped away with a rubber spatula. If the dough is still very wet and sticky, add more all-purpose flour 1/4 cup at a time, as needed. *My dough was too sticky after the initial mix. I ended up added 1/4 cup more flour to achieve the right consistency.
4. Increase speed to medium and let the dough mix 4-5 minutes more.
5. Scrape the dough into a large clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can let the dough rise overnight in the fridge. Make sure to remove from fridge 1 hour before rolling out the dough.
6. While the dough is rising, make the apple mixture.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 1/2″ thickness. Aim to get the dough in a 12″ x 12″ circle.
8. Spread the cooled apple mixture onto half of the dough and fold over the apple-less half. Gently seal the edges with your fingers.
9. Using a bench scraper or large chef’s knife, cut the dough into 1/2″ strips horizontally. As you are cutting, apple pieces will begin to come out of the dough–that’s okay!
10. Cut the dough again, this time at a 45º angle across the horizontal pieces. Think of the markings you see on a steak.
11. Flour your hands well and begin to bring the dough pieces together to form a loaf-shaped log that is about 12″ long and 3″-4″ wide.
12. Sprinkle the log lightly with flour and again, slice horizontally, into 8 pieces.
13. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & sprinkle with flour.
14. Using well-floured hands, form each piece of dough into a ball shape, pushing apples into the dough, as needed. It’s important to get the apples as incorporated into the dough ball as possible. Set on tray and gently press on the top to slightly flatten. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise, 30-45 minutes.
15. Make the glaze.
16. While the dough balls are rising, heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer reads 350ºF. Add enough oil so that it comes 2″ to 2 1/2″ up the side of the pot. The oil shouldn’t fill the pot more than half way.
17. Place a cooling rack over a paper-towel lined baking sheet.
18. Gently lower fritters into the hot oil. Do not cook more that 2-3 at a time. It is important to not over-crowd the pot.
19. Cook fritters until golden-brown, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the fritters with a slotted spoon or Spider and set on cooling rack.  Make sure the temperature has returned to 350ºF between each fry.
20. While fritters are still warm, coat in glaze. I hold the fritter in one hand while scooping the glaze on with the other. Shake off excess and let drip back into bowl. Place fritters back on the cooling rack until the glaze has set.

Apples:

1. Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat until it begins to brown. Add remaining ingredients and turn the heat up to medium-high.
2. Cook apples until they have softened slightly and have caramelized, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Set aside to cool.

Maple-Vanilla Glaze:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, vanilla & powdered sugar. The mixture will still be somewhat dry.
2. Add milk, a little at a time,  until it resembles a glaze, about 2-3 tablespoons.