Warm Apple Fritters

In the spirit of the season, my parental units invited me to join them at award winning Lattin’s Country Cider Mill and Farm for their annual Apple Festival.  After wrestling with the mud in the parking lot and taking a look at some odd-looking baby fowl with white feather legwarmers, I met my folks on the farm.  Initially, I was tempted by the idea of buying some cider.  This cider is not just any cider; this family knows the ropes.  They make cider that is delicious chilled or hot, AND they also mix the cider with blackberries, raspberries or strawberries, if you are so inclined.  I was inclined.  I sampled the strawberry apple cider and plucked some out of the fridge to purchase before leaving.  The resulting marriage is a crisp, sweet, true to flavor, seasonal libation I cherish.  Add a nip of your favorite complementary liquor in the safety of your home, and it becomes a libation in the true sense of the word.

Now I’m aware that this is a baking blog and you can take comfort that I do have something to report.  Lattin’s Cider Mill and Farm has an area where it purveys all kinds of apple inspired treats.  There are the aforementioned ciders, apple pies, donuts and even jams.  When you walk into the building, you can smell them: freshly fried apple fritters.  They fry these apple fritters and serve them shortly after allowing them to cool a bit.  I ordered two, gave one to my father and inconspicuously took a photo of the other for the benefit of this blog before indulging.  The fritter was warm and soft.  It tasted less like apple and more like sweet, buttery and slightly caramel glazed dough.  Since it is called an apple fritter, it could have had more apple taste-dad agreed.  However, to be frank, squishy apples in baked goods do not resonate with me so I was happy with the result.  The size was just right and though there were some flavors I was unable to identify (my pop mentioned apple’s constant companion, cinnamon), I would have ordered another if I had actually eaten a sensible breakfast.  Another apple treat I enjoyed was Moriah’s apple cake.  Please see Moriah’s post and recipe for a sinful apple Bundt cake on this blog that rivals Lattin’s goodies. I’ve eaten it for breakfast on more than one occasion, too.

~Lucienne