Appelflappen are almost as common as a treat for New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands as oliebollen. Appelflappen are also known as “appelbeignets”, and to make it more confusing puff fastry envelopes stuffed with apple and then baked are also known as appelflappen. Appelflappen are apple fritters: apple slices dipped in batter and subsequently deep-fried. “Oliebollen en appelflappen” is a common term for what we have on New Year’s Eve.
The batter if appelflappen is very similar to that of Dutch pancakes, but it is slightly thicker so that it will stick to the apple slices. With appelflappen it is even more important to eat them freshly fried, as they will get soggy very quickly because of the moist apple inside.
I made the appelflappen for the same New Year’s party as the oliebollen, but as we had enough oliebollen I prepared them for New Year’s breakfast instead.
Ingredients
For 24 appelflappen
6 apples
250 grams (1 1/2 cups) flour
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk
2 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
ground cinnamon
sugar
2 liters (2 quarts) vegetable oil for deep-frying
powdered sugar
Preparation
You can prepare the batter with a whisk just like for pancakes, but in this case I used a stand mixer because that is what I brought to the New Year’s Party. Put the sifted flour in the bowl of the stand mixer together with a pinch of salt and 2 Tbsp of sugar. Turn on the machine and slowly add the milk and eggs.
The batter should not have any lumps and should be thicker than pancake batter but not too thick. Add a bit more milk if needed.
Core the apples.
Peel them as well.
Cut each apple into four slices.
Sprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon and sugar on one side (you could also sprinkle them on both sides if you like).
If you work quickly, you can do this before they turn brown. Otherwise you could always rub the apples with lemon to prevent this.
Heat the frying oil to a temperature of 180ºC/350ºF. Dip the apple slices in the batter. Because I had not brought a lot of tools to the party I decided to use my finger as an apple dipping tool, and it fit perfectly 😉
Make sure the apple slice is covered with batter on all sides and lower it into the oil. Deep fry until golden brown on both sides, turning after a few minutes.
Allow to cool briefly in a colander covered with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar before serving.
Eat the appelflappen as soon as they have cooled off enough to handle, so they are still crispy.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Oh, gosh, these seem absolutely fabulous! A couple of weeks ago I ate fried apple slices here in Italy, but these seem very much better with the cinnamon. Now I hope it will be raining tomorrow…
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Oh yeah – I want these right now!! It’s snowing outside and these would be so good right now. Yummy for the Tummy – for sure !!
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I just love the name “Appleflappen”. A lovely tasty treat.
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That looks so good it’s ridiculous….
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Those look deliciously gorgeous!!! Immediately on my to do list! 🙂
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Yummm… I can taste these appelflappens just by looking at them!
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Hi Haley, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Much appreciated!
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Stefan, What a beautiful treat – one that is all about fruit. I love apples this time of year. “Appelbeignets”… like appleflappen after a vacation to New Orleans, Louisiana! 🙂 These look quite addictive when served warm with powdered sugar. I am really enjoying your “sweet” posts this New Year! Best – Shanna
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Thanks, Shanna. There is one more sweet post coming up…
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On my to-do list!
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🙂
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Hi Stefan, great post. But as far as I know there is a difference between appelflappen and appel beignets. Appelflappen are made with puff pastry and have a triangular shape, appel beignets have a round shape and use batter. http://appelflappenmaken.nl/appelflappen/
Both are equally delicious by the way. Thank you!
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Hi Axel,
As I explained in the introduction, the word appelflappen is used for both the triangular puff pastry type and the round battered type. As the appelflappen my mother made for New Year’s were the round battered ones, that is what I prefer to call them.
Thanks for stopping by!
Stefan
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That is what we always called them growing up so I continue to call them that … My Oma made them when I was young and my mom after that and now I have taken over the tradition … I look forward to making Appleflappen and Oliebollen every year. We rarely eat them right away though as they tend to get made prior to parties but even when not crispy they are delicious.
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Hey Steven. That looks sooo delish!
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Sinds een tijdje volg ik je blog; ontzettend leuk !! Ik ben blij dat ik “je gevonden heb”!
Heb verschillende van jouw Dutch recepten doorgestuurd naar mijn dochter in Australie.
Ook al ben ik dutch, grijs en oud, ik leer toch weer een beetje bij door jouw recepten. Ik hoop dat je nog lang door zult gaan – met plezier – met dit blog. H.gr. Hannie Poll -Gldl.
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Miss these at the Big E
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