Clean Fried Apple Cinnamon Rings

 

 

 

This is Apple Cinnamon Heaven.  I saw this on a followers page and I instantly wanted it. Then I read the ingredients and well…They just don’t fall into MY healthy category even though they are better than regular battered onion rings.  So I worked my magic on the recipe and VOILA!   healthier battered version of the fried apple cinnamon rings.   

 

So the swaps that I made were pretty simple.  Instead of buttermilk I used Yogurt.  In order to properly use yogurt as an alternative to buttermilk, you need to add a little extra liquid. Pour the appropriate amount of yogurt as called for by the recipe into a clean bowl, and carefully stir in one tablespoon of milk. If the yogurt still seems too thick, add a bit more milk until the desired consistency is reached.

 

I also swapped out the White flour for oat flour.  Sometimes Oat Flour can be hard to find but you can make your own oat flour by putting dried oats into your blender and using the pulse setting to chop the oats into a fine powder.  1 1/4 cups of rolled oats makes one cup of oat flour. Oat flour is gluten-free so it is a better option for us.  Oats also contain protein which is never a bad thing to add to a recipe.  It also has a lot of vitamins and minerals that have not been stripped away and don’t have all the added junk in it that white flour does.  

 

The Third Swap is UNREFINED Raw Coconut Sugar for refined white sugar.  Refined white sugar and sweeteners are just a BIG no no in our home for so many reasons that I could write a whole separate blog post about it.  It is just a choice that we have made as a family for our selves and for our children.  We feed our selves to prevent cancer and many other degenerative diseases and that means cutting out white refined sugar among other things.  Coconut Sugar is a natural alternative that is lower on the glycemic index as well, However…Sugar is Sugar and even though it is “better”  for you…It is still higher in calories and you still need to watch how much you eat.

 

And the Fourth Swap is the unrefined, organic, virgin coconut oil.  It can withstand high temperatures, making it great alternative to vegetable or olive oil when cooking and frying.  It is a healthy fat and has a multitude of health benefits.   Again…Fat is Fat and you should watch how much you are taking in daily.  It is just that this is a better option.

 

This recipe is one of my new favorite fall traditions for sure.  It is a dessert that we will add to the recipe box for safe keeping.  My husband said, “We need to make those again…Soon”.  My kids devoured them and I didn’t feel bad giving it to them at all. Each kids got 2 small apple rings.

 

 

 

What You Need:

 

2-4 Large Apples (I used honey crisp and small granny smith)
1 cup Oat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoons Unrefined Raw Coconut Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 large Egg
3/4 cup Organic Plain Greek Yogurt (I used Fage)
2-3 tablespoons Organic Milk (I used the brand Grassmilk, whole milk)
Unrefined, Organic, Virgin Coconut Oil for frying (amount depends on the size of your frying pan. You will need at least a cup)

 

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

⅓ cup Coconut Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon

 

 

What to Do:

 

Take out 3 small/medium mixing bowls.

In one bowl #1, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl #2 (small), combine the egg, Yogurt, a pinch of coconut sugar and a pinch of cinnamon (just enough to give it a hint of cinnamon sugar so a tiny amount).

In bowl #3, make your cinnamon-sugar topping by combining the ⅓ cup coconut sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Set that aside too.
Core and then slice the apples into 1/4 inch thick slices. You can also use circle biscuit cutters in graduated sizes to make rings out of each slice. 4 apples can be a lot. We only used 2 and it was the perfect amount for the four of us and we had left overs for later.

 

 

 

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat to 350°F. (Oil heats fast so watch the pan)

Combine Ingredients from bowl #1 and Bowl #2. This will be your batter. Mix well.
Check the oil to see if it is ready by dropping a dime size amount of the batter into the oil. If it does nothing then the oil is to cold. If it pops/bubbles and turns brown quickly then it is too hot. If is sinks to the bottom and starts to lightly bubble/sizzle and slowly turns golden brown then it is Perfect and ready to fry.
Set up a plate (or wire rack) next to the frying pan with a paper towel. Then set up a wire drying rack next to that with the cinnamon and sugar topping in bowl #3.
Dip the apple rings in the batter one at a time. Make sure there isn’t any batter dripping off the apple. Just lightly tap the apple against the side of the bowl to make it even.

Drop the battered apples (one at a time) slowly into the frying pan. If your frying pan is large then you can fry the apple rings in small batches. Turn them over to ensure browning on both sides.

 

 
Once the rings are golden brown and appear to have a pastry like crust, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towel for a few seconds. Dab them to soak up the excess oil.

Quickly drop the apple rings, one at a time, into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat evenly.
Place the coated apples to the wire drying rack to cool a bit and serve warm. A little added goodness…Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (your choice. we use so delicious coconut ice cream or make our own at home)

 

 

ENJOY!!