Tart Apples Are Your Ticket To Decadent Dessert Fries
Apples come in countless colors and flavors, each perfect for different culinary applications. It can be overwhelming to sort through the many types of apples and how to use them, but a straightforward rule of thumb can help make sense of all the apple uncertainty: For sweeter dishes, use tarter apples. They are a better choice because their sourness balances out the extra sweetness from sugar or syrup. Caramel apple recipes, for instance, often follow this rule of thumb. Another perfect recipe for testing out this rule is apple fries.
Apple fries are made by cutting apples into strips, frying them, and then coating them in a sweet, warming cinnamon sugar mix. Because their coating is so sweet, tart apples make an ideal apple fry base, as their sour properties complement the sweetness perfectly and add a layer of depth to the flavor in each bite. A crunchy, crispy treat, apple fries are definitely worth a try.
Assembling the perfect apple fries
Apple fries were popularized by the Legoland theme parks. Guests can work up quite an appetite between riding roller coasters and catching glimpses of all the park's intricate Lego sculptures and structures. The parks offer many delicious dining options, but Granny's Apple Fries may be one of the most exciting and uniquely tasty choices. They're made with Granny Smith apples, a particularly sour and crisp variety.
If you want to try these renowned apple fries but do not plan on going to Legoland anytime soon, they certainly seem simple enough to make. On TikTok, one Granny's Apple Fries fanatic captured the fry-making process at their local Legoland, demonstrating the dish's simplicity — showing how they're peeled by hand and noting that the apples purportedly come from a nearby orchard.
@hereinnyc Have you had Granny's Apple Fries? #newyork #nycgetaway #legolandny #nyeats
Though the video confirms that the Legoland recipe calls for Granny Smiths, any tart apple will do. McIntosh, Pink Lady, and Northern Spy apples, for instance, are not as sour as Granny Smiths but will still make for some tasty fries. Additionally, while the industrial apple slicer shown in the video is an efficient way to produce the fries, a good old-fashioned knife will get the job done, too. Serving your fries with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce, as at the parks, will only make them more irresistible.
Achieving apple fries at home
If you are interested in making apple fries but are missing some of the essentials to mimic the official theme park version, there are many ways to adapt the recipe for your home kitchen. Legoland's chefs recommend simply coating apple slices in cornstarch and frying them in canola oil before tossing them in cinnamon sugar.
If you only have sweeter varieties on hand, like Red Delicious, Fuji, or Gala Apples, and you still want to give this snack a go, don't worry. You can mitigate a potentially saccharine situation by adding something sour — a splash of lemon juice will get the job done. You'll also want to use larger apples so that you end up with heftier fries.
If you don't have a deep-fryer, there are plenty of air fryer iterations that will also give you that crave-worthy, crispy crunch. One content creator on TikTok chose to season the fries' flour coating with generous sprinklings of nutmeg and brown sugar, two ingredients that naturally complement the fruit.
@sweetteaandsprinkles Air Fryer Apple Fries 🍎 Full Recipe at www.myairfryerkitchen.com #airfryer #airfryerrecipes #airfryertiktok #airfryeradventures #applerecipe #apples #foodphotographer #foodtiktok
Instead of the batter used for the deep-fried original, the TikToker opts for a double coating of eggs and flour to achieve the fries' crispy coating and swaps out the whipped cream and caramel for icing. Any air fryer version will be slightly different, but the results should still be satisfying. While you can take many paths in your apple fry endeavor, but as long as your apples are tart, you can't go wrong.