Do You Need a Fried Apples Recipe?

As a child, one of my most favorite memories were of meals made by my Mama of southern fried apples. There truly wasn’t a written “fried apples recipe”. My careful watch each time she added all of the ingredients became etched in my mind.

Did you grow up enjoying fried apples?

It may just be a southern thing, but September apples from a local orchard or farmer’s market just whispers the need for them.

When a boxes of yellow delicious and a red variety of apples appeared in my kitchen this week, there were true intentions to make applesauce.

Perhaps you need this recipe for all of the apples arriving in your area.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, all I could think about was making fried apples. Which would be best…canning them or adding them to the freezer?

Freezer container ones are perfect for thawing, warming and serving with a great grilled pork chop or ham on fall evenings. Canned ones just need to rewarm and they are ready.

Now, since my Mama never used a recipe for fried apples…neither had I. If your home is like ours, there was never any leftovers with fried apples on our table.

Never a thought of what to do with an overflow to add to the freezer…and my Mama wasn’t a canner.

So many of my family members have asked for the recipe for this family favorite that I knew I needed to “write it down”.

It was really time for the fried apple recipe to be written and shared.

With apples that needed to be saved, an attempt to write down ingredients to create a recipe began with measuring spoons and cups and scales in tow.

A careful process began of curating and measuring and cooking began.

First, I weighed and washed 3 lbs of apples. Coring, peeling and slicing apples was the next step.

Then measuring what my usual amount of butter was added to melt in a nonstick skillet.

Once the butter was melted, in went the apples.

Out came the measuring spoon to measure the “guesstimated” cinnamon sprinkled over the apples. A measurement of what I thought I usually used of brown sugar proved to be perfect. Cooking and stirring the apples low and slow until they are cooked to perfection led to the right recipe.

Repeated 8 times today, each batch was wonderful. The yellow held their shape more than the red apples, but both were delicious.

Which apples do you use?

There are 2500 types of apples across the country and truly all of us would argue over which one is our favorite.

This apple chart and this apple chart are two of many that give you types and uses if you’d love to check them out by clicking on them.

Truthfully, I use what’s in season and often have a mixture in my pan.

The type of apples that you use will also contribute to how much juice is in the pan and affect how long you cook them. The more juice…the longer it may take to cook.

The golden delicious apples appeared small and green (making me doubt if they weren’t actually granny smith’s), but worked perfectly for holding their shape and having a great taste for these fried apples.

Some apples will turn to more of a “mush” consistency. We don’t mind when that happens either. The red apples –not sure the type, perhaps a winesap or a Gala?– were one of those glorious apples that just caramelized as they cooked into a great consistency.

Be careful to watch them closely as they cook. Stir often to ensure that all of the apples are cooked evenly and coated with that great syrup.

Do you need to peel the apples?

That’s always my preference. Some restaurants and people save time and not peel apples.

For me, leaving the peeling on isn’t an option. Are you a fan of peelings in cooked apples?

Do you add lemon juice or citric acid to prevent apples from darkening?

Nothing is added to the apples to prevent darkening in this recipe.

Adding cinnamon and brown sugar, will create a beautiful golden color with no need for lemon juice or citric acid added.

What type of sugar do you use in this fried apple recipe?

My Mama just always used brown sugar. Feel free to add granulated sugar if you prefer it.

How do you store this recipe after cooking?

Always refrigerate any leftovers…if there are any!

Cooking them and adding them to freezer containers will be one way to put them away this year.

If you are like me? Put cooked apples in the freezer and warm for future meals.

If you are a canner, you could make them and add them to pint jars and water bath can them for 20 minutes to add to your pantry. This recipe produced 4 pint jars of apples if you can them. The juice and syrup worked perfectly with no additional syrup needed.

How do you use these cooked apples?

If you are a southern girl or from Kentucky…you probably get that this is a staple to have on the table.

• A simple side for your meal.
• A wonderful warm topping for ice cream.
• Wonderful addition to a warmed biscuit for breakfast.
• Perfect dessert -warmed with ice cream or whipped cream.
• Delicious pancake topping.
• Great apple pie filling.
• Baked turnover by adding to crescent dough, sealed and baked.
• Favorite apple crisp by adding granola or your favorite topping to the apples and bake.

All of us have memories that remind us to capture and write them down.

Let’s share them for the next generation.

Are family recipes important to you?

It is to me.

Capturing my Mama’s recipe to recreate and serve to those who have their feet under my table is important. The smell of cooking those apples just takes me back to moments gathered around my family table growing up. I’d love to know if there are family recipes that bring back those kind of memories for you.

If you need more family recipes, here are a few that you may love:

• potato casserole
• broccoli casserole
• marinated salad

Happy Fall, friends!