Warm Apple Fritters & Autumn Memories

Warm Apple Fritters & Autumn Memories by Shayla Marie

Apples in the autumn always open a host of precious memories for me. Growing up, Mom would take my brother and me to the orchards almost every summer—it was always a highlight, I remember feeling like I had stepped back into quieter, more simple times whenever we were in the orchards.

Every year, I would stay a week with my grandparents a couple of hours away, and going to the orchard was a tradition there too. Their town was right in the middle of orchard country! I remember my grandmas taking me about a quarter mile down the road to go apricot and apple picking—we’d gather whatever was in season, and I loved every moment of it.

Then, one year, grandma was too tired to go anymore, so she told grandpa to take me. He was getting older too, but we got in the car and went to one of the orchards. We arrived late in the season and there were no apples left on the trees. They had all been picked and stored away in the warehouse. So Grandpa and I walked through the warehouse together, choosing apples from the wooden crates instead. I can still picture him there, chatting with the workers, telling me little stories as he always did. It wasn’t quite the same as picking apples fresh, but it was nice to spend time with Grandpa, and somehow, that memory has stayed with me the most because it was the last orchard trip at Grandma and Grandpas.

After that, grandma and grandpa moved to a house with an apricot tree. So grandpa and I would pick from it instead. I still remember asking him life questions and laughing with him, picking those apricots.

Eventually, I ended up getting married and moving 1700 miles away, and had my own sweet children. About 25 years after my last orchard trip, my husband and I had moved back to my hometown, and I couldn’t wait to give my kids the orchard experiences.

Unlike when I was a child though, and it was just my mom or grandparents and me picking fruit, I learned that the orchards could be very expensive places after 5 of my 6 kids picked $60 worth of cherries in about a 5 minute stretch (it used to take my mom and I a couple of hours to pick a box of cherries and it definitely didn’t cost $60)!

A couple years past, and I found an elderly lady who needed someone to pick and take her overflow of apples and she was selling them for only a few bucks a box, so the kids and I went apple picking. It was the first time I took my kids apple picking. The air was cool and sweet, filled with that unmistakable scent of fall—crisp, clean, and refreshing. The light filtered softly through the leaves, golden and gentle, wrapping everything in that warm autumn glow that feels almost sacred. The older kids were the first to start picking, calling out when they found the biggest apples, while our youngest—just a toddler—stood beneath a low branch, determined to pick his very first apples. All the kids marveld in joy because some of the branches were low enough for the baby to reach and they loved watching his joy as he picked his first apples.

There was laughter, love, and buckets filling faster than I expected—six kids can pick a whole lot of apples in a very short time!

Ever since then, there’s something about apples in the autumn that stirs my soul. You see, my baby is not longer a baby. My two eldest children are now young adults. Perhaps this is why the simple moments of that day—picking apples with my children—have stayed with my heart. I know those are the days I’ll always come back to.

Recently, I bought a box of apples at the farmers market and decided to make these Apple Fritters. They’re more than just a delicious fall treat—they’re a piece of family history, passed down from my husband’s side. The first time I had them, I was pregnant with our first child, and one bite had me hooked. I’ve always been an apple fritter girl—they’re my second favorite donut, right behind a good old-fashioned maple bar. But these? These are special.

They’re a little different from the ones you’ll find at the bakery. There’s something rustic and homey about them—crisp on the outside when cooked just right, tender and apple-filled on the inside, with just the right touch of cinnamon. They taste like comfort—like a Saturday morning in October when the air smells faintly of cider and the rhythm of home shifts into cozy preparation for winter.

These fritters are best made with Granny Smith apples. Their tartness perfectly balances the sweetness of the batter, keeping each bite bright and flavorful instead of overly sugary. It’s that contrast—the zing of apple against warm cinnamon—that makes these fritters unforgettable.

Every apple crisp, fritter, or butter I make feels like a bridge between the past and the present—a sweet reminder of where our family’s roots are planted, and how those roots keep bearing fruit.

So this fall, if you’re craving something cozy, make a batch of these old-fashioned fritters. Use those tart Granny Smiths, fry them until golden, and drizzle them with glaze while they’re still warm. Pour a cup of hot cider, sit by the window, and watch the leaves tumble.

Because someday, when your children are grown, something as simple as the scent of apples frying in your kitchen might bring them back to the sweetest moments spent with you.

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