Notes: For our Hanukkah party, I was very excited to deep-fry things and decided on these Gala apple fritters. The batter requires folding in whipped egg whites after a resting period, so it takes about 40 minutes in total to make. We used one of those old-fashioned apple peeler/corer/slicer gadgets to prepare the smallish Gala apples. Instead of a deep fryer (which we do not own), I used a large, enameled cast-iron Dutch oven and a candy thermometer. As the oil heated and I watched the dial slowly rise above 250°F after about 10 minutes, I decided to double-check its accuracy with my handheld thermometer. I was astonished to see that the hottest part of the oil was well over 400°F! The cheapo, candy thermometer was completely inaccurate or miscalibrated, so don't rely completely on it and use your intuition.
As I fried battered ring after ring, I made one minor adjustment. A single ¼" apple ring turned out to be inferior to doubling up the apple rings and dipping them in batter. This method offered more apple per bite and our guests heartily agreed. The oil kept at a relatively constant 375°F the whole time, so I was able to fry batch after batch pretty quickly. These fritters were absolutely delicious: the apples were warm and barely cooked, while the surrounding fried batter was puffy and delicious coated with the granulated-powdered sugar mix.
For the curious, our afternoon Hanukkah menu also included the Cook's Illustrated version of potato latkes, vanilla-bean churros (also from this book) and olive oil gelato.
P.S. For readers in the City of Toronto, it turns out that you should dispose of frying oil in your Green Bin. I learned this by calling 311. Freezing the oil does not really do anything, so just carefully pour it into a bag and tie it securely.
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