Here's a tasty treat out of your air-fryer. The apples get warm and just a little tender and soft on the inside, but can hold their own when you dip them. You can also try dipping into just caramel sauce if you want to keep it dairy free.
Jump to Recipe (or scroll for photos...)How would you describe apple fries? I would say they are a cross between an apple pie and an apple fritter – soft and delicious on the inside with a crispy sweet coating on the outside. This recipe, however, will have you dreaming of apple cheesecake. You’ll know why when you taste it.
You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make apple fries, but you do want to pick the right apple for the job. I like a sweet apple that will hold its shape and maintain some texture to it even when cooked, so I recommend Honeycrisp or Fuji apples for this task. You’ll also need Graham cracker crumbs, which you can make yourself by grinding up Graham crackers in your food processor or blender, OR you can just buy them already ground up (much easier!). Finally, for the dip, you just need your favorite caramel sauce and some cream cheese.
The key to great apple fries is coating them properly. To do that, you’ll follow the rules of dredging and breading which I explain in this cooking school article on the subject. The coating for the apple fries is made up of Graham cracker crumbs and sugar. That coating is glued to the apples with beaten egg, but the egg needs something to hold on to, so the apples are tossed in flour to start. Make sure you completely coat the apple wedge with flour so that the egg sticks to it, and that the flour also gets completely coated in egg. If there are any dry patches of flour, the crumb coating won’t stick. Take the time to do this step right and you’re ensured a perfect apple fry.
The air fryer is the perfect tool for this job because the fan really does help to get the apples completely brown and crispy on all sides in a short amount of time. You could try this recipe in the oven by baking the apples on a rack over a baking sheet at 400ºF for about 12 to 15 minutes, but the challenge is the apples could cook through too far before the exterior crisps up. In the air fryer, they are perfect. In the photo above, I’m using an air fryer oven which allows me to do more at one time, but whichever you use, don’t try to cheat by overcrowding the pan – it will only slow you down in the end.
One of the most delicious parts of this recipe is the caramel cream dip that comes at the end. It’s super simple to put together – just beat room temperature cream cheese and caramel sauce together – but it satisfies and is a perfect dip for these fries. All together, the soft and tender sweet apples, the crisp and delicious Graham cracker coating and the smooth and creamy caramel dip are so reminiscent of something… that’s right, it’s the perfect apple cheesecake that you can eat with your hands.
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Air-fry the apples in batches. Place one layer of apple slices in the air fryer basket and spray lightly with oil. Air-fry for 5 minutes. Turn the apples over and air fry for an additional 2 minutes.
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Can this be made WITHOUT egg? My great granddaughter would love these, but she is allergic to eggs!
Hi Joan. You can try omitting the eggs AND the flour. Brush a little honey on the apple slices and the honey will act as the glue for the crumb coating.
ML
Your recipes all look so delicious but I don’t have an air fryer. I am assuming they can be baked in the oven but at what temperature. Thanks in advance for your response.
I would try baking the Apple Fries in an oven at 375°F for about 20-25 minutes.
Are you using store bought Carmel sauce? Any chance you have a recipe for home made to reduce additives and ingredients that aren’t good for my lengthy allergy list..? Lol
This recipe does call for store-bought caramel sauce. I don’t have a caramel sauce recipe on my website right now, but the sauce in my Sticking Toffee Pudding recipe is a close second…and so delicious! https://bluejeanchef.com/recipes/sticky-toffee-pudding/
Making them as I type this. Can they be reheated? Not that I think they will last very long.😀
They don’t hold very well, I’m afraid because the apple inside makes the outside soggy over time. Best to eat them all up!