Summers are notorious for country fairs and nothing is more country fair than my Apple Butter Filled Fried Choux with maple cream. Frying with LouAna Peanut Oil makes these beauties easy to make at home.
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Everybody loves going to country fairs and they seem to be abundant with summer in full swing. These fairs are notorious for their crazy fried fare and there always seems to be a new addition to the repertoire of fried goodies. In Arizona, our state fair isn’t until late October, but honestly, you could never expect people to pay $20 to be outside in the middle of July for some fried food. Kinda smart on their end, whoever “they” are.
When I moved up to Utah for college, I was introduced to this amazing thing called Apple Butter. It has nothing to do with butter but everything to do with apples! Seriously, this apple butter makes these fried goodies! So yummy! And it couldn’t be simpler than throwing some apples and seasonings in a crock pot and calling it a day. Then you blend it up and wham bam! Apple butter. It’s fantastic on toast but I highly recommend stuffing doughnuts or pastries with them.
By now you might be wondering what is “fried choux?” Well choux pastry, or pate au choux (see why it’s called choux pastry), is the same pastry dough used to make eclairs, profiteroles (those are the ones that make cream puffs). It’s a light and airy pastry that hollows out when cooked. It’s absolutely delicious! In France, they would make their beignets out of choux pastry, which is much different than the Creole, New Orleans style beignets in which the dough rises from having yeast in the dough. This fried choux gets its puff from the steam created from the cooking of the eggs. When completely done, it’s practically hollow, leaving a fantastic shell that can be filled with any kind of filling, sweet or savory.
Frying is very much a scientific process and there are somethings you need to keep in mind when making delicious fried treats at home. The first thing you have keep in mind is the kind of oil you’re using. The best oil to use for frying is peanut oil; it has a fantastically high smoke point which means that it can withstand super hot temperatures without the oil breaking down, molecularly, causing it to burn. You’ll often see stir-fry recipes call for the use of peanut oil, this is why. And don’t worry about a peanutty aftertaste, this oil does a really good job of not altering the taste of the food!
I loved using LouAna for this recipe because they make great quality oils, and their peanut oil is no exception. I was able to fry this choux without worrying about my oil burning, I achieved a gorgeous color on them and there was no weird aftertaste that you sometimes get with other oils. This brand comes highly recommended. And they’re so easy to find! I was able to find this gallon of oil at Walmart, so it’s not some inconspicuous OR expensive brand. I love how accessible they are. LouAna Peanut Oil is my go-to frying oil!
Another thing you need to keep in mind when frying, or rather, post-frying, you need to have your cinnamon sugar mix ready to go so that when these beauties are done frying, you can pop them right into the sugar and season them right away.
The piece that really ties all of this together is the maple cream! I really wanted more of a saucy-glaze rather than a cream cheese “frosting,” as you will. The key to this sauce is thoroughly creaming the cream cheese so that when you add the maple syrup and some milk to the cream cheese, it doesn’t get all lumpy and weird on you. Nothing worse than having a bumpy sauce!
I really hope that you enjoy this recipe, have fun frying up all kinds of delicious creations this summer. Check out LouAna’s oils and definitely give this peanut oil a try. I really think it will help you achieve the results that desired when making delicious fried food!
If there are any country fair fare you would like to see featured on the blog, leave a comment or email me and I totally make it!
Happy eating!
For more awesome apple recipes, check out these posts:
Apple Streusel Muffins
Easy Apple Crumb Pie
Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
How To Make Apple Pie Filling
Summers are notorious for country fairs and nothing is more country fair than my Apple Butter Filled Fried Choux with maple cream. Frying with LouAna Peanut Oil makes these beauties easy to make at home.
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 each Pink Lady apples , peeled, cored and small chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ½ pinch of salt
- 8 ounces water
- 3 ounces butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounce cake flour
- 2 ¾ ounces bread flour
- 8 ounces eggs , about 4 each
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
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In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Scrape the edges of the bowl and add the maple syrup and the milk. Mix well until a smooth sauce is achieved.
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Cut apples and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.
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In a small bowl, mix together sugar and spices until well combined.
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Mix apples, spice and sugar mixture, and vanilla until well combined.
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Place in crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. Stir occasionally.
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Blend cooked apples until smooth. Store in a plastic baggie for piping.
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In a medium sauce pot, bring water, butter and salt to a boil.
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Remove from heat and stir in flours until well combined and pulls together in a ball.
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Place dough in a mixing bowl, fitted with the paddle attachment, and begin mixing on low. Introduce one egg at a time to the dough until fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Once all eggs have been added the dough should be shiny and smooth with a pale yellow color.
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Bring peanut oil to temperature over medium high heat in a deep sided pot. When oil becomes loose and there are ribbons on the bottom, the oil is ready.
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Using a cookie scoop, scoop pastry into hot oil and let fry for about 9 minutes.
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Remove from oil and place in cinnamon sugar and make sure the fried choux is fully coated.
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Using a skewer or a chop stick, puncture a hole in the choux.
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Take the apple butter baggie, cut a small corner off the bag and pipe into the choux until full.
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Dip into maple cream sauce and enjoy.
Oh man, I need these in my life stat! I’ve never tried apple butter, but it’s definitely something I would love!
Oh man! Once you’ve tried apple butter, you won’t ever be the same again!
Wow!!! These look so so good!!!
They are soooo good!
Oooooh my goodness, what a fabulous idea to use apple butter as a filling!! Those look AMAZING! Have to pin for later.
Right?! Talk about a flavor explosion!
These look amazing! I will have to try making them with the kids this summer! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
they will love this!
These look so tasty! Would be perfect for a backyard BBQ this summer!
That is a great idea! It would definitely impress guests!
Wow Marlee! What an awesome recipe, your chous are soooo tempting and this apple butter, YUM! Pinning!
Thank you so much Patty! They didn’t last long at all here!
Oh my word these look delicious! I’ve never tried apple butter but oh my, it sounds so good!
You’ve never tried apple butter?! You need to!
I’m loving the apple butter idea! It’s such delicious stuff and I can only imagine how incredible it would taste in these! I have a whole bunch of nieces who I’m going to be seeing in the next couple of weeks who would go bonkers for these so I think I just might have to make that happen!
They will love it!!!