And now for the last in the Southern Country Breakfast series. We enjoy fried apples for breakfast, but they also make a great side dish for a holiday ham, or even a dessert—just add a scoop of french vanilla ice cream on top of warm apples. They are very simple to make—you just need apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, and a little butter.
When Southerners talk about fried apples, there is always discussion on the best apples to use. Some people prefer Granny Smiths, some people like red apples, some people leave the skins on, some peel it off. My mother uses Red Delicious because they hold their shape well, and she peels her apples.
[Updated February 1, 2011.]
(SOUTHERN FRIED APPLES
Serves 6.
Equipment
large skillet with a lid
Ingredients
12 Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
4 or 5 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, or to taste
Preparation
1. Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples as you cut them to prevent browning.
2. Melt butter in the skillet and add apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cook stirring over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until apples are fork tender, but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
I keep a shaker of cinnamon sugar on hand, which has 1 tablespoon of cinnamon for every 1/2 cup of sugar.
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hi andrea,
i happen to come by your blog as i searched “how to cook an apple”. in my country, apples are not a common fruit, however, we can buy them in groceries and fruit stands. there are times i buy a bad apple and it sits in our fridge for sometime. so i wanna make use of them…in a simple cooking.
thanks to this recipe. i’ll try it!!!
shnaggy
dear andrea
Do you kow how to can fried apples? if so I sure would like the recipe. I have so many apples and my husband and I love fried apples.
Thank You
P.S. cracker barrel has them out in jars.
Hi Shirley. My first thought would be yes, they can be preserved at home. Probably the closest thing would be canning apple butter. If you cook fried apples in butter or oil, that decreases the acidity, which means they might not store well if preserved using the boiling water canning method. To be safe you could can with a pressure cooker following the instructions provided by the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
I had several apples and my fiance was coming home for lunch and so I quickly googled ‘fried apples’ and found your recipe. I am forever hearing about his grandmothers fried apples. This what my first attempt and they were a hit! Thank you.
Ok, so I know fried apples are not a ‘diet’ food. But does anyone have any idea the calories, fat, etc. associated with the above recipe? Thanks.
Hi Linda. My rough estimate is about 1,500 calories total, so about 255 calories per serving. Not health food, but not horrible.
I just fried these up, as directed. Threw some ice cream on top and it was amazing. It was just me tho, so I only cut and peeled two apples. Thumbs up!