Apple fries are the most popular treat at Legoland. Granny Smith apples, deep fried, covered with cinnamon sugar and served with vanilla cream for dipping.

Even after eating a ton of fried food lately (I’m looking at you giant Simpsons donut and cheeseburger spring rolls), I still found myself shoveling apple fries down my gullet. These are that tasty. And even better, done in under 20 minutes!

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Apple fries covered in cinnamon sugar, with vanilla cream on the side

Apple Fries Tips

Here are some extra tips and tricks on how to make these apple fries. Hopefully, I answer most of your burning questions. Feel free to comment at the bottom if I don’t!

What Type of Apple Is Best?

From my research before attempting this, tart apples seemed like the way to go. So, Pink Lady or McIntosh should work as well. There’s a lot of sugar in these, and the tartness helps balance that out. Legoland uses Granny Smith, so that’s what I went with here. You can experiment with different varieties. Make sure to pick large apples so you get large fries!

Granny Smith apple slices soaking in a bowl of buttermilk

The Coating

I used a mixture of all-purpose flour and cornstarch. No real reason behind it, just cornstarch will work as well. The important thing is you want soak the fries in buttermilk after cutting them. This prevents the apples from oxidizing, which preserves looks and flavor.

Apple fries coated in a flour and cornstarch mixture

How To Make Vanilla Creme?

I highly encourage you to make your own whipped cream for this recipe. It tastes completely different from Cool Whip (no offense if they ever want to sponsor a post). It’s also pretty simple.

Mix about 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, 3 tbsp of sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract in a bowl. Whip with a whisk until the creme becomes the right amount of solid for you, about 3 minutes. Or use a hand mixer, it can be tiring on the wrists.

What Temperature To Fry Apples At?

I did 350 F for a couple minutes. All you want is a slight crisping of the edges, not even brown. I noticed frying them longer will make the inside mushier, and the apple fries will fall apart.

I’ve seen some people get around this by frying them at a lower temperature (300 F) and frying again at a higher one (375 F). That seemed like extra work, and these are already fantastic! I’m definitely making these again, so maybe I’ll check and see how much of a difference that makes.

The Cinnamon Sugar

After the fries come out of the oil, roll them on a paper towel for moment. Then, toss them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Ideas For Experimenting

This recipe is pretty simple, so I’m going to throw in some suggestions for switching things up if you’re feeling crazy.

Alternative Dipping Sauces For Apple Fries

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter goes great with normal apple slices, so why not with apple fries too? It’s (probably?) healthier than whipped cream, while still providing the fat that levels up the flavors.

Lemon Creme

This is one I want to try next time. Basically, make the vanilla creme like normal, but add the juice of half a lemon after soft peaks are starting to form. If you add it before, the acidity may cause the cream to curdle and ruin the texture.

Cream Cheese

With fresh apples, you might want to add some brown sugar and vanilla extract to the cream cheese. Since the apples are already deep fried and covered in sugar, I’m thinking plain cream cheese will add a lot of fat. Could be a good substitute for the vanilla creme if you’re feeling lazy.

Sriracha

Okay, this one is a joke, but some madman out there will probably like this. Let me know if it actually works though. That would be crazy!

If you liked this recipe, I’ve got lots of other theme park copycats. Try my recipes for every type of Butterbeer, or my blue and green milk from Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge!