You've probably had apple fritters before... But have you ever had pastry made with pears? Let pears shine in these deliciously sweet fruit-packed Pear Fritters!
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I believe pears are one of the most underrated common fruits of all-time. And I'm sorry to say it, but I blame apples.
Don't get me wrong; apples deserve all of their fame and popularity. There is an incredible plethora of varieties, they grow well in many places, and they can be incorporated into so many recipes. Plus, they're fun to pick.
But what about pears?? Sure, there may not be quite as many varieties and you may not find too many pear-picking orchards around you. But in almost any recipe you can use apples in, you can use pears, too!
Apple fritters are my very favorite pastry treat, but every time I enjoy one, I find myself thinking, "wouldn't pear fritters be delicious, too??" So, I finally went ahead and made them myself. And yes, they are indeed delicious. Apple fritters who??
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you love apple fritters, but are also a fan of pears, I really think you'll love this pear fritter recipe, too!
It has all the components of the best apple fritters (to make them, I actually slightly modified my apple fritter recipe- which was adapted from a Cook's Country recipe). They're absolutely packed with fresh pears and cinnamon flavor, fried to perfection, and topped with a delicious pear glaze.
Though they do require frying, they're super easy to make!
🗒 Ingredients
The ingredients for these pear fritters aren't too complicated and all should be easy to find.
The one exception may be pear juice... Though I was actually surprised to see it in my local grocery store and available on Amazon Fresh.
Side note: Why are we as a people not drinking more pear juice?? We drink pretty much every other type of fruit juice, but it's rare to see pear juice on a menu. And it's delicious! After I finished my pear fritters, I enjoyed quite a few glasses of cold pear juice.
Here's everything you need to make the pear fritters (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Pears: I use green d'anjou pears, but you could use barlett or bosc, too.
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Pear juice
- Large eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla
- Vegetable oil
And for the glaze, you'll need:
- Confectioners' sugar
- Pear juice
- Ground cinnamon
🍐 How to make pear fritters
To make the fritters, start by dicing the pears into ¼" cubes.
Place chopped pears on a paper towel lined baking sheet and pat dry with paper towels. This will remove excess moisture from the apples and keep fritters from getting soggy.
Nobody wants a soggy pear fritter!
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir pears into the flour mixture and toss until they’re well-coated.
In a separate medium size bowl, whisk together pear juice, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
Stir pear juice mixture into the flour/pear mixture until just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix.
Now it's time to fry! In a dutch oven or a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat until the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees F.
Using a ⅓-cup, scoop batter and transfer into the oil. Only fry a few fritters at a time to ensure they're not touching each other in the oil. Once the batter is in the oil, press down on it lightly with the back of a spoon to flatten.
Fry the fritters, trying your best to keep the oil at 350 degrees and no lower than 325 degrees. Flip the fritters after 2-3 minutes and let them fry an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.
Once golden, transfer pear fritters to a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels.
👩🍳 How to make pear glaze
To make the pear fritter glaze, simply whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. Easy peasy.
Let the pear fritters cool a bit before drizzling each of them with about 1 Tbsp icing. And then let glaze set for about 10 minutes before enjoying.
And omg you will enjoy them.
If you are a fan of apple fritters, but are also wondering why pears aren't getting more love, there's a high chance you will love these pear fritters.
They're perfectly sweet and thanks to the chopped pears and pear juice, have a wonderful fruity flavor.
⏲️ How to store
There's really nothing like a fresh just glazed pear fritter. But you can also store these for later if you want.
Once they're completely cooled, store the fritters in airtight containers at room temperature. If you're stacking the fritters in the container, use a piece of parchment paper between layers so they don't get stuck together.
When stored at room temperature, they should keep fresh for 2 days. Similarly to donuts, they don't last very long!
You can also store the pear fritters in the fridge to extend their life, but note that they will likely sweat a bit due to their moisture content.
I recommend placing a paper towel at the bottom of the storage container and over the fritters to help absorb moisture. You'll also likely want to briefly reheat the fritters in the oven or toaster oven before serving.
🎉 More pear recipes
If you think pears are underrated and should be used more in baking and cooking, check out some of my other favorite pear recipes!
I also want to try this Pear Custard Pie from Dinner at the Zoo!
Now I'm thinking about all the other apple desserts I love that could be transformed into pear desserts... Pear pie, baked pears, pear crisp, oh my!
But for now, I will enjoy every single bite of these pear fritters!
📖 Recipe
Pear Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 large pears, peeled, cored, and chopped into ¼" pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup pear juice
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups vegetable oil
- 1 batch glaze (recipe below)
Pear Fritter Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup pear juice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Place chopped pears on a paper towel lined baking sheet and pat dry with paper towels. This will remove excess moisture from the apples and keep fritters from getting soggy.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir pears into the flour mixture and toss until they’re well-coated.
- In a separate medium size bowl, whisk together pear juice, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Stir pear juice mixture into the flour/pear mixture until just incorporated.
- In a dutch oven or a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat until the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees F.
- Using a ⅓-cup, scoop batter and transfer into the oil. Only fry a few fritters at a time to ensure they're not touching each other in the oil. Once the batter is in the oil, press down on it lightly with the back of a spoon to flatten.
- Fry the fritters, trying your best to keep the oil at 350 degrees and no lower than 325 degrees. Flip the fritters after 2-3 minutes and let them fry an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.
- Once golden, transfer pear fritters to a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. Make sure you bring the oil temperature back up to 350 degrees before adding the remaining batter to it.
- Let the fritters cool a bit before drizzling each of them with about 1 Tbsp icing. Let glaze set for about 10 minutes before enjoying.
Pear Fritter Glaze
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium size bowl until smooth.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Cook's Country
N says
Delicious recipe I substituted sugar-free sweeteners for the sugar in a recipe and I added a tablespoon of grated ginger root to the flour mixture. pPerfect to bring in the fall time.