Cranberry & White Chocolate Ricotta Fritters

You know what? Fritters aren’t all that good looking. They’re just not – brown, wonkily shaped, rough-terrained … bless their hearts. But what they might lack in aesthetic gorgeousness, they absolutely and completely make up for in deliciousness, and budget-friendliness. My friends, I am not exaggerating one iota when I declare that these Cranberry & White Chocolate Ricotta Fritters are the single most absurdly delicious thing I have eaten in quite some time. They’re catch-you-off-guard good, they are, and they practically walloped me with their goodness. I simply was not expecting it.

I mean, it’s the sort of recipe that you know is going to be baseline good; it’s a very “how bad can it be?” sort of situation, admittedly. Cranberry = good. White Chocolate = good. Ricotta = good. Fried food = good. It’s splurgy, of course, as all fried delights are. These fritters are a once in a while sort of recipe, and I think they make for a great holiday season treat, what with their cranberry essence. I simply stir a bit of canned cranberry sauce into my standard ricotta fritter batter (say that three times fast!), since I tend to always have bit extra this time of year, and I just adore the stuff. That said, please know that you are welcome to stir in any cranberry sauce that you happen to have one hand – it doesn’t need to be the canned stuff. Just maybe don’t use a savory one, if that’s what you’ve got. No, I do think garlic and salt and herbs might mess with the deliciousness of these fritters, and set them down a road they were never intended to travel …

How to Make Fritters

Fritters, as the name hints, are fried bits of batter or loose dough and they can really be made from just about anything you like. So, freeform doughnuts, yes? That’s usually how I describe fritters. Casual, totally blob-like doughnuts that require absolutely no special pans, cutters, or kitchen gizmos of any sort. That’s why I’m sharing them with you, honestly. They’re a very Kitchen Little-friendly sort of affair, fritters are. Just as soon as you ask me to get out some sort of hyper-specific doughnut cutting device, you will see me promptly turn and run in the other direction. Thanks but no thanks.

I like my fried sweets to be as easy and fuss-free as humanly possible, since I’ve already committed to filling a pot with oil and contending with that whole ball of wax. So, fritters and beignets are totally my speed, and these fritters could not be any more delicious if they tried. Again, bless their hearts.

For what it’s worth, savory fritters of which I am particularly fond are: squash blossom, zucchini, corn, and cheese (yes, cheese).

Alright then. What is a Ricotta Fritter?

All that said, not all fritters are created equal. Their ingredient lists can very from one fritter to the next, but their basic architecture is usually consistent. In this recipe, we’re going to incorporate some creamy, smooth ricotta into the mix and the end product is so much better for it, I think.

Please note that the addition of the ricotta and the reduced amount of flour in this fritter batter make them slightly tricker to handle – they’re just very delicate is all. So, when you drop your heaping tablespoons of batter into your pre-heated cooking oil, be sure to allow them to cook all the way – get them deep, dark mahogany brown and crusty on all sides. This will ensure that your ricotta filling gets fully cooked. When it’s fully cooked, it will be much easier to remove your fritters from the pan and transfer them to your serving piece. Incidentally, I use my fish spatula to do this. It’s the single greatest and most useful kitchen gadget of all time, no big deal.

So, that’s my biggest tip for ricotta fritter success – cook them fully and don’t be tempted to take them out sooner than they’re ready to. We’re looking for a dark roast here, not a blonde one, so to speak.

These don’t keep particularly well, and really should be enjoyed right away. But if you do want to re-heat them, I recommend doing so on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven. This will crisp them back up a bit, bridging them back to life.

Print