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Cinnamon Fried Apples

Cinnamon fried apples with a glossy brown sugar-cinnamon sauce made in a skillet. Tender apple slices cook covered, then thicken into a spoon-coating syrup with cornstarch.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Southern American
Calories: 234
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Apples and coating
  • 6 firm apples Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, cored and sliced
  • 0.25 cup butter
  • 0.333 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp salt pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 0.5 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the apples
  1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it foams lightly.
  2. Add firm apples, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then stir to coat every slice.
  3. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender.
Thicken and finish
  1. Whisk cornstarch with water, then pour it into the skillet while stirring.
  2. Simmer 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens and looks glossy.
  3. Stir in vanilla extract and serve warm.

Notes

For even tenderness, slice apples into similar thickness and stir gently so the slices don’t break. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container up to 3 days; reheat in a skillet over low heat until warmed through. Freeze is not recommended because the sauce can thin after thawing. For a lower-sugar option, use a brown-sugar substitute that measures 1:1 in the same amount.