MANILA, Philippines?Wondering what to serve for breakfast? Try cinnamon apple fritters. They?re almost like pancakes, but tastier. With lots of fruits in the batter, they?re healthier, too. These fritters also make a great snack.

For the apples:
3 small or 2 large apples
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

For the batter:
1 ? c all-purpose flour
? c + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
? c fresh milk
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 c cooking oil
Pancake syrup, optional
Powdered sugar, optional

Peel apples and slice thinly into slightly larger than bite-size pieces. Combine sugar and cinnamon and toss with the apples. Set aside.

Make the batter. Sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until fluffy. Blend in milk and vegetable oil.

Combine flour mixture with egg mixture, stirring gently until well blended. Fold in prepared apples.

Heat cooking oil in a skillet until it begins to sizzle. Scoop about ? cup of the batter into the hot oil and fry until bottom is golden brown. (For smaller fritters, use two tablespoons per scoop.)
Turn fritter over and fry other side until edges look crisp. Repeat with remaining batter. Drain fritters on paper towels.

If desired, serve with pancake syrup, or dust with powdered sugar before serving. This is best eaten when newly cooked.

Makes about 15 medium-size fritters or 22 small fritters.

Tips

Make sure cooking oil is very hot before using. To test, drop a piece of bread cube into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is hot enough to use.

Remove bits of browned batter from the oil, using slotted spoon, before putting in another batch of fritters.

You can also use sliced ripe bananas instead of apples.