If you are looking for a snack that is both economical to make and an excellent way to use leftovers, then fritters are for you. Fritters are bits of fried batter with additions such as meat, chopped vegetables or fruit.

I like dessert-type fritters. The basic fritter batter can be used to coat slices of apples, chunks of bananas or pineapple rings. When fried, the batter-coated banana pieces remind me of my mother’s fried banana pies. Delicious.

My all-time favorite in the fritter family is the apple fritter. I can’t remember ever tasting fritters when I was growing up; I am sure that if I had, I would not have forgotten it.

The first time I remember eating apple fritters was on a trip to the Smokies with Mauna, my friend and assistant. Mauna insisted that we had to go to the Apple Barn and Cider Mill in Tennessee and get some fritters and apple butter. It didn’t take long for me to realize that apple fritters can be addictive, especially when served with homemade apple butter.

I use cake flour in my apple fritters because it seems to make them lighter. If you use all-purpose flour instead, I would suggest sifting the flour before measuring.

One of the most flavorful fritters that Mauna and I made was actually a cross between a fritter and a doughnut. I like fritters and I really like doughnuts, so you can imagine that I usually ate more than one Hawaiian-Style Snowball. (It’s made with — surprise! — jars of pureed fruit, otherwise known as baby food.)

Use your own imagination and you might be surprised by the delicious variations of fritters you can make from staples in your kitchen pantry.

Apple Fritters

1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted margarine or butter
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped apples
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Oil for deep frying

Combine egg, milk, melted margarine and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and mix together using a fork. Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, apples and vanilla extract.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the batter, using a fork or spoon, being careful not to overmix.

Preheat oil (at least an inch deep) in skillet to 375 degrees.

Drop batter off end of a tablespoon into the hot oil. Fry to a golden brown. Turn fritters to brown evenly.

Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon or tongs. Place on paper towels to drain. Allow to cool slightly. Makes 25 to 30 fritters.

Hawaiian-Style Snowballs

2 cups biscuit baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 (4 ounce) jar sweet potato baby food
1 (4 ounce) jar Hawaiian Delight baby food
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Oil for deep frying
Confectioners’ sugar

Combine baking mix, cinnamon, egg, baby foods and brown sugar. Mix well. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Drop batter from teaspoon into oil. Fry until brown and drain well on absorbent paper. Cool for about 15 to 20 minutes and then coat with confectioners’ sugar.