Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*

Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5–7 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5–7 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly the size of a golf ball) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a relatively warm environment for 1–2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter, which takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch, water, and vanilla until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Cook for another minute. Remove from heat, transfer to a heat-proof bowl, and cool completely.

Cut parchment paper into 12 squares, about 5–6 inches each. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. This will be your “bench flour” for shaping the fritters.

Sprinkle some of the spiced flour over a large work surface. Turn out the dough and, with lightly floured hands or a rolling pin, press or roll it into a large oval about 1/2 inch thick. Spoon the cooled apple filling over one half of the dough, then sprinkle some of the spiced flour over the filling. Fold the unfilled half of the dough over the apples and seal the edges.

Use your hands to gently shape the filled dough into a long oval, making sure the edges are sealed. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, make 11 cuts across the filled dough, cutting mostly but not quite all the way through. Then make 3–4 perpendicular cuts to create a crosshatch pattern. Sprinkle on more spiced flour as needed to help absorb any exposed sticky filling. Now divide the dough into 12 roughly equal portions. I find it easiest to divide it into 4 sections, then divide each section into 3 pieces. This is not an exact process, so don’t stress. Just make sure you have 12 portions. Redistribute the filling as needed, then gently shape each portion into a lumpy round, tucking in the dough and apples as best you can. Place each fritter on a parchment square and set it in a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Loosely cover and let the fritters rest while you heat the oil. They’ll puff up slightly during this time.

Place a cooling rack over a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Set aside.

Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat and attach a candy/oil thermometer to the pot. Heat the oil to 350°F (177°C). This will take several minutes. Keep the oil between 350–360°F (177–182°C) as you fry, adjusting the heat as needed.

When the oil is hot enough, carefully lower 2–3 fritters, still on their parchment squares, into the oil. Fry for 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip the fritters and remove and discard the parchment. Fry for another 1–2 minutes, flipping once more if needed, until deeply golden brown on both sides. Wear kitchen gloves and use caution if the oil is splashing. Using a metal slotted spatula, transfer the fritters to the prepared rack. Repeat with the remaining fritters, keeping the oil between 350–360°F (177–182°C). Let the fritters cool for a few minutes while you prepare the glaze.

In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. If needed, add more milk to thin out or more confectioners’ sugar to thicken.

Dunk one side of each fritter into the glaze. Return to the rack and let the excess glaze drip off. Allow the glaze to set.

Fritters are best enjoyed the same day. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.