Apple Cinnamon Sinkers

In a recent blog article, I wrote that my mother used to make Apple Cinnamon Sinkers for breakfast. We always enjoyed them, made from a deep-fried applesauce dough, sprinkled with powdered sugar. My brother found my mother’s recipe card, so I’m pleased to share it with you.

The recipe card only listed the ingredients and had no further instructions. However, I still remember making them with my mother almost 40 years ago. So, with just a little experimentation, I think Kathy and I were able to piece together the instructions.

We began by assembling all the ingredients:

2½ C flour
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 t salt
3 eggs
1 C applesauce
½ C milk
Canola oil

I recall that my mother used an electric skillet to cook the sinkers. It had an adjustable temperature control so she could dial in the desired temperature. I decided that was a good idea. I found a 12x12x2 electric skillet. I filled it with two 40-oz bottles of Canola oil, which I heated to about 370°. I wanted enough oil to allow the balls of dough to float freely.

Kathy decided I had chosen the wrong bowl. Well, I guess she wanted an additional bowl, so we could mix all dry ingredients separately from the eggs, which she wanted to beat first. Then she added the liquid ingredients with the eggs before finally adding the dry ingredients to them.

Once the batter was properly mixed and the oil heated to the desired temperature, I dropped spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. My memory suggested the sinkers would flip themselves over when cooked on one side, so I made sure they had enough space between them to do so. Since the batter clung to the spoons, I used a second spoon to help me drop the dough. Many of my sinkers were misshapen, but I accepted that as part of the charm.

I wasn’t sure how long to cook the sinkers, so I kept a close eye on them, hoping they would turn a nice golden-brown. Ten minutes seemed to work well. As I watched, I hoped they would flip themselves over, but I wasn’t sure my memory was correct. Sure enough, they did. Most of them. I poked them with a spoon a few times and found that they resisted flipping over when they weren’t ready. When they were ready, they either flipped themselves over or did so with only a slight nudge from the spoon. Some of them flipped over several times while cooking.

When they had cooked about ten minutes, I decided they had a satisfying color, so I used a slotted spoon to move them to a paper towel-lined plate. Kathy sprinkled them with powered sugar while they were still hot. When they had cooled just a bit, I broke one open and found that the dough was fully cooked.

Then we ate them! They were as I remembered them, with the powered sugar combining delightfully with the crispy, fried exterior. I think that’s what we enjoyed most about them as children. With a more sophisticated palate, I still found them enjoyable, but they weren’t as moist as I would have liked. Kathy thought they could use some more cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg. I think a more experienced chef could improve the recipe with a little experimentation.

We still had batter left, so I dropped the rest of the dough into the oil by spoonfuls. The recipe made 26 sinkers for us.

After the oil had cooled, I tried to recover it for later use. I stubbornly tried to funnel the oil into the bottle by myself, but it toppled. Fortunately, I had at least thought to do it in the sink. Kathy helped with my second attempt, but as the skillet lacked a spout, that attempt also ended in a mess. Kathy suggested using a ladle, which worked well. After our two failed attempts, we were able to recover half the oil.