This recipe was inspired by our three day stay in Polebridge, Montana last week. Can I just tell you I loved everything about Polebridge! Tucked away in the northwest corner of Montana, just 22 miles south of the Canadian border, and on the western edge of Glacier National Park, you will find this great little gem of a town.
All you have to do is mention the word Polebridge while somewhere in Montana and the topic of their infamous huckleberry bear claws will undoubtedly pop up. Pictured down below is a bear claw my hubby enjoyed from the Polebridge Mercantile. And he also devoured one of their fruit fritters and a sandwich on homemade bread the next day. While I didn’t see any paleo-grain-free pastries I was ecstatic to find packages of this huckleberry tea for sale. While my hubby was busy snacking on one of their fresh baked pastries each day, I daydreamed about the ways I might recreate them without grains and refined sugars. And I am exited to say this little day dream came to life in my kitchen this week! Below you will find a recipe that can be made with diced fresh apple or wild huckleberries. I used up the last of my fresh wild blue huckleberries I brought home from Montana and supplemented with some wild red huckleberries I picked here in Oregon and kept in the freezer for such an occasion.
The Infamous Huckleberry Bear Paw from the Polebridge Mercantile (hubby ate this one!)
My Keto-Paleo Huckleberry Fritter – So Darn Delicious!
This recipe was adapted from an apple fritter recipe I found on the Raw Food World. The Raw Food World version says their’s can be made egg-free, but I have not tried making an egg-free version.
Apple Fritters – Paleo – Low Carb
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Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
45 mins
Author: Andrea Wyckoff
Serves: 7
Ingredients
½ to 1 cup chopped apple (or use huckleberries)
½ cup almond flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
1 Tablespoon ground white chia seeds
¼ cup coconut milk
3 Tablespoons Lankanto (or 3 Tablespoons maple syrup or coconut sugar)
1 pastured egg
¾ teaspoon cinnamon, divided
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
pinch sea salt
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons expeller pressed coconut oil for cooking (or other fat/oil)
Icing: choose from icing recipes down below
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Dice apple into small pieces and saute over medium heat with a dab of coconut oil, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Stir frequently and cook until apple is well cooked, about 7 minutes. This will prevent soft uncooked spots around the apple pieces in the fritters. (Skip this step if using huckleberries.)
Mix all fritter ingredients together starting with almond flour and ending with the pinch of salt and then mix in the cooked apple pieces or huckleberries (save a couple Tablespoons of apple pieces or huckleberries for garnish).
Heat up a clean dry saute pan over medium heat. Add in 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil. When oil is hot, spoon in a glob of dough to create a small chunky apple pancake. Try to keep the fritters on the smaller side so they are easy to manage and flip. Cook fritter for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. You are just looking to add that nice “deep fried texture” to each side. I like my fritters to look chunky vs flat like pancakes, so I shape them with the corner of the spatula.
Don’t worry if the fritters sorta fall apart a little when cooking. I think they look better “chunky”. After cooking each side for around 2 minutes, set each fritter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I like to garish each fritter with a few pieces of apple or huckleberry by pressing it into the top once the fritters are on the baking sheet.
Once you get the hang of it, I find cooking 3 fritters at a time in a pan with 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil to work well.
After frying, bake fritters for 10 to 15 minutes at 350*F.
While fritters are baking prepare icing recipe below.
When fritters come out of the oven ice them with your choice of icing recipes.
You can serve them warm or after fully cooled. I personally love them after they have chilled in the fridge all day, especially when I come home in the late afternoon and find one in the fridge just waiting for me. I love the texture of the hardened icing over the soft cinnamon apple fitter when they are chilled, it’s such an incredible treat! And the texture is as close to the “real thing” as I remember when they are chilled and the coconut oil as firmed up along with the icing, so good!
Low Carb Icing (this is the icing pictured)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered erythritol (grind in coffee grinder)
1 Tablespoon goat milk butter or coconut oil
splash of coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)
Directions:
Grind erythritol in a coffee grinder.
Mix powdered erythritol, goat milk butter, and vanilla powder in a bowl.
I use my fingers to help soften and break up the butter.
Then add a tiny splash of coconut milk at a time until you have the right consistency of icing.
I drop a glob of icing over each fritter when they come out of the oven. Then I take a small spoon and spread around the icing. Icing will firm up when fritter cools.
Paleo Icing
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
3 Tablespoons coconut butter
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: mix in a Few Tablespoons of freeze dried fruits (like strawberries or blueberries) for beautiful color and flavor.
Directions:
Soften coconut oil and coconut butter over low heat.
Stir in maple syrup.
Drizzle over hot fritters right out of the oven.
I bought this cute cutting board while in Montana. But you can find all the states available here online.
Estimated Nutritional Data for Each Fritter based on using 1/2 cup of chopped apple, Lakanto and erythritol. Click image to zoom in. 4 net carbs per fritter.
