Gluten-Free Fritters (aka Förtchen, Futtjens, or Ferdons) from Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom
There are both sweet fritters and savory fritters. Today’s fritters, first shared for my Home for the Holidays, Gluten-Free Style event in 2011—a joyful recipe collaboration with dear friends from the gluten-free community here on gfe—are definitely of the sweet variety.
Gluten-Free Fritters with a side of nog from Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom
When I launched this event, I asked all the participants to share what Christmas means to them and you’ll want to read Heidi’s full write-up here on her site—and honestly, it’s so worth a read—but here’s a short excerpt that shares some very important points about her delicious Gluten-Free Fritters recipe.
“Today I will be sharing an old family recipe from my German/Danish heritage. This traditional Christmas treat goes by many names; Förtchen, Futjens (or Futtjens) and Ferdons being just a few of them. For simplicity sake, my gramps used to called them fritters.Seriously, you have got to make these…without a doubt, the best dessert I’ve made in 6 years!
I lost my beloved grandfather in 2006, but if he were alive today, he’d be 99 years old! He was born in the United States but both of his parents were from Germany…and my gramps only spoke German for the first few years of his life.
Förtchen are a traditional Christmas pastry in parts of northern Germany, especially in Schleswig-Holstein, and in Denmark. My family’s original fritter recipe is much like a very dense cake-style donut hole. They taste great when they are freshly made, but they become hard as rocks the day after (so don’t plan on storing the leftovers unless you want to break a tooth). This fact is true whether you make the glutonium-filled version or the gluten-free variety.
The original recipe is also a bit time consuming because it contains yeast and therefore you have to plan ahead to allow time for rising. I’m much too impatient for that silly business so I did what I do best…I converted my own family recipe to be not only gluten-free and dairy-free but yeast-free and sitting on your behind for 2 hours-free!
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More Gluten-Free Recipes from Heidi and Home for the Holidays, Gluten-Free Style
~ Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Cookies (Vegan)
~ Gluten-Free French Fried Onions
~ Gluten-Free Knee Slappin’ Blueberry Muffins
~ Gluten-Free Shortbread Squares
Gluten Free Fritters Recipe (also called Förtchen, Futtjens or Ferdons)
Gluten-Free Fritters from Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom
Gluten-Free Fritters (aka Förtchen, Futtjens, or Ferdons)
Heidi says: "Today I will be sharing an old family recipe from my German/Danish heritage. This traditional Christmas treat goes by many names; Förtchen, Futjens (or Futtjens) and Ferdons being just a few of them. For simplicity sake, my gramps used to called them fritters. Seriously, you have got to make these…without a doubt, the best dessert I’ve made in years!"
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp agave nectar (or granulated sugar)
- 1/3 cup butter, melted (for dairy free, use your favorite vegan butter)
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamon (see easy substitution in Notes)
- 1/2 – 1 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 3/4 cup milk (for dairy-free, use your favorite milk substitute---I used So Delicious Vegan Nog for a special twist)
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use and recommend Better Batter)
- 3 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together, set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, scald milk (look up instructions to prevent burning if needed), set aside.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment until stiff, set aside (or use a hand mixer).
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the salt, sugar, melted butter and cardamon. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble the egg yolks.
- Slowly add the sifted flour/baking powder to the egg yolk/milk mixture.
- Fold in egg whites.
- If using raisins, add those now.
- Now that the batter is ready, heat the aebleskiver pan over medium heat, adding 1 tablespoon of shortening into each well of the pan.
- Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter into each well of the pan and fry until the first side is a dark golden brown. Flip (I use chopsticks to do this, but a fork will also work) and fry until the second side is golden brown.
- Remove fritters from the pan and immediately drop into a paper bag or bowl of sugar, toss to coat.
- Eat and enjoy!
Notes
- Important: These fritters taste great when they are freshly made, but they become hard as rocks the day after (so don’t plan on storing the leftovers unless you want to break a tooth). (Shirley here: Heidi says this fact was also true "when you made the glutonium-filled version.")
- The fritters also taste great tossed in a cinnamon sugar mixture. Combine 1/3 cup of sugar with 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon. If you don’t have any cardamon, you can also use an equal amount of cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.
- Shirley here: As noted in the recipe and shown in photos, Heidi used an ableskiver pan, which will yield almost perfectly round fritters. If you don't have an ableskiver pan, you can try dropping the fritter batter into oil heated to medium in a regular skillet. (Non-stick or cast iron skillets would probably be a good option for this task.)
Gluten-Free Fritters frying in ableskiver pan.
Originally published November 30, 2011; updated December 2, 2025.
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