You gotta taste this: 'Slightly burned' apple fritters at Mt. Juliet Donut Shop

Business operator and doughnut maker John Khoury wants you to taste this at Mt. Juliet Donut Shop, located at 286 Nonaville Road in Mt. Juliet.

Apple fritter, $1.89 as of May 9.

Khoury on what makes this apple fritters special: They're slightly burned. That's one secret Khoury reveals.

That the fritters are huge, not much smaller than an average-size pancake, is obvious at first glance.

His ingredients? “I put a lot of cinnamon and apple in mine,” Khoury says with a smile. His apple fritters and all the doughnuts are made fresh each day. What isn’t used is thrown out or donated.

Khoury’s apple fritter technique dates back to the 1800s. Through research, he discovered cooks and bakers that made use of leftover bread dough by adding cinnamon and apple, followed by a deep fry.

“I make it the same way,” Khoury said. “I make the doughnuts first and I use the leftover dough. You don’t want the fresh dough because the texture is too soft. You want it a little thicker.”

Khoury goes through a process that involves dicing the dough, adding ground cinnamon and chopped apple, more dicing, making a loaf and then deep-frying. About 15 minutes to make a couple dozen, which Khoury starts overnight for the next morning. The shop can sell around 3,000 doughnuts on the weekends.

The apple fritter definitely has a burst of flavor — it seems the cinnamon is first, with a soft crunch and apple flavor that comes through and continues until the next bite.

“You want to burn it just a tad to make it crunchy — not doughy,” Khoury said.

Khoury on his doughnut inspirations: Khoury started Shipley’s Do-Nuts in Donelson in 1991. He sold it several years later to work in sales for a nationwide company. His cousin Nader Khoury started the Mt. Juliet Donut Shop in 2021.

Nader Khoury died in early 2022 at the age of 54 and John Khoury took over.

“It’s family, it would have closed,” Khoury said. “I love making doughnuts. I love baking. It’s a challenge every night when I come in to have the best tasting and best looking doughnuts.”

Ingredients: Ground cinnamon and chopped apple and “second-cut” dough that Khoury gets from Dawn Foods out of Louisville.

If you try and make this at home: There are plenty of online recipes with different variations. Khoury is sold on leftover dough and a touch on the crispy side. Khoury learned some doughnut baking skills as a teenager at home using biscuit dough, which he said also can make a good doughnut or fritter.

About John Khoury: Age 61, has two adult children. Got into baking as a college student in the 1980s and that led to management and eventually overseeing more than 20 doughnut shops before starting Shipley’s Do-Nuts.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: You gotta taste this: Apple fritters at Mt. Juliet Donut Shop