These baked Apple Cider Doughnuts are tender, flavorful and addictive. These incredibly moist cake doughnuts have reduced apple cider for enhanced flavor while being perfectly spiced with cinnamon and apple pie spice. This recipe will yield 12 doughnuts.
Fall = apple cider doughnuts!
Every fall, my family asks me to make my apple cider doughnuts. It’s a recipe that’s not only easy, but the results are heavenly. The key to making these is to take time to reduce the apple cider. It really concentrates the flavor and gives these doughnuts extra wow factor. It also doesn’t hurt that once baked, these doughnuts are dipped in melted butter and tossed in a cinnamon and apple pie spice sugar coating.
Definitely one of my favorite homemade baked doughnut recipes ever.
To Make These Apple Cider Doughnuts You Will Need:
for the doughnuts:
- apple cider – Try to look for fresh pressed apple cider (NOT apple cider vinegar). We’re lucky and live around the corner from a cider mill.
- unbleached all-purpose flour – The base for the cake batter.
- baking powder – Will create lightness in the batter, which makes it rise.
- fine salt – Helps balance the sweetness and enhances all the flavors in this recipe.
- cinnamon (ground) – Lends a distinct warm and woodsy flavor.
- apple pie spice – The perfect blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and allspice.
- unsalted butter – Adds richness, moisture and flavor.
- light brown sugar – Lends subtle caramel notes and sweetness.
- granulated sugar (white) – For sweetening and flavor.
- eggs – Adds richness and flavor.
for the sugar coating:
- granulated sugar (white) – For sweetening and flavor.
- cinnamon (ground) – Lends a distinct warm and woodsy flavor.
- apple pie spice – The perfect blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and allspice.
- unsalted butter (melted) – Adds richness and flavor and helps the sugar coating stick.
MAKE THE DOUGHNUTS:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease 2 (6 doughnut wells each) pans with nonstick spray. I like to use one that has flour in it.
In a smalls saucepan, bring 1 cup apple cider (not apple cider vinegar) to a boil over hight heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. I check periodically by pouring it into a liquid measuring cup until I’ve reached the 1/2 cup mark. Let cool ( it can be slightly warm when eventually adding but do not add hot apple cider to the batter)
In a mixing bowl, measure and add 1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 1-1/4 teaspoons each baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon fine salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice, and then whisk well to combine.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add 10 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter, 3/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated white sugar.
Mix on medium to low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to high and mix for 2 more minutes.
Next, add in 2 eggs – one at a time, mixing well after each egg.
Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients.
Mixing until just combined. Once again, scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
While your mixer is on low speed, pour in the reduced apple cider.
Mix until incorporated. The batter will not be overly thick.
Spoon batter into a piping back or large gallon-size resealable bag. Snip the corner and pipe the batter into the prepared pan, dividing the batter equally among each doughnut cavity. (I did ad more batter to each than you see in this photo)
Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until a tester comes back clean with maybe a few crumbs attached.
Allow the doughnuts rest in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool until safe to handle.
COAT THE DOUGHNUTS:
In a bowl, add 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter.
In a second bowl, add 1 cup granulated white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon apple pie spice.
Dip both sides of the doughnuts in the melted butter, letting excess drip back into the bowl.
Then transfer it to the bowl with the spiced sugar and coat on all sides.
Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.
Pro Tip: If your baked doughnuts come out without a defined hole in the center, use a 1-inch round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (I’ll link mine below in the printable recipe) and cut out the center. DO NOT THROW THOSE AWAY!
Toss those scraps in any leftover butter and cinnamon sugar. We call them belly buttons in our house 😂
Hands down the best apple cider doughnuts! Flavorful, moist and addictive!
How Should You Store Baked Doughnuts?
Store the doughnuts in an air-tight container at room temperature.
How Long will Baked Doughnuts Last?
If stored properly, these doughnuts should last for 1 to 2 days or longer.
Click Here For More Doughnut Recipes!
Enjoy! And if you give this Apple Cider Doughnuts recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Apple Cider Doughnuts
Ingredients
- nonstick baking spray with flour
FOR THE DOUGHNUTS:
- 1 cup apple cider, simmered until reduced to 1/2 cup
- 1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 10 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
FOR THE SUGAR TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, more or less, for thinning glaze
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGHNUTS:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease 2 (6 doughnut cavities each) pans with nonstick spray. I like to use one that has flour in it.
- In a smalls saucepan, bring the apple cider (not apple cider vinegar) to a boil over hight heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. I check periodically, by pouring it into a liquid measuring cup, until I’ve reached the 1/2 cup mark.Let cool. It can be slightly warm when eventually adding but do not add hot apple cider to the batter.
- In a mixing bowl, measure and add flour, baking powder, fine salt, cinnamon, apple pie spice. Whisk well to combine.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter, light brown sugar and granulated white sugar. Mix on low to medium speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to high and mix for 2 more minutes.
- Next add in 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients. Mixing until just combined. Once again, scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
- While your mixer is on low speed, pour in the reduced apple cider, mixing until incorporated. The batter should not be overly thick.
- Spoon batter into a piping back or large gallon-size resealable bag. Snip the corner and pipe the batter into the prepared pan, dividing the batter equally among each doughnut cavity.
- Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until a tester comes back clean with maybe a few crumbs attached. Allow the doughnuts rest in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool until safe to handle.
COAT THE DOUGHNUTS:
- Once the doughnuts have cooled, add the melted unsalted butter into a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, add sugar, cinnamon and apple pie spice. Stir to combine. Dip both sides of the doughnuts in the melted butter, letting excess drip back into the bowl. Then transfer it to the bowl with the spiced sugar and coat on all sides. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.
- Pro Tip: If your baked doughnuts come out without a defined hole in the center, use a 1-inch round cookie cutter, wide end of a piping tip or biscuit cutter (linked below) and cut out the center. DO NOT THROW THOSE AWAY! Toss those scraps in any leftover butter and cinnamon sugar.
Notes
This recipe was originally posted on October 27, 2012 and has been updated with clear and concise instructions, new photography and helpful information.
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these looks delicious!
Yum!!
amazing!!
Amaaaaaazing!!
You have a beautiful blog, just found it! Would be visiting more. :). I am also on Tasty Kitchen!
A donut pan is on my Christmas list, and I better get one!
I hate using the M word but it’s SO HARD to not describe something that’s moist… in any other way! Wet? not dry? I’m stumped. Going to check these out now Laurie – they look incredible! And I need to dust my donut pan off, it’s been a few months!
Yeah I need to make this. Like now. Like I have to leave work and do an emergency grocery shopping and make it.
i love your photos. and these doughnuts look fabulous!!
These doughnuts are calling my name 🙂
We baked some of these in mini muffin pans as “puffs”. When they came out of the oven we dipped them in melted butter and rolles them in cinnamon sugar. My 4 1/2 year old grandaughter helped make these and said”Yum, these are delicious!” She likes to bake but often does not eat much of the product…. a bite or two. She ate 2 donut holes.
That’s awesome! Glad you liked them!
This is a very good and easy baked donut recipe. Any time I can avoid frying donuts and stinking up the house with the grease smell, I jump at the chance.
ha, just in time to scratch these off my list from Trader Joe’s, love that they’re baked too and always prefer scratch recipes, so thank you!