Baked Apple Cider Donuts
All your favorite Fall flavors are in these easy Baked Apple Cider Donuts. The perfect sweet pick-me-up to your morning!
AN APPLE FLAVORED BREAKFAST RECIPE
I posted my Apple Cider Donut Holes recipe last week and I had a lot of people wanting regular sized donuts. Ask and you shall receive! Today I’m bringing you my favorite recipe for Baked Apple Cider Donuts! These are a fun, flavorful breakfast treat that come together easily and bake up quickly. I love a good quick and easy breakfast (that I can also dip in my coffee!) and these are just that! Apple cider, spices and more make this one recipe that no one will be able to resist. So if you love all the apple sweets, then you have to make my Baked Apple Cider Donut recipe.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What we’re trying to do here is really concentrate the apple flavor. I experimented to try to change up this recipe a bit from my usual apple cider donut recipe and found that this really does boost the apple flavor. If you’re trying to speed up the amount of time it takes to make these donuts, you can just use ½ cup of apple cider and skip the reduction step. However, I recommend you really give it a try because it gives a bolder apple flavor to the donuts.
I know apple cider can sometimes be hard to find if you want to make these out of season. You could technically make these with apple juice but there is nothing like the flavor of apple cider.
Apple juice is apple cider that has been filtered. Apple cider is as close to the apple as you can get. It has a much more concentrated flavor.
No problem. You are just going to make this in batches. One tray at a time.
Cake flour produces a lighter, fluffier donut. If you can’t find it, then you can use all-purpose flour. Just sift it first.
It is most likely from too much apple cider. Make sure your reduced apple cider is measured to 1/2 cup and no more.
No, this just helps the sugar mixture stick to the donuts. If you are trying to keep the fat content lower than you can just dip the hot donuts right into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Some will end up sticking to the hot donuts. Just not as much as when you coat in butter first.
You can store these donuts in a plastic ziptop bag or airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. These also freeze beautifully. Place cooled donuts in a freezer-safe bag and they will keep for up to 2-3 months. Let defrost at room temperature.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- apple cider
- cake flour
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- salt
- nutmeg
- milk
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- egg
- unsalted butter, melted
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE BAKED APPLE CIDER DONUTS:
In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider up to a boil over high heat. Let it boil for about a minute then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the cider to reduce to 1/2 cup; this can take about 10-15 minutes (or more). It will start to look just a little thicker and slightly deeper in color. Allow the cider to cool before the next step.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a donut pan with a non-stick cooking spray. I really like the nonstick spray that has flour in it (like Baker’s Joy).
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg, in a large mixing bowl, set it aside.
Whisk together the reduced apple cider, milk, brown sugar, sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.
Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
Pour the batter into a large zip-top bag, cut off about 1/2 inch off one of the bottom corners.
Pipe the batter into the pan so each hole is about 1/2 full.
Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until they are cooked through. You can stick a toothpick into the center of the donut, and if it comes out clean, they are done. Place the donuts onto a cooling rack. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
Brush the donuts one at a time with the butter making sure to coat both sides. You could also do a real fast dip into the butter.
Dip the donut into the cinnamon mixture and shake the donut until it’s well covered. Repeat this with each donut.
Serve and enjoy!
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES?
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons butter melted (salted or unsalted)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider up to a boil over high heat. Allow it to boil for about a minute then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer the cider until reduced to 1/2 cup; this will take about 10-15 minutes (or longer). The cider will start to thicken a little bit and it will get slightly deeper in color. Make sure to measure out 1/2 cup when finished in case the apple cider didn't reduce quite enough.
- Allow the cider to cool completely before continuing to the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a donut pan with a non-stick cooking spray. I really prefer to use the nonstick spray that has flour in it for baked goods.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl, set it aside.
- Whisk together the reduced apple cider, milk, brown sugar, sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter into a large zip-top bag. Cut off about 1/2 inch off one of the bottom corners.
- Pipe the batter into the pan so each hole is about 1/2 full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until they are cooked through. You can stick a toothpick into the center of the donut, and if it comes out clean, they are done. Place the donuts onto a cooling rack.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
- Brush the donuts one at a time with the melted butter (making sure to coat both sides). You could also do a real fast dip into the butter.
- Dip the donut into the cinnamon mixture and shake the donut until it's well covered on all sides. Repeat this with each donut.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You don’t have to reduce your apple cider, you can just use 1/2 cup (but. Really recommend doing it).
- If you want to use apple juice you can do that but it wont give the same flavor.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Sifted all-purpose flour can be used in place of cake flour.
- If you have a smaller donut pan, just bake these donuts in batches.
- You can easily double this recipe to serve more people.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Would this work made as a bundt cake and if so, how long should it bake?
Good question! It should but I haven’t tested it I’m sorry! So I couldn’t really give you a time.
Would it be ok to use boiled cider syrup instead of cooking down the cider?
I haven’t tried it but it seems like it should work! If you give it a try, please let me know how it does for you!
Oh my, my! You are really trying to get me fatter, lol. It sounds like reducing the cider will deepen the flavor. That sounds divine! I made pumpkin donuts once and dipped them into the butter prior to coating them because it was one of the steps in the recipe, but I wish I would have brushed it one. My husband and I didn’t like them, but our friends did. Going to get some cider next trip to the store.
Would it be possible to make donut holes. I thought I might use my Cake Pop machine.
Hi Mary, I have a link above for my Apple Cider Donut Hole recipe 🙂
What if you don’t have a doughnut pan like you used. Can they be rolled out and cut with a doughnut cutter?
HI Lynda, no the batter isn’t thick enough for that. But you could make donut holes. I have a link above for Apple Cider Donut Holes thats made using a muffin pan. That might be a better option for you 🙂