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These Apple Cider Donuts are the best homemade donuts you’ll ever eat! Soft and pillowy and sprinkled with crunchy cinnamon sugar, you will love these perfect bites of baked apple donuts.

3 cinnamon apple donuts stacked up with apples and a bottle of milk
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If you’ve never had a fresh apple cider donut from a local apple orchard, you’re missing out. Thankfully, you can make your own baked applesauce donuts at home!

Wait, so these donuts aren’t fried?

Nope, they’re baked apple cider donuts. The texture is more like a cake donut, or an amazing muffin. Since they aren’t fried, they’re easier for a home cook like you to make and a lot less messy.

This dough is not suitable for frying as the consistency is not firm enough to roll and cut. I used a donut pan to get that classic donut shape.

The base recipe calls for applesauce (related: canning applesauce), but if you want to take it level WHOA, use apple butter (related: canning apple butter).

A note for my overseas friends – apple cider is NOT the same as apple cider vinegar or an apple-based alcohol cider (called “hard cider” in the US). Apple cider is a thickened version of apple juice that is made from fresh apples and it tastes like heaven.

3 photos showing how to make baked donuts
unbaked donuts in a pan and cinnamon donuts on a baking rack

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • If you like a super neat baking experience, pipe your cinnamon apple donut batter into the donut pan. That being said, they all look the same once they’re baked. 🙂
  • Store fully cooled donuts in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
  • Want to freeze these donuts for later? Great idea! Freeze them baked but without the cinnamon sugar mixture on them. Once they have thawed, brush the butter on them and dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
  • No donut pan? No problem. Use a regular muffin tin to make cinnamon apple donut muffins or a mini muffin tin to make apple cider donut “holes”.
cinnamon apple donuts on a wooden board with apples and milk
4.93 from 14 ratings

Apple Cider Donuts

Servings: 12
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 13 minutes
Total: 38 minutes
3 cinnamon apple donuts stacked up with apples and a bottle of milk
These apple cider donuts are the best homemade donuts you'll ever eat! Soft and pillowy and sprinkled with crunchy cinnamon sugar, you will love these perfect bites of baked apple donuts.

Equipment

Ingredients 

Donuts

  • 1 cup apple cider {reduced to 1/3 cup}
  • cooking spray
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce (or apple butter)
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg (room temperature)
  • 3 tbsp oil (coconut, avocado, olive, etc.)

Topping

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Spray the donut pan with cooking spray.
    cooking spray
  • In a small pan over medium-high heat, bring the apple cider to a boil.
    1 cup apple cider
  • Reduce the stove to medium heat and cook until the cider is reduced to 1/3 cup (~about 15 minutes). Allow cider to cool to room temperature.
  • In a bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
    1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup bread flour, 1.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, applesauce, maple syrup, apple cider, yogurt, vanilla extract, egg, and oil.
    2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, 1 egg, 3 tbsp oil, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just combined. Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
  • Divide the batter into the donut pan, filling the cavities only halfway.
  • Bake at 375˚F for 13 minutes.
  • While the donuts are in the oven, mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in a ziploc bag. Shake a few times to combine.
    1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • When the donuts come out of the oven, brush both sides with melted butter. Put 2 donuts at a time in the ziploc, seal, and shake.
    4 tbsp butter

Notes

  1. Store fully cooled donuts in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
  2. Want to freeze these donuts for later? Freeze them baked but without the cinnamon sugar mixture on them. Once they have thawed, brush the butter on them and dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1donutCalories: 402kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 477mgPotassium: 293mgFiber: 2gSugar: 37gVitamin A: 295IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 121mgIron: 1.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

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4.93 from 14 votes

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34 Comments

  1. It is autumn and the leaves are turning in Massachusetts!

    What fun I had making your Apple Cider donuts this morning!

    They were delicious! I hope to make them with my grandchildren!5 stars

    1. I love hearing this, Donna! And I hope your grandchildren enjoy them as much as you do.

      Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.

    1. I would check on them at 15 minutes, and then every 2-3 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.