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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.
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.
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”.
Apple Cider 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
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp butter
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
- Store fully cooled donuts in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wondering if I freeze these how should I and how long will the donuts last in the freezer?
I have not frozen them myself so my advice is based on my best guess. I would allow them to fully cool but NOT do the butter/sugar/cinnamon step and then wrap in parchment and then in freezer bags for 1-2 months. Dip them in butter/sugar/cinnamon after they’ve defrosted.
These were (for me) insanely sweet…could I cut the maple syrup or sugar? How do I make up for missing wet or dry ingredients?
If the apple cider you used had a lot of sugar added that could definitely impact the overall flavor. If you want to it make again, look for a natural/no-sugar-added cider.
You can also leave the sugar coating off the donut, and cut the brown sugar down to as little as 1/4 cup.
yummy!
you had me at donut 🙂
Can I use apple cider instead of juice?
Yep, it will work the same.
Oh I wish I had a donut pan so I can make these right now
what is ” vital wheat gluten” and how important is it? I have everything except that, including two sizes of donut baking pans.
Hi Lisa, this post will tell you all about cooking with whole wheat flours and why vital wheat gluten (VWG) is so great with whole wheat baking. https://www.sustainablecooks.com/grinding-your-own-wheat/
If you don’t have vital wheat gluten, I would just use two cups of bread flour instead of 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat.
Where do you find the time to prepare all these home made items? I mean homemade brown sugar, applesauce, apple juice, yogurt and vanilla??? Whats your secret?
Well a lot of those things are pretty hands off, so once you get it started, you’re done. The vanilla and brown sugar are like that – you only spend about 5 minutes “doing” it and then it’s done and you can move on to something else!
Where do you find the time to prepare all these home made items? I mean homemade brown sugar, applesauce, apple juice, yogurt and vanilla??? Whats your secret?
Super yummy sounding recipe and I added the doughnut pan to my wish list awhile ago and they seem to have been really popular but I still don’t have one!!! Maybe Santa will bring one this year 🙂 I made easy doughnuts and used cinnamon powdered sugar. I highly recommend trying that because I love the powdered sugar goodness!!!
I have found your website so wonderful and have tried a few of your recipes. I was wondering how to get ahold of you to ask a few questions. The email link that is set up on your website won’t let me send an email or show the address. I would be very happy to know your email address to send you an email 🙂 Thank you very much, Cortney
beingfrugalbychoiceblog at gmail dot com
I am going to try these tonight! I am from Northern California, and in the fall I spend most weekends at Apple Hill eating these bad boys. Now I live in the middle of nowhere in West Texas. Land of no water, no trees, and shit loads of pump jacks. I miss my September – November dates with warm apple cider, doughnuts, and apple pie. Sarah, you just made my month! Thank you!!! Oh and I love your blog!!!
Oh that sounds miserable! I know when we lived in LA, I craved green and seasons. I feel your pain.
Please let me know how the donuts worked out for you!
Erica, I’ve been thinking about a chocolate glazed, but am still hunting for the perfect recipe.
Practical, maybe I need a post on how to clean drool off of laptops? ;-D
I haven’t read that blog, but will check it out this weekend; thanks for the suggestion!
Confession: I tried to eat a donut from my laptop screen. Now, my screen is all gooey with slobber.
You two are so money smart. Do you ever read the blog–Don’t Read this; It’s Boring? If you don’t,it’s in my blogroll. She is older than you, but she keeps things to the penny and prepares for everything.
Want! (Especially chocolate glazed….)
This “Anne” you speak of sounds seriously awesome. Also, she wants a donut!
I found one of these pans (brand new, still wrapped) at a consignment store for a dollar. Sadly, I’ve never used it. I need to change that. 🙂
Laura and All About Us – let me know how it turns out if you make the recipe!
Anne – she is awesome. And hot. And all the boys love her.
Yuuuuum!
Hooray! I received donut pans for Christmas and have been searching for a baked donut recipe to christen them. These are going on my to-do list for today!