Nothing says “fall is here” like warm, spiced apple cider donuts. While today may be the unofficial last day of summer, I know we likely have a few more weeks of hot, humid weather to go. However, this pregnancy has me exhausted (next-level, ridiculous exhausted) by the summer heat and I could not be more ready to jump into cool weather, fall recipes, and everything pumpkin spice. If you’re also ready for fall baking, I highly recommend that you make a batch of these apple cider donuts ASAP. One bite will have you transported to chilly bonfire nights and crunchy leaves beneath your feet…even if it’s still 80 degrees and sunny outside. Let’s get to it!
What You Need
This apple cider donut recipe is similar to my baked donuts recipe, but instead of buttermilk, I substitute in apple cider and a few seasonal spices. The end result is a tender, cake-like donut that practically melts in your mouth.
Apple cider. Perhaps the most important ingredient in this recipe, apple cider adds flavor and helps bind the dry ingredients together. By reducing the cider on the stove, you will get a more concentrated apple flavor–we’ll go over this in more detail below!Sugar. I use a combo of granulated white sugar and light brown sugar in this apple cider donut recipe. Brown sugar is great for adding flavor and moisture, but too much would make them heavy and dense. For balance, we mix in granulated sugar as well.Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice accentuate the apple cider flavor in these donuts. All three of these warm spices are essential in fall baked goods!Corn starch. One of my favorite “secret ingredients” this helps keep the donuts tender and soft, making them nearly melt in your mouth.Vanilla. Just a splash of vanilla helps smooth and balance out the spices in these apple cider donuts.Butter. I use unsalted butter in the batter and salted butter to brush over the donuts before dipping them in cinnamon sugar. If you don’t have salted butter, you can just add a pinch of salt before brushing.
SAM’S TIP: To save time, you can always prep and chill your apple cider a few days in advance. This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Apple Cider Donuts
The key to getting that authentic apple cider flavor in these apple cider donuts is creating a reduction. This concentrates the apple flavor by reducing the water content of the cider. We start with this step! SAM’S TIP: It’s easier (and cleaner) to pipe the batter into the donut molds. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can always make your own by cutting a corner off of a large ziploc bag. Enjoy! And P.S. Thank you to those of you who follow me on Instagram and gave your feedback while I was developing this recipe! I originally thought the majority of people would prefer a fried recipe, but after an overwhelming vote in my stories I learned that baked apple cider donuts were more popular!
More Recipes You Might Like
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Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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