Even though it’s not Fall anymore, who says you can’t still enjoy apple cider?! This donut recipe is one of my absolute favorites and I’ve transformed it from regular cinnamon sugar to pumpkin. It’s always a winner every time! Apple Cider Donuts come out super moist, perfectly tender and have SO much spicy flavor with a little sweetness from the apple cider. They’re insanely delicious! And addicting. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
To make these donuts you’ll need a donut pan. When I first bought my donut pan I thought I would never use it but I use it all the time. There’s just nothing like homemade donuts! If you don’t have a donut pan, you can use a mini muffin pan and make donut “holes”.
You’ll start by mixing the donut batter and piping it into the donut molds. I like to pour my batter into a ziplock bag and snip the end off to distribute my batter instead of spooning it in because it makes life a whole lot easier. Bake them up until they are lightly golden and spring back slightly when you touch the tops and you’re ready for step 2. Cinnamon sugar time! You’ll them dip only the tops into some melted butter veery quickly while the donuts are still warm and then right into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
The smell of these apple cider donuts is so intoxicating, I dare you to stop at just one! I know I can’t. Especially when they’re warm!
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups apple cider (reduced to 3/4 cup)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg
- pinch salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Before you begin, you will need to reduce the apple cider. Pour apple cider in a small saucepan a simmer on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until the cider reduces down to 3/4 cup. Once it is reduced, set it aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and stir until completely combined. Pour in the buttermilk and apple cider and mix until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix or donuts will be tough.
- Pour the batter into a ziploc bag and snip off one corner. This makes it much easier to pour into the donut wells. Pour batter into prepared pan about 3/4 to the top of each well. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until the tops are firm and spring back slightly when you touch them. Do not over bake or you will have dry donuts.
- When done, remove donuts from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove them carefully and place on a wire rack to cool until they are warm to the touch so you are able to handle them. While they are cooling, get your butter + cinnamon sugar topping ready.
- In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
- Once donuts are cool enough to be handled, dip the tops into the melted butter and then quickly into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat for the entire batch of donuts.
- These Apple Cider Donuts are best served fresh the same day, but will stay soft for up to 2 days stored in an airtight container. If they get a bit firm, you can reheat in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them up and they are good as new.
If you loved this recipe, you might also like:
The Best and Easiest Glazed Donuts
These sound good, will have to give a try.
I question 10 lbs. of unsalted butter in the Apple Cider Donuts recipe and the 6 lbs.
in the frosting. Is this a mistake?
Hi BJ, the font made it look like 10 lbs but it was 10 tablespoons (tbs) so I removed the abbreviations to make it more clear. Thanks for pointing this out.
What would you do different if you were doing “donut holes” in mini muffins??
This is a great recipe. I love baked donuts. How do you think this dough would hold up if you added small chunks of apple to make it more of an apple cider fritter? I think I would like it both ways but my mom is a fan of apple fritters. I am pinning this for sure 🙂