Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Square side shot of a pile of apple cider baked donuts on a wooden board

Love sinking your teeth into a warm, soft, fresh-from-the-orchard apple cider donut each fall? Now you can easily bake a batch at home!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword apple cider baked donuts, baked apple cider donuts

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 11

Resting Time 10

Total Time 41

Servings - 8 donuts

Calories 183kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Equipment

1 6-cavity donut pan

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS:

2 tablespoons salted butter, softened at room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
¾ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup apple cider
¼ cup milk

FOR THE TOPPING:

½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 6-cavity donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

BAKE THE DONUTS:

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
Add the egg, beating to combine.
Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, salt, and vanilla.
On low speed, mix the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the apple cider and milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. (So start with ⅓ of the flour, then all of the cider, then another ⅓ of the flour, then all of the milk, and finally the rest of the flour.)
Spoon the batter into the donut cavities, filling ⅔ to ¾ full. It helps to put the batter in a large zip-top bag, cut a corner off the bottom of the bag, and pipe the batter into each donut cavity.
Bake the donuts for about 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Let the donuts cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, and then flip them out onto a wire rack. Bake the remaining donut batter (there is usually enough batter for 1-2 more donuts).
Allow the donuts to cool for about 10 minutes before coating in cinnamon-sugar.

COAT THE DONUTS IN CINNAMON-SUGAR:

When the donuts are cool enough to handle (but still warm), prepare the topping.
Place the melted butter in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.
Dip the donuts in the melted butter, and then dunk them into the cinnamon sugar to coat on all sides.
The donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Notes

Don't have any apple cider? You can substitute with apple juice.
Add more nutmeg for an even stronger "donut" flavor.
If you don't have a donut pan, follow this recipe for apple cider donut muffins.
For a larger batch of baked donuts, double all of the ingredients.
Instead of the cinnamon sugar topping, dip the donuts in a maple glaze like this.
Properly measure the flour. I like to weigh my flour for accuracy, or you can use the spoon-and-level method. Use a spoon to lightly fill the measuring cup, then level off with the side of a knife. Do not scoop the flour directly from the container, or you will pack too much flour into the measuring cups. Too much flour leads to dense, dry muffins!
This recipe yields about 7-8 donuts. You'll need at least one 6-cavity donut pan. If you have two doughnut pans, you can bake all of the donuts at once. If you only have one pan, add the remaining batter to the pan to bake a second batch once your first batch is done.
Spooning the batter into the donut cavities can be tricky, so I always transfer the batter to a large Ziploc bag or piping bag, snip off a corner of the bag, and pipe the batter into the pan.
When the donuts are done the edges will be lightly golden brown and the donuts will spring back when you lightly press on the tops. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
You probably will not use all of the melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. As a result, the nutrition information for the amount used on each donut will vary, and is hard to calculate. Nutrition facts provided are estimated for the plain baked donuts without any coating.

Nutrition