Description
These homemade apple cider donuts feature reduced fresh apple cider for concentrated flavor, warm fall spices, and a tender cake-like texture. Coated in cinnamon sugar, they taste just like the ones from your favorite apple orchard!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Donuts:
- 1½ cups fresh apple cider
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)
Instructions
- Reduce the Apple Cider: Pour 1½ cups of apple cider into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ½ cup. This concentrates the apple flavor significantly. Set aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously spray two 6-cavity donut pans with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to get into all the crevices. Set aside.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Whisk thoroughly to ensure the spices and leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together both sugars and the eggs until well combined and slightly lighter in color, about 1 minute. Add the cooled reduced apple cider, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and fully combined.
- Mix Batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the mixture together until just combined. The batter should be thick but pourable, and you should still see a few small lumps—this is perfect! Do not overmix, as this will create tough donuts.
- Fill Donut Pan: Transfer the batter to a piping bag or large ziplock bag with one corner snipped off (about ½-inch opening). Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pans, filling each cavity about ⅔ full. If you don’t have a piping bag, carefully spoon the batter in, but piping gives much neater results.
- Bake: Place the donut pans in the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Don’t overbake or the donuts will be dry!
- Cool Slightly: Remove from oven and let the donuts cool in the pan for 3-4 minutes. This brief cooling makes them easier to remove without breaking. After 3-4 minutes, carefully turn the pans over onto a cooling rack and tap gently to release the donuts. Let them cool for another 2-3 minutes—you want them still warm for coating.
- Prepare Coating: While donuts cool slightly, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl (microwave works great for this).
- Coat Donuts: Working with one donut at a time while they’re still warm, brush both sides generously with melted butter, then immediately toss in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere. The butter helps the coating stick beautifully. Place coated donuts back on the cooling rack.
- Serve: These are absolutely best served warm, but they’re also delicious at room temperature. The coating will set as they cool completely.
Notes
- Cider Reduction is Key: Don’t skip reducing the cider! This step intensifies the apple flavor dramatically. If you skip it, your donuts will taste bland.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Eggs and buttermilk should be at room temperature for better mixing and texture. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
- Don’t Overfill: Only fill donut cavities about ⅔ full. Overfilling causes the centers to fill in and creates muffins instead of donuts.
- Coat While Warm: The donuts must be warm when you coat them with butter and cinnamon sugar, or the coating won’t stick properly.
- Baking Time May Vary: Oven temperatures vary, so start checking at 10 minutes. The donuts are done when they spring back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Using Muffin Tins: If using a muffin tin instead of donut pans, reduce baking time to 8-10 minutes and watch carefully to prevent overbaking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 15 minutes for reducing cider)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 215
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg