One of the classic experiences of a New England road trip? Seeing that iconic sign and pulling over immediately. Few things satisfy the autumnal palate quite like sweet, fluffy, cinnamon-y, apple cider donuts. Making these treats at home requires no special skills (and no yeast!), just a non-stick donut pan like this one (affiliate). A perfect activity for kids learning to bake, share these donuts widely with friends. Be warned: they won’t last long!
Tips for Making Apple Cider Donuts
As I mentioned above, the most crucial part of making these donuts is a donut pan. Donut pans serve two purposes: they ensure even baking for the moist dough, and they ensure even shapes for each donut! You’ll pipe the batter into the pans with a pastry bag, large Ziploc, or squirt bottle. Don’t fret squiggly donuts – once in the oven, the shape will largely even out. If you get batter on the center portion, simply scoop it off with a wet paper towel.
Apple Cider & Applesauce
I’ll admit, my baking preferences run towards the complex. I love the satisfaction of knowing that my ingredients began at 100% raw! Given how accessible high quality apple cider is across the US, you don’t need to make your own. If you want to make your own, however, you can use my recipe for homemade apple cider, and use the cast-offs to make applesauce, too.
A Note on Dredging
The final step of the process, dredging, seems quite simple on the surface. Unfortunately, my hubris resulted in FAR too much sugar coating the first go-round. The sugar wasn’t the problem, however, the butter was. In order to get the sugar to stick to the donuts, you must coat them in melted butter first. I learned the hard way that you have to wait quite a while for as much butter to drip off as possible before tossing the donuts in the sugar.
How to Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Apple Cider Donuts
Equipment
- Donut pans
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer (optional)
- measuring cups and spoons
- rubber spatula
- Small bowls
- Pastry bag or gallon Ziploc
- cooling rack
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 2 ½ c apple cider
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 c all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 c light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ c vegetable oil
- ½ cup whole milk
- 6 tbsp applesauce
For the Coating
- 12 tbsp 1 ½ sticks melted butter
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add the apple cider and cinnamon stick to a saucepan on the stove, and heat on medium.
- Simmer the cider until it's down to about 2/3 of a cup. White the cider is simmering, you can start prepping the rest of the ingredients. Note: if you reduce it too far, top it off with a little fresh cider.
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Spray donut pans with cooking/baking spray.
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the brown sugar, sugar, and oil on medium/low. Add the eggs one at a time, fully combining after each addition, then the vanilla.
- Once the cider is cool enough to touch, add it to the sugar/egg mixture.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet, then stir in the milk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, then finish by adding the applesauce last.
- Into a gallon Ziploc bag or large pastry bag, pour the batter and squeeze to the bottom. Snip the tip off, leaving a hole about ¾ of an inch wide.
- Pipe the donut batter into the rings of your prepared donut pans. It's okay if they're not totally perfect – donuts are very forgiving!
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until they're nicely risen and a toothpick inserted comes out dry.
- Let the donuts cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn them out on a cooling rack. Prepare the coating.
- Melt the butter in a bowl wider than the donuts. In a separate bowl of the same size, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Toss the donuts in the butter, then pick them up and let as much butter as possible drip off. Once the butter is mostly off, dredge lightly in the cinnamon sugar. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Enjoy!
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