Baked Apple Cider Donuts Are Easy & Delicious

Apple cider donuts are perfect for fall. Make this easy apple cider donut recipe and enjoy the delicious smells of the season in your kitchen! SO tasty.

I absolutely love donuts! They’re one of my favorite fall dessert recipes. If I can choose between chocolate or baked goods, I’m going with baked goods every single time!

One donut recipe that I love all year ’round, especially during the fall/holiday, is apple cider donuts. Once the cooler weather starts to come out, I bust out the apple cider and the apple dessert recipes. They just speak “autumn” to me, and are a good precursor to pumpkin desserts.

This isn’t the first time I’ve made baked donuts. We have the ultimate donut recipe . . . the cake mix donuts. I know how to make donuts from scratch as well as a few shortcuts.

Today I’m going to teach you how to make this apple cider donut recipe from scratch. It’s really easy. They are delicious and soft and cinnamon-y and apple-y and everything you could want in a donut.

Several of the other apple cider donuts I’ve seen out there have instructions for deep frying, but I can’t get behind that personally.

It’s way too messy and I just don’t have the interest in using that much oil. Plus the cleanup? No thanks. There’s no frying in this recipe for that reason.

That means, since these donuts are baked, that they aren’t quite as light and fluffy as the fried.

Baked vs. Fried

Baked donuts typically turn out a lot like cake donuts in density. I actually prefer cake donuts, so this apple cider donut recipe is perfect for me.

In addition to the consistency, the flavor of these donuts is perfectly fall. The cinnamon and apple spice flavors work so perfectly together.

And then of course there is the sugar on top that just makes these apple cider donuts. I feel like every fall donut recipe needs cinnamon sugar. Am I the only one?

The Benefits of a Donut Pan!

So I just found out about donut pans recently, and they are completely amazing. That is how you get your perfectly shaped baked donuts! I have the Wilton 6-cavity pan shown above and love it. This recipe makes six donuts, so you’ll fill the pan.

Are you ready to get this apple cider donut recipe? Here’s what you’re going to need.

Ingredients

• 3 T unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg

For the Topping

• 3 T butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

These donuts are best eaten the same day. They’ll last a day or two after though – just place in Tupperware. They’re great for bringing to fall bake sales!

Have you ever tried apple cider donuts? You need to make them ASAP! Your fall baking rotation will be forever changed – trust me on this one!

Apple Cider Donuts

Make this easy apple cider donut recipe and enjoy the delicious smells of the season in your kitchen this autumn! SO tasty.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Equipment

• 1 Donut pan

Ingredients

Donuts

• 3 T butter unsalted
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg(s) large

Topping

• 3 T butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small sauce pan, melt the butter. Stir in the cider and set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Whisk the sugar and egg into the cider and butter mixture until evenly combined.
• Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t over-mix.
• Spray the donut pan with cooking spray if it’s not already non-stick. Add batter to a piping bag and pipe evenly into the pan (or spoon in carefully).
• Bake for approximately 7 minutes – be sure to watch carefully and test with a toothpick. Allow to cool 1 minute before removing donuts onto a cooling rack.
• While the donuts are baking, make the topping. Melt the butter and place into a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, stir the cinnamon, brown sugar, and white sugar together.
• Dip each donut in the butter mixture and lightly coat in the dry mixture. Place back on cooling rack.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1donut | Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 391IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments. I’d love to hear if you make it. I’d also love for you to check out some of our other recipes:

• Apple Pie Cookies Recipe for Fall
• Apple Cider Muffins for a Fall Breakfast
• Easy Applesauce Cake with Cake Mix
• Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
• Apple Spice Cake Recipe