Old-Fashioned Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe - Ninnescah Made (2024)

This is a cozy homemade donut has alllll the flavors of fall! Old-fashioned baked apple cider donuts are a staple on our homestead when apples are in season during the early autumn.

These donuts don't require frying, either! No messy kitchen for us. Oh and did I forget the best part?! They come together in less than 30 minutes! No drippy glaze necessary.

Am I biased? Probably. But this is hands down the best apple cider donuts recipe you'll find. Gather up your ingredients and you can have a dozen homemade apple cider donuts ready just in time for breakfast!

Cozy up with a batch of fresh donuts on a slow weekend morning with your coffee or hot chocolate. If you have kiddos, these donuts won't last long!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

If you are anything like me, you always like to keep the donuts on the counter as an easy grab and go in the morning or for when you are craving a sugary pick-me-up during your day.

Homemade donuts are easy to make, a fun baking activity to include young children, and come together so fast!

We get all 'cool weather crazy' and by the middle of September I'm serving up fall flavors like these old-fashioned baked apple cider donuts. Oh, and leaves are turning? Say no more, count me in! Or maybe it's just barely spring, but who says we can’t eat donuts all year long? I can definitely get behind this trend!

If you are absolutely in love with fresh apple cider doughnuts, you need to try a couple of my other donut recipes. Start with theBaked Pumpkin Spice Donutsand then jump to theBaked Chocolate Cake Donuts! Any excuse to eat chocolate cake doughnuts first thing in the morning!

Ingredients for Old-Fashioned Baked Apple Cider Donuts

• All-purpose flour |You can use a gluten-free flour blend such as Bobs 1:1 if you need them to be gf donuts. I have also made them using whole wheat flour, but the texture was a little grainy. Next time I will only use ½ whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour and ½ all-purpose so that the texture is unchanged.
• Brown sugar |The rich molasses flavor of brown sugar really makes the flavor of these donuts sooo insanely good. I like using dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar is fine, too.
• Granulated Sugar |For a lower sugar donut, you can reduce the sugar amount or substitute coconut sugar. I think it's just right as written, though.
• Baking soda |Doughnuts need baking soda because it encourages the dense batter to fill the donut mold while baking. It raises the doughs pH, which slows the protein coagulation and works hand in hand with the ACV to create a lofty structure.
• Ground cinnamon |I prefer simple cinnamon for this recipe, but you can also use an apple pie spice blend if you want!
• Salt
• Apple Sauce |You can substitute apple butter for a deeper flavor.
• Avocado oil |I recommend using avocado oil for this recipe. It is the most neutral tasting. If you do not have avocado oil, the next best substitute is olive oil, vegetable oil or canola oil.
• Apple Cider Vinegar |Instead of using the egg white and egg yolk, this recipe uses apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar helps the batter of the donut rise. It is acidic just like an egg, so it will not change the flavor of the donut. NOTE: This is different than apple cider!
• Milk |Whole milk will be the best choice, but 2% or a milk alternative will work.
• Apple |Gotta love that apple flavor! If you want to make it even more of an intense flavor, soak the apple pieces in apple juice or apple cider for 30 minutes and then strain before adding to the batter. You can use a paring knife to peel and slice the apple, but I am using my chopper to get the tiny, uniform pieces.

See recipe card for quantities.

HOW TO MAKE BAKED APPLE CIDER FLAVOR DONUTS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Prepare the donut pan by coating with nonstick spray and set it on a baking sheet for extra stability. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour mixture: flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, and, salt until well combined.

2. Combine the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: apple sauce, oil, apple cider vinegar, and milk.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined. Then fold in the chopped apples.

4. Using a spoon, plastic bag with a corner snipped off, or a pastry bag to fill the greased donut trays with batter.Place trays on a baking sheet and then in the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes until done.

5. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. When the donuts are cool enough to handle, but not completely cooled to room temperature, brush a thin layer of butter on them and dip them into the cinnamon and sugar mixture. NOTE: If you heavily grease your donut pan, you might not need to brush the donuts with melted butter to get the sugar mixture to stick!

See Also

Cherry Kuchen Bars Recipe - Cherry Pie BarsOur Top 20 Treasured Hand-Me-Down RecipesPressure Cooker Potato Soup Recipe using your Instant Pot40 Easy Recipes for No-Bake Pies | Taste of Home

6. Serve immediately! Warm baked apple cider donuts are super moist. I know, cringe. But the "M" word is really necessary here. These donuts are PERFECT on day one, but the next morning you'll notice they have really started to get sticky.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead

Recipe

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HELPFUL EQUIPMENT

Silicon doughnut pansare a game changer! They allow the donuts to gently be popped out after cooling and are easy to clean. I recommend baking them on abaking pan(aka cookie sheet) to add a rigid and stable base.

If you do not have a donut pan, you can use a muffin tin and place rolled up tinfoil in the center to create the donut hole. It won’t be as uniform, but it will get the job done!

A few of my other favorite baking tools include ameasuring cupset,measuring spoons, a wire rack for cooling, a sturdywhiskand a largebowlfor mixing the donut batter. I also really like using my veggie chopper with the small setting to get my apples cut into uniform itty bitty pieces.

Tips for making this apple cider donut recipe

Why is sugar not sticking to my donuts?

• If you let your donuts cool to room temperature they will become dry to touch, causing the sugar to not have anything to stick to.I have found that a heavily greased donut pan allows for the sugar to stick without being brushed with butter, but otherwise just use a pastry brush to give the donut a light buttering and then the sugar will stick without any issues.

Why are my donuts dense?

• The most common cause for Old-Fashioned Baked Apple Cider donuts to be dry is because the dough didn't rise enough. Having under proofed dough will result in less air bubbles throughout the donut dough, causing more dense donuts. The other reason donuts might be dense is over mixing the batter.

How do you tell if your baked donut is cooked all the way?

• If you insert a toothpick into the donut and a few wet crumbs stick to the toothpick, it is perfectly baked. If a lot of wet dough sticks to it, then it needs to be baked longer. Lastly, if no dough sticks to it, there is a chance they may be over baked. If the donuts are over baked, they tend to be more dry.

HOW TO STORE/FREEZE OLD-FASHIONED APPLE CIDER DONUTS

Homemade cake donuts won’t store for long. They are best eaten the same day they are made.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container or single layer in a ziplock bag for up to two days. Just note that the sugar coating will begin to dissolve from the moisture of the donut, so consider not dipping the donuts until just before serving.

Doughnuts can also be frozen for up to three months. Be aware that the sugar coating will break down when frozen and thawed, but the flavor will still be just fine. One way to get around this is by not coating them with sugar before freezing. Simply thaw and then apply the cinnamon sugar coating.

Substitutions

This donut recipe can be changed depending on your diet or preferences.

• Gluten free apple donuts - instead of using all-purpose flour, you can use a gluten free flour blend such as Bob's 1:1 or King Arthur GF flour.
• Nuts - fold in ½ cup of crushed pecans or walnuts to the batter.

FAQ

More donut recipes you will love!

If donuts are your jam (wow, I'm really showing my age with that one!), you will love my Baked Chocolate Donuts with Ganache. They are fudgy and taste just like a hostess snack cake!

At the time of writing this post, the mostpopular recipe this site are my Pumpkin Spice Baked Donuts. They are easy to make, can be made ahead of time and come together in less than 30 minutes!

No donut pan, no problem! Try making my Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes.

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