Homemade Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

If you like cozying up with a warm glass of apple cider, then you’re going to love this homemade baked apple cider donuts recipe!

Just a few quick and easy steps stand between you and a kitchen filled with the amazing smells of caramelizing sugars and spiced apple goodness.

So read on to learn all the tips and tricks you need to know to make these donuts great!

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Reduce the Apple Cider

To start this baked apple cider donut recipe, pour three cups of apple cider into a medium-sized pot and let it simmer on medium heat until only a third of the liquid remains.

Depending on the size of your pot, this could take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, with a shallow, wider pot working faster than something smaller.

While the cider is simmering, be sure to stir it occasionally with a spatula that can scrape the residue from the sides back into the liquid. This will give your apple cider concentrate an amazing caramel-like flavor.

Once the concentrated apple cider is ready, pour it into a bowl so that it can cool fully before starting your batter. Now is also a great time to start preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit!

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Make The Batter

To make the batter from this baked apple cider donut recipe, in a small mixing bowl add:

• 2 cups of flour
• ¾ teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of allspice
• 1 teaspoon of salt

In another, larger bowl, whisk together:

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 egg

Once that’s fully blended, add in your remaining cup of reduced apple cider and give it a quick stir.

With a sieve, sift in your dry ingredients and finish whisking the batter together. The baking soda should react immediately with the acid in the apple cider, creating a light batter filled with air bubbles.

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Pipe the Batter Into Your Donut Pan

This baked apple cider donut recipe recommends using a piping bag to get the batter into your donut pan. If you don’t have a piping bag, cutting the corner off of a freezer bag also works!

Before you get your piping bag ready, prepare your donut pan by buttering the molds. You can also use a cooking spray, but the butter will taste better.

If you’ve never used a piping bag before, here are some simple steps on how to properly fill it up:

1. Slip the piping bag into a tall glass, with the closed end at the bottom
2. Fold the bag over the edges of the glass so that around two inches hangs over the sides
3. Ladle in the donut batter, holding the bag in place with one hand
4. Take the piping bag out of the glass and scrap the batter all the way into the bottom
5. Twist the open end of the bag shut before tying it off to seal it
6. Then cut the tip of the bag open and pipe the batter into your donut pan!

The batter from this baked apple cider donut recipe is a little runny. So you’ll want to keep the bag at a fairly flat angle while piping in the batter.

And be sure to leave about a half inch of space before the lip of the molds. This will ensure your donuts have room to rise without overflowing and losing their shape in the oven.

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Bake Your Donuts

The next step in this baked apple cider donut recipe is to place your donuts in the oven and bake them for 10 to 15 minutes.

A great way to test whether or not they’re cooked is to poke a toothpick into one of the donuts. If it comes out clean, that means your donuts are ready!

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Make the Glaze

While your apple cider donuts are baking, prepare your glaze.

In a wide bowl, add one cup of powdered sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of nutmeg, half a teaspoon of allspice, and two tablespoons of warm milk.

Whisk the ingredients together until you have a completely smooth glaze. This should take about five minutes.

After you’ve tested your donuts to make sure they’re ready, take them out of the oven and dump them onto a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes.

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Glaze Your Donuts

In this recipe, you want your baked apple cider donuts to be at room temperature when you put the glaze on. Otherwise, it will melt off instead of hardening on the top of the donuts.

Once they’re cool, dunk the rounded side of your donuts into the glaze and let any access drip back into the bowl before placing them back on your cooling rack.

To keep your counter clean, it’s a good idea to place a baking sheet beneath the racks. That way the pan catches any dripped glaze!

Finally, the last step in this baked apple cider donut recipe is to enjoy your homemade masterpieces!

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Choosing the Right Apple Cider for You

When buying your apple cider for this baked donut recipe, consider what apple varieties have been used to make the drink and how that will affect the flavor of your donuts.

In general, there are two different types of apple cider that you can get at the grocery store. One will be made with a blend of several different apple varieties, and the other will be made from Honeycrisps.

In terms of taste, an apple cider made from a blend of apple varieties tends to have a more balanced flavor profile. Made from a mixture of sweet, tart, and aromatic apples, the drink will reflect the spectrum of all those combined flavors.

Whereas the Honeycrisp cider in this recipe will make your baked apple cider donuts sweeter with that fresh-tasting crispness you expect from Honeycrisp apples.

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How to Store

If you plan to finish the donuts within two to three days of making them, the best way to store baked apple cider donuts made with this recipe is in a covered cake stand.

If you want to keep the donuts for months, you’ll need to store them in an air-tight container in the freezer.

In this case, it’s also best to leave them unglazed until you plan to actually eat one. That way, you can throw it in the microwave for 20 seconds without worrying about the glaze running everywhere.

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How to Revive Your Baked Apple Cider Donuts

After a few days in the cake stand, your donuts will still be safe to eat, but they may not be the freshest. Luckily, this baked apple cider donut recipe knows how to revive them!

The trick to microwaving donuts is to add moisture so that the heat doesn’t dry them out. This moisture can come in many forms.

For best results, buttering the tops of your donuts before putting them in will get them almost as good as new!

Simply placing a damp paper towel in the microwave with the donuts will also create enough steam to keep them moist.

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Pre-Making Your Donuts

There are a few different ways that you can pre-make baked apple cider donuts from this recipe. The first is to pipe the batter into the donut pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and then throw the whole thing in the freezer.

Once they’re frozen solid, you can take them out of the pan and store them in an air-tight container so they don’t get freezer burnt.

When you’re ready to eat one, take out as many as you’d like and bake them in the donut pan for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can also throw all the batter into an air-tight container straight away. Then, you can use an ice cream scooper to get out however much of the batter you want and leave it on the counter to thaw before completing the recipe as normal.

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Enjoy Homemade Baked Apple Cider Donuts With this Quick and Easy Recipe!

With a few quick and easy steps, this baked apple cider donut recipe will have you munching on warm and fluffy donuts in no time!

And if you’re looking for more delicious ways to make the most of your homegrown ingredients, check out some of the other stuff on our Recipes page!

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Yield: 12 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• For the Dough:
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp of nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 cups apple cider
• For the Glaze
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp of warm milk

Instructions

For the Donuts

1. Simmer the apple cider on low heat until only a third of the liquid remains
2. Leave it to cool
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices to a small mixing bowl
5. Whisk your butter, egg, and brown sugar together in a large bowl until smooth
6. Add in the reduced apple cider and stir everything together
7. Sift in your dry ingredients and mix the batter until fully blended
8. Butter your donut pan
9. Ladle your batter into a piping bag
10. Pipe your batter into the donut pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes
11. Leave them to cool on a drying rack

For the Glaze

1. Add all your ingredients to a wide bowl
2. Whisk together until no clumps remain, about five minutes
3. Dunk the tops of your donuts into the glaze
4. Let any excess glaze drip off before placing them back on the rack to let the glaze harden