Baked Apple Cider Donuts are cakey, moist, and deliciously dense with a sweetly spiced cinnamon sugar coating. Filled with apple flavor, these fall treats are easy to make and quick to bake.
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Our Apple Cider Donut recipe bakes the best cinnamon sugar donuts in the oven, a rare exception to their classic deep-fried pastry counterparts.
These apple cider doughnuts have a similar taste and texture to my baked cinnamon sugar donuts, but these are infused with fresh apple cider flavor that’s been baked right into the batter.
When you can’t get the orchard to eat and drink donuts and cider simultaneously, you can easily combine their two flavors and seasonal spices into one delicious apple cider doughnuts recipe.
Why We Love This Apple Cider Donuts Recipe
- Quick and easy to make and way less messy than frying.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Soft and tender inside with a serious sugary cinnamon crunch on the outside.
- The best apple cider donuts have a dense crumb, similar to muffins, but they are more moist in the middle, just like these.
- Perfect for Halloween parties, potlucks, and fall celebrations.
Apple Cider Donuts Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Apple cider: Use a store-bought brand or make your own homemade apple cider.
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Whole milk
- Vanilla
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon sugar
Substitutions and Additions
- Add Some Spices: For more fall flavors, add apple pie spice, allspice, or ground cloves to your batter.
Recommended Tools
- Donut baking pan
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- Piping bag
- Silicone brush
How to Make Apple Cider Donuts
- Make The Flour Mixture: Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Make The Apple Cider Mixture: Mix together the apple cider, egg, sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Make The Batter: Fold the flour mixture and butter into the liquid mixture and mix until smooth and fully combined.
- Pipe And Bake The Batter: Pipe batter inside each donut pan cavity, about ¾ full. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-12 minutes. Cool inside the pans for 2-3 minutes before removing them.
Pro Tip: Stick a toothpick inside once they are done. If the toothpick comes out dry, they do not need to bake any longer. - Make The Cinnamon Sugar Mixture: Combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon sugar.
- Add The Coating: Brush the donuts with melted butter and cover with the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Serve: Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Apple Cider Donuts
- Donut baking pan used for this recipe
- The easiest way to pour the batter into the piping bag is to place the bag in a tall glass and fold down the edges over the rim.
- If you do not own a piping bag, use a large ziplock bag (gallon sized).
- Piping in the mixture makes this process mess-free.
- Apple cider baked donuts are best eaten immediately to enjoy their fresh flavor and soft texture.
How to Store Apple Cider Donuts
- To Store: You can store these donuts in an airtight container for 2 days on the countertop or place them in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or in an air fryer for a crispier crunch.
More Easy Fall Recipes
Other Easy Fall Recipes
Apple Cider Donuts
Serves — 12
Apple Cider Donuts are filled with apple flavors and seasonal spices, with a cinnamon sugar topping.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Ingredients
Donuts:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons butter softened at room temperature
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare (2) 6-count donut pans with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well with a fork. Set aside.2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine apple cider, egg, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix until fully blended.1 cup apple cider, 1 large egg, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Fold in dry ingredients and butter and mix using an electric hand or stand mixing until smooth and until the dry ingredients are fully combined.3 tablespoons butter
- Add mixture to a large piping bag. See notes for tips.
- Pipe filling inside each cavity, filling it up about ¾ full.
- Bake donuts for 11-12 minutes. Be sure to stick a toothpick inside once they are done. If the toothpick comes out dry, they do not need to bake any longer.
- Allow donuts to cool inside the pans for 2-3 minutes before flipping the pans over onto a wire rack. Allow the donuts to cool on a wire rack until they are near room temperature.
- While the donuts cool, combine together the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon sugar for the topping.2 tablespoons melted butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- You can gently brush the donuts with the melted butter using a silicone brush before sprinkling the topping on. Or you can dunk each together into the topping mixture. The donuts will be semi tacky so the mixture should cling nicely.
- Enjoy immediately!
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: You can store these donuts in an airtight container for 2 days on the countertop or place them in refrigerator for 4 days.
- To Reheat: Reheat in microwave for 10-15 seconds if desired.
- The easiest way to pour the batter into the piping bag is to place the bag in a tall glass and fold down the edges over the rim.
- If you do not own a piping bag, you can use a large ziplock bag (gallon sized).
- Piping in the mixture makes this process mess free.
- Apple cider baked donuts are best eaten right away to enjoy their fresh flavor and soft texture.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg
Hi Jenn,
in reading through your recipe I notice that you do not reduce the apple cider as many recipes do. Is there a reason for this?
I can tell you that it should be melted room temperature butter, not just softened. It doesn’t blend in well.