Baked Apple Cider Donuts (Print Page)

Soft, warmly spiced baked treats infused with apple cider and coated in cinnamon sugar.

# What You Need:

→ Donuts

01 - 1 cup apple cider
02 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
03 - 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
04 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
05 - ½ teaspoon salt
06 - 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
07 - ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - ½ cup granulated sugar
11 - ¼ cup packed brown sugar
12 - ½ cup whole milk
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Topping

14 - ½ cup granulated sugar
15 - 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
16 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a standard donut pan.
02 - Simmer apple cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to approximately ½ cup, about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
03 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
04 - Whisk melted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add reduced apple cider, milk, and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
05 - Add dry mixture to wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
06 - Spoon or pipe batter evenly into donut pan cavities, filling each about ¾ full.
07 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until donuts spring back when lightly pressed.
08 - Let donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
09 - Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush donuts with melted butter then dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.
10 - Serve donuts warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They're baked, not fried, so you actually feel okay eating two (or three) for breakfast.
  • The buttery cinnamon-sugar coating stays crispy while the inside stays impossibly soft, like biting into a cloud that somehow tastes like fall.
  • Ready in under an hour from start to finish, which means you can serve them warm and still have time to sit down.
02 -
  • Reducing the cider is non-negotiable—using straight cider in the batter makes them wet and they won't bake properly, but the reduction concentrates the flavor into something that tastes like autumn itself.
  • The moment you pull them from the oven is crucial; they should feel slightly soft to the touch but spring back, because they continue cooking as they cool and will firm up perfectly.
  • Fresh spices make an enormous difference here—if your cinnamon tastes dull, it's time for a new jar.
03 -
  • Brush the donuts with melted butter while they're still warm so the sugar coating actually sticks instead of falling off as soon as you touch them.
  • Don't overmix the batter—mix just until the dry ingredients disappear and stop immediately, because extra stirring develops gluten and makes them tough and dense instead of tender and light.

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