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Home / Recipes
40 minutes
4.73 from 22 votes
13 Comments

Apple Cider Donuts

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  • 383
by: Joanna Cismaru
10.02.20

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Perfectly spiced and beautifully tender, these Apple Cider Donuts are about to be your latest and greatest fall snack, and yes I know the competition is stacked. Full of warm cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, tangy apple cider, and with a heavenly chew, these donuts are buzz worthy.

a bunch of apple cider donuts and donut holes on parchment paper

Now I’ve mentioned before in my Krispy Kreme recipe that there is an eternal debate raging in the food world, one side is for yeasted donuts and the other prefer cake donuts. I thought I offered you guys a great showcase of what a yeasted donut can do, so why not introduce you all to the magic that is the Apple Cider cake donut?

Now what exactly is an apple cider donut? Well like most North American traditions, this one centres around getting creative with our harvests. Specifically apples.

What Is An Apple Cider Donut?

This one began in the northeastern US, fresh apples were picked, turned into cider and that cider was then used to craft these delicious donuts. A little cinnamon here, a little nutmeg there, all thrown into the cake donut to end all other cake donuts. Don’t believe me? Well let’s test it out.

overhead shot of all the ingredients needed to make apple cider donuts

Ingredients

  • Butter – Unsalted as always – a must for baking!
  • Sugar – Just a bit of granulated sugar for a clean sweet flavor.
  • Eggs – We want to incorporate these into our creamed butter mixture afterwards to act as a good binder for our donut.
  • Leavening agents – Baking soda and baking powder, this is the key to a good cake donut as we’re using these powders to create height and volume as opposed to yeasting our dough.
  • Flour – Just all purpose flour.
  • Spices – A bit of cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg if you can swing it! If you only have cinnamon sticks on hand feel free to throw those in with the cider as it reduces.
  • Buttermilk – This will create light, tender, and fluffy donuts. If you don’t have any on hand I’ve included a section below detailing how to make your own.
  • Apple cider – The whole flavor profile of our donuts! Only cider will do – not juice not sauce, just cider.
  • Vanilla – Just a bit of vanilla extract to act as a secret weapon flavor enhancer.
  • Vegetable oil – Something light like canola oil is perfect for frying up our donuts in.
  • Cinnamon sugar – Combine regular granulated sugar with ground cinnamon to roll our warm donuts around in – believe me this is key.

Why Buttermilk?

Let’s talk about the buttermilk in these donuts because the buttermilk plays a very important role here. First of all, the buttermilk will add complexity and depth to your apple cider donuts. It’s what makes them super soft and light and what keeps them from browning too quickly so that you end up with treats that are baked perfectly, inside and out!

process shots showing how to make the dough for apple cider donuts

Can I Make This Recipe Gluten Free?

Yes you can! Just add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to your gluten free flour to allow protein bonds to form and for the dough to stick together properly. You can substitute regular flour for gluten free flour 1:1.

How To Make Apple Cider Donuts

  1. Heat the apple cider in a large saucepan over medium high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, should take about 10 minutes.
  2. Cream the butter: In a large bowl using a hand-held or standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the sugar and the butter until mixture is pale, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and continue beating for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  3. Combine wet ingredients: Pour the buttermilk, reduced cider, and vanilla into sugar/butter/egg mixture. Mix well, and don’t worry if the mixture looks a bit curdled; it’ll smooth itself out.
  4. Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
  5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and combine gently just until fully moistened.
  6. Form the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times until it comes together; form it into a ball. Roll out the dough so that it’s 1/2-inch in thickness. Cut out rounds with a 3-inch cutter donut cutter. Don’t discard the donut holes, fry those too.
  7. Make cinnamon sugar: In a shallow bowl combine the 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar with the 3 tbsp of ground cinnamon. Set aside.
  8. Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
  9. Fry the donuts: Working in batches, add donuts to the Dutch oven and cook until evenly golden and crispy, 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate for 30 seconds; then roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
process shots showing how to cut and fry donuts

Not A Fan Of Frying?

Fear not, I totally understand and luckily for you this recipe is easily convertible. If you’re not into frying or don’t have the tools necessary these will pop in the oven nicely.

  1. Once you’ve shaped your donuts, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.
  2. Brush the donuts with melted butter before placing in the oven.
  3. Bake the donuts for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown. Roll in cinnamon sugar and serve hot!

How To Make Your Own Buttermilk

If you can’t find any at the store, or you didn’t feel like buying some just for this recipe – fear not! You can make your own buttermilk quite easily with just regular milk and something acidic.

Just take 1 cup of regular milk and mix in either 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes before incorporating.

Some Tips

  1. We want flavor concentrate in our donuts which is why we reduce our apple cider, so consider this step crucial! You want it reduced enough to create a syrupy flavor bomb.
  2. Want some sweetness and even more apple flavor? Try adding a half cup of apple butter and thank me later.
  3. Save the donut holes! Toss them warm in the cinnamon sugar mixture and snack on these little morsels for hours to come!
  4. Before frying these donuts make sure your oil is hot, it needs to be 350 F degrees. Try one at first and check out the oil.

Storage

Sadly these little cake donuts lose their appeal when not eaten hot and fresh. Frying them up when you’re ready to feast is half of the magic!

So while I don’t recommend storing these cooked, lucky for us the uncooked dough can be stored for future use!

Fridge

You can refrigerate uncooked dough for 1 day if stored in an airtight container. Just be sure to take it out of the fridge and allow to come back up to temperature before frying, You never want to add cold dough to a fryer.

Freezer

Form the donuts and line them up raw on a baking sheet, place this in the freezer and once frozen through move them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Keep this in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow it to defrost fully on the counter before frying up!

overhead shot of a bunch of apple cider donuts on parchment paper

Craving More Donuts? Try These Delicious Recipes

  • Jam Filled Sour Cream Donuts
  • Porky Monkey Donut
  • Cherry Filled Donuts
  • Mandazi African Donuts
  • Paczki (Polish Donuts)
  • Baked Jelly Filled Donuts
  • Krispy Kreme Donuts

Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram

a bunch of apple cider donuts stacked on top of each other with a bite taken out of one

Apple Cider Donuts

4.73 from 22 votes
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 40 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 20
Print Pin Rate
Perfectly spiced and beautifully tender, theseĀ Apple Cider DonutsĀ are about to be your latest and greatest fall snack, and yes I know the competition is stacked. Full of warm cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, tangy apple cider, and with a heavenly chew, these donuts are buzz worthy.

Equipment

  • KitchenAid Hand Mixer
  • Glass Mixing Bowl Set (3 piece)
  • Keep Calm And Bake On Spatula
  • 3-inch Donut Cutter
  • 6 Quart Dutch Oven
  • Deep Fry Stainless Steel Thermometer
  • Classic Wooden Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoon butter unsalted, softened at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • vegetable oil for frying

Cinnamon Sugar

  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoon cinnamon ground
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Heat the apple cider in a large saucepan over medium high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, should take about 10 minutes.
  • Cream the butter: In a large bowl using a hand-held or standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the sugar and the butter until mixture is pale, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and continue beating for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy.Ā 
  • Combine wet ingredients: Pour the buttermilk, reduced cider, and vanilla into sugar/butter/egg mixture. Mix well, and don't worry if the mixture looks a bit curdled; it'll smooth itself out.Ā 
  • Combine the dry ingredients:Ā In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and combine gently just until fully moistened.Ā 
  • Form the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times until it comes together; form it into a ball. Roll out the dough so that it's 1/2-inch in thickness. Cut out rounds with a 3-inch cutter donut cutter. Don't discard the donut holes, fry those too.
  • Make cinnamon sugar: In a shallow bowl combine the 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar with the 3 tbsp of ground cinnamon. Set aside.
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
  • Fry the donuts: Working in batches, add donuts to the Dutch oven and cook until evenly golden and crispy, 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate for 30 seconds; then roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.

Video

Recipe Notes

  1. Recipe yields 20 donuts and 20 donut holes. Nutritional information is for 1 donut and 1 donut hole.
  2. Sadly these little cake donuts lose their appeal when not eaten hot and fresh. Frying them up when you’re ready to feast is half of the magic!
  3. So while I don’t recommend storing these cooked, lucky for us the uncooked dough can be stored for future use!
  4. You can refrigerate uncooked dough for 1 dayĀ if stored in an airtight container. Just be sure to take it out of the fridge and allow to come back up to temperature before frying, You never want to add cold dough to a fryer.
  5. Form the donuts and line them up raw on a baking sheet, place this in the freezer and once frozen through move them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Keep this in the freezer for up toĀ 1 month. Allow it to defrost fully on the counter before frying up!

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 225kcal (11%)Carbohydrates: 45g (15%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 4g (6%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 29mg (10%)Sodium: 196mg (9%)Potassium: 117mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 27g (30%)Vitamin A: 133IU (3%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 55mg (6%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Course:Dessert, Donuts, Snack
Cuisine:American
Keyword:apple cider donuts
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!
  • 383

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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Comments

  1. Kate H. says

    March 26, 2021 at 11:20 am

    Hi Jo! Wondering if and how I could substitute sprouted spelt flour and coconut sugar for the all-purpose and granulated. It’s randomly all I have on hand lol. Trying to ruin a good thing by making it “healthy” ish.

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      March 26, 2021 at 12:11 pm

      LOL I understand. Usually spelt flour can be substitute cup for cup for all-purpose flour. Having said that, I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m not sure of the outcome, but they can’t be bad. šŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Pi says

    January 5, 2021 at 9:43 am

    Hi! Is it really a whole tbsp of baking powder or is it 1 tsp? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 5, 2021 at 9:47 am

      Yes 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda.

      Reply
  3. Tina says

    October 23, 2020 at 11:54 am

    Hi, I’m hoping to make these donuts this weekend– the air is chilly and they sound perfect for fall!

    Just to clarify a point asked previously: If I add apple butter, is it in addition to all ingredients or to substitute the butter? I’m thinking the fat from the butter would still be necessary. Thank you so much for this yummy looking recipe!

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      October 23, 2020 at 1:00 pm

      Yes, the butter definitely plays a role, but many times you can substitute it with applesauce or in this case apple butter and still end up with a moist dough for the donuts. So the answer to your question is you can directly substitute it.

      Reply
  4. Donna says

    October 20, 2020 at 5:45 am

    I have a question prior to baking. As a tip you suggest using 1/2 cup of apple butter. I presume that the apple butter is replaced by the unsalted butter. 1/2 cup of apple butter is more than 5 tablespoons.

    Reply
    • jo says

      October 20, 2020 at 9:37 am

      That’s right, it should be fine.

      Reply
  5. JANET says

    March 18, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    living now in Florida I really miss those cider mill apple cider donuts!! Do you think these could be made in an air fryer?

    Reply
  6. joy says

    October 20, 2019 at 11:17 am

    is there a big difference in the end product from frying to baking?

    Reply
    • jo says

      October 20, 2019 at 12:32 pm

      I find that they are a bit crispier if fried than baked. Otherwise taste will be the same.

      Reply
  7. Kim says

    October 17, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    Hi Jo, the recipe calls for 5 cups of butter…that can’t be right…can it?

    In your ingredients pictures there’s only one stick of butter shown.

    Just checking. Thanks!

    Reply
    • jo says

      October 17, 2019 at 8:18 pm

      OMG this is too funny! My assistant pointed that out to me when we were prepping the recipe and I made a point to change it and sure enough I forgot all about it. It’s only 5 tbsp of butter. šŸ™‚

      Reply

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I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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