Soft, fluffy, coated in cinnamon sugar, and bursting with fall flavors, these baked apple cider doughnuts bake up in minutes and are a delicious way to celebrate the season. Guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Weekend breakfast on the front porch is one of my favorite fall activities. I mean, breakfast on the front porch is a favorite activity of mine all the time, but it seems like fall is just about the only time of year that it really works for me. I get so excited about the cool weather and the prospect of wrapping myself up in a cozy sweater with a hot cup of coffee!
So I try to make breakfast extra special on those occasions when my husband an I can actually enjoy it on the porch. Like, maybe as in so special that there’s dessert involved. Donuts work great for that because, somehow or another, they became the dessert that it’s socially acceptable to eat for breakfast.
I don’t question it. I just eat healthy most of the time and enjoy my porch doughnuts for a few months late in the year.
Maybe that explains why the majority of the doughnut recipes on this blog are fall-ish. Gingerbread, apple crumble, salted caramel. And now apple cider!
This is the first time I’ve shared a sugar-coated doughnut recipe on the blog. I usually go for frosted, but this time around a sugar coating seemed like a good chance to work some extra cinnamony goodness into my doughnuts.
These doughnuts start with a simple batter you can mix up by hand. Start with your dry ingredients, then add the wet and stir just until mixed. Next, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled doughnut pan. You can use a pastry bag or a zippy bag with the corner snipped, or you can be lazy like me and just spoon it in. :)
Bake the doughnuts, then let them cool a bit while you melt some vegan butter and mix up some cinnamon sugar.
When the doughnuts are cool, brush them with the melted butter then dip them in your cinnamon sugar.
Head on out to the cool fall air and enjoy with a cup of coffee.
Tips for Making Delicious Apple Cider Doughnuts
- What’s vegan butter, you ask? Some people ask this! Is it just margarine? Sort of. Some margarine has dairy in it. Look for products labeled vegan, like Earth Balance and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (It’s Vegan!).
- These doughnuts are best eaten as soon as possible, but if you can’t swing that they’ll keep for a day or two at room temperature in a sealed bag or container.
- Can these be made gluten-free? I haven’t tried, so I can’t be sure, but I’ve had luck with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour in similar recipes.
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Apple Cider Doughnuts
Soft, fluffy, coated in cinnamon sugar, and bursting with fall flavors, these baked apple cider doughnuts bake up in minutes and are a delicious way to celebrate the season. Guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup canola oil (or your favorite baking oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Coating
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar (I used coconut sugar)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Lightly oil a 6-cavity doughnut pan.
To make the batter, stir the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
Stir the cider, oil, and vanilla together in a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup.
Add the cider mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until mixed.
Spoon (or pipe, using a pastry bag) the batter into the doughnut cavities
Bake for about 13 minutes, until the doughnuts spring back when lightly touched.
Transfer the doughnut pan to a cooling rack and allow the doughnuts to cool.
While the doughnuts cool, stir the sugar and cinnamon for the coating together in a small bowl.
When the doughnuts are cool, remove them from the pan.
Brush each doughnut with melted butter, then dip it in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
Serve.
Do you think I could make these as mini muffins, since I don’t have a donut pan?
Yup! I’ve made other doughnut recipes in muffin pans and it always works. I’ve never done mini muffins though, so I’m not sure of the cook time. I’d start checking them at 8-9 minutes and every couple minutes after that.
I made these yesterday and they are delicious! Super hard to resist. I doubled the batch brought half to visit family. My almost 10 year old nephew took one bite and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up — and that’s not easy to get!! I’m planning to make up a double batch to bring to the office too. I can always rely on your recipes — thanks for another great one.
Yay!! I’m always happy to hear when a recipe passes the kid test. :) Glad they were a hit! Thanks Barb!
Would this work with apple sauce instead of oil? Trying to stay clear of processed fats but it’s hard finding yummy wfpb desserts 😊
I think so, but I haven’t tried myself so I can’t be totally sure. I’d love to hear how it works out if you do!
This is such a wonderful recipe! Doughnuts were moist and dense in all the right ways! Thanks for sharing.
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!
I made 4 batches in one week! (Because of course, I needed to make use of all the apple cider). I had to make sure to not let them cook longer than 12-13 minutes, or they would be dry. I also threw in 2 TB flax seed. Towards the last batch, I only had 3/4 cup of all purpose flour, so I substituted oat flour and they came out great, just a little more dense!
Thank you for the amazing recipes!
I meant whole wheat flour, not all purpose! :)
Wow! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them! Glad to hear they work with oat flour – that’s one of my favorites for baking lately. Thanks Jess!
Hi! Any change at all for high altitude??? I’m in Denver….
thank you!!
I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with high altitude baking! My best suggestion would be to try the guidelines in this article: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Perfect apple cider donuts!
I am such a fan of baked donuts I have one of those large pans that bakes 20 donuts at a time. I doubled the recipe & ended up with 14 delicious donuts. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Kathy!