Baked Apple Cider Donuts

There's a reason the line at the orchard snack stand is always longest in October. Apple cider donuts are the unofficial flavor of fall: tender, warmly spiced and rolled in enough cinnamon sugar to leave a trail on your jacket.

The good news is you don't need an orchard or a pot of hot oil to make them. This baked version comes together in a single bowl, bakes in about ten minutes, and fills the kitchen with the kind of smell that brings people out of other rooms.

The secret is in the saucepan

Most baked cider donuts taste faintly of apple at best. The fix is simple: reduce the cider first. Simmering one and a half cups down to half a cup concentrates the flavor into something closer to a syrup, so every bite actually tastes like the orchard. It takes about twenty minutes and needs only an occasional stir, which makes it a good moment to measure everything else.

Buttermilk keeps the crumb soft and cakey, and a mix of white and light brown sugar adds a gentle caramel note. We streamlined the spice cabinet down to apple pie spice, which already blends cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in one jar.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

For the donuts

• 1½ cups fresh apple cider
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature (or whole milk)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cinnamon sugar coating

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice

Optional cider glaze (instead of the coating)

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 tablespoons apple cider
• Pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Reduce the cider. Simmer the apple cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until it reduces to ½ cup, about 20 minutes. Watch it closely near the end, when it reduces quickly. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes.
2. Prep the pans. Heat the oven to 350°F and coat two donut pans with nonstick baking spray.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt.
4. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, egg, both sugars, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth.
5. Combine. Add the dry ingredients and the cooled cider reduction to the wet ingredients. Whisk just until no streaks of flour remain.
6. Fill and bake. Spoon or pipe the batter into the pans, filling each cavity about halfway. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool briefly. Let the donuts rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
8. Coat. Stir together the sugar, cinnamon and apple pie spice. Brush each warm donut with melted butter and roll it in the spiced sugar. For the glaze instead, whisk the glaze ingredients until smooth and dip the tops of fully cooled donuts.

Make ahead and storage

The cider reduction can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Baked donuts keep, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to two days. They also freeze well for up to two months; coat them after thawing and a quick warm-up for the freshest sugar crust.

At a Glance

Recipe adapted from Baked Apple Cider Donuts by Leigh Harris, Don't Sweat The Recipe. We simplified the spices to apple pie spice, swapped in light brown sugar, scaled the coating and added an optional cider glaze and a muffin-tin method.