Nothing brings in the flavors and scents of fall like cinnamon and cider. These baked cider donuts are easy to make, with a soft texture, and cinnamon sugar coating. They stay soft for several days and are simply delicious!
You might also like our cider caramels, our apple cider fried donuts, or our boiled cider (cider syrup) recipe.
Watch our step by step video!
When we lived in California, cider donuts were a staple treat in the fall. Everyone in Northern California knows about Apple Hill and its dozens of adorable shops, orchards, and food stands. It's a busy place September-November---for good reason. The atmosphere is cozy and brimming with warm smells. One of our favorite shops sold cider donuts. They were warm and melted in your mouth. I have a version similar to the ones we purchased from Rainbow Orchards that are fried, but today I'm sharing a baked version!
Baked Cider Donuts
Baked cider donuts are made in a donut pan vs. being cut into shapes and deep fried. They are honestly just as delicious, and are easy to make. They get their wonderful flavor from ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and boiled cider. One batch makes 12-14 donuts and they'll stay soft for a few days. You can reheat any leftovers for a few seconds in the microwave, bringing them right back to their fresh-from-the-oven-glory.
These donuts are delicious straight from the oven, but even more delicious brushed with butter and covered in cinnamon and sugar. This gives them their signature flavor and sticky texture.
Boiled Cider
I discovered boiled cider this year and am a huge fan! Boiled cider is an apple cider reduction made from 100% apple cider. That’s it! It’s simmered down until it produces a syrup that is absolutely delicious added to recipes or reconstituted into cider by adding hot water.
You can make these cider donuts by simmering a 2-4 cups of cider down to ½ cup, but I HIGHLY recommend following our boiled cider recipe/method and using an entire gallon of cider so that you’ll have extra. I promise that you’ll find so many ways to use it (hot cider, pour over pancakes, add to muffin, homemade caramels, or pancake batter—-so many possibilities!). One gallon will reduce to 2 cups of boiled cider syrup which is shelf stable and lasts a long time. Follow my instructions for the best results.
Baked Apple Cider Donuts Ingredients
Donuts
- Boiled apple cider (if you don't want to use an entire gallon of cider you can simmer 4 cups of apple cider down to ½ cup.)
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda, baking powder, and salt: for leavening and texture.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: the combination of ground cinnamon and nutmeg gives the donuts a wonderful flavor, reminiscent of apple pie.
- Melted butter: for flavoring and texture. I always use salted butter in my baking, but you can use unsalted.
- Egg: eggs add richness to baked goods and give them the proper texture.
- Brown sugar and white sugar: I use both for the right balance of sweetness and moisture.
- Milk: milk helps thin the batter out slightly, making it easy to squeeze into the donut pan. We're looking for a muffin batter consistency, not bread dough.
Coating
- Melted butter: a light coating of melted butter helps the cinnamon and sugar stick.
- Cinnamon and sugar: you can add a pinch of nutmeg to the mixture if you'd like, but I like the classic cinnamon and sugar coating.
How To Make Baked Cider Donuts
Prepare a donut pan by spraying with non stick cooking spray. Most donut pans have 6 cavities. I have two pans so that I can make more donuts at once. If you only have one pan, just bake the donuts in 2-3 batches.
Measure out ½ cup of boiled cider or make your own by simmering 4 cups of 100% apple cider (no preservatives) down to ½ cup in a small saucepan. Follow my instructions in this post, watching carefully as it approaches the ½ cup measurement to prevent burning. Set aside.
Whisk dry ingredients together. Set aside.
Combine melted butter, sugars, egg, milk, boiled cider, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix just until everything is incorporated.
Transfer the batter into a gallon sized ziploc bag and cut the corner of the bag off using a pair of scissors. Squeeze the batter into the donut cavities.
Bake the cider donuts at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Let donuts cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Let the donuts cool until they are easy to handle.
Brush each donut on both sides with a thin layer of melted butter.
Cover the donuts with cinnamon and sugar, tapping to allow excess to fall back into the bowl.
This recipe yields 12-14 donuts, depending on how much you fill the pan. The more you fill the pan the more you risk losing the hole in the center when they bake so try to avoid overfilling the pan.
Store donuts in an airtight bag or container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
(printable version)
Baked Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup boiled cider
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- ¼-1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare a donut pan by spraying with non stick cooking spray. Most donut pans have 6 cavities. I have two pans so that I can make more donuts at once. If you only have one pan, just bake the donuts in 2-3 batches.
- Measure out ½ cup of boiled cider or make your own by simmering 4 cups of 100% apple cider (no preservatives) down to ½ cup in a small saucepan. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients together. Set aside.
- Combine melted butter, sugars, egg, milk, boiled cider, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix just until everything is incorporated.
- Transfer the batter into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and cut the corner of the bag off using a pair of scissors. Squeeze the batter into the donut cavities of the pan.
- Bake the cider donuts at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Let donuts cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Let the donuts cool until they are easy to handle.
- Brush each donut on both sides with a thin layer of melted butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
- Cover the donuts with cinnamon and sugar, tapping to allow excess to fall back into the bowl.
- This recipe yields 12-14 donuts, depending on how much you fill the pan. The more you fill the pan the more you risk losing the hole in the center when they bake so try to avoid overfilling the pan.
CC says
I would like to make these, but is there a substitute for cooking down 4 cups of cider? I have some regular apple juice (I’m sure it has preservatives) and would like to use that instead and wonder if I can use 1/2 cup not boiled?
Brandy says
Hi! The reduced cider gives quite a bit more flavor than 1/2 cup of apple juice would, but the donuts would still be moist and the cinnamon and nutmeg flavor would still shine through! I'd reduce it to 1/3 of a cup instead of 1/2 cup since it'll be thinner than boiled cider. Boiled cider has very little moisture from water left in it.