Homemade apple cider donuts are cakey, dense, and intensely flavored. Baked, not fried, these fall treats come together quickly and easily—a convenient recipe with no mixer required. The trick for big flavor is to use concentrated apple cider. Make the morning less hectic by reducing the apple cider the night before. Read on for all the tips you need to make this Fall favorite!
I love those delicious donuts that you get at the bakery…they’re rich, dense, and smell absolutely amazing. If you’ve ever tried my chai spice donuts, pumpkin donuts, or cinnamon sugar donuts, you know that those bakery beauties definitely inspired my donut recipes. They are somewhat dense and very muffin-like. These baked apple cider donuts are no exception, though they are a little heavier with a more substantial and moister crumb.
Tell Me About these Apple Cider Donuts
- Texture: If you like cakey, moist, and dense donuts with a crumbly cinnamon-sugar coating, then look no further than this recipe.
- Flavor: Flavor-wise, they’re APPLE and CINNAMON and SPICE all over. They taste like they’re straight from the bakery!
- Ease: A simple mix of wet and dry ingredients plus the apple cider concentrate makes these a snap to prepare for crisp fall mornings. No mixer, rolling pin, or donut cutter required! Simply add the batter to a donut pan—I use and love this one. If you only have 1 pan, just bake a batch at a time.
- Time: In less than an hour, you’ll have an entire plate stacked high with homemade apple cider donuts.
This Trick Changes Everything
The trick to apple cider donuts is to flavor them with concentrated apple cider. Apple cider that has been reduced down on the stove is thick and potent, adding big flavor without excess liquid. Apple cider, either store-bought or this homemade apple cider, is certainly delicious to drink but it won’t add enough flavor to baked goods. Taking 20 minutes to reduce the cider down transforms regular donuts into amazing apple cider donuts. If you like to keep things simple in the morning, reduce the cider the night before. That will save you cooling time, too, because the cider must cool for a few minutes before you add it to the batter.
To reduce your apple cider, simply follow these simple steps:
- Pour 1½ cups apple cider into a small saucepan. We will reduce this to ½ cup.
- Place on low heat and set a timer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Begin checking at 10 minutes, and then every 3-5 minutes after that until you have ½ cup of cider reduction (approximately 20 minutes).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before using in the batter.
It’s that easy! If you have leftover apple cider, use it in my honeycrisp apple sangria or apple cider sangria—or drink it plain.
Here’s my reduced down apple cider:
Choosing the Right Ingredients: Melted Butter & Apple Pie Spice
- Melted butter. The crown jewel of these donuts is the dip in melted butter, then a dunk in granulated sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. Not only is it delicious, but the melted butter helps the sweet coating stick to the donut.
- Apple pie spice. If you don’t have access to store-bought apple pie spice, you can make your own with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
By the way, if you’re a fall baking fanatic like me and love pumpkin treats, you might try making your own pumpkin pie spice blend, too! Use it in pumpkin-inspired favorites like pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin bars, mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins, pumpkin coffee creamer, and of course, pumpkin pie.
Overview: How to Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts
These couldn’t be easier to make—no mixer required. Leave yourself enough time (at least a half hour) to reduce down the apple cider before beginning. I like to do this step the night before so it’s ready to go in the morning.
- Reduce the apple cider. In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer the apple cider until you’re left with about 1/2 cup. Begin checking at 10 minutes, then every 3-5 minutes after that until you have 1/2 cup of cider reduction. Mine takes about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes (or complete this step ahead of time).
- Combine the dry ingredients together.
- Combine the wet ingredients together, except for the apple cider.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Add the apple cider. Whisk everything together until smooth and combined. You’ll notice the batter will be slightly thick. We want thick batter for cakey and dense donuts.
- Fill the donut pan. Fill each donut cup about halfway. My trick for this? Use a zipped-top bag. Add the batter to the bag, cut off a corner, and pipe it into the donut pan filling only about halfway. This trick makes transferring the batter neat, quick, and easy.
- Bake. Only about 10 minutes of bake time—told you they were quick. To test doneness, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. Once they are out of the oven, let them cool for 2 minutes, then invert the pan to release the donuts. You can then re-grease the donut pan and bake the remaining donut batter. (If you have 2 donut pans, go ahead and bake both trays at once.)
- Coat the donuts. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice together in a medium bowl. Once cool enough to handle, dunk both sides of each donut in the melted butter, then coat generously in the apple spice topping.
Look at this beautiful caramel-colored batter! So much apple flavor hiding in here:
More Apple Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Baked Apple Cider French Toast
- Apple Bundt Cake & Apple Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins
- Apple Turnovers with Salted Caramel
And apple pie, of course!
Print
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-14 donuts
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Baked, cakey, and delicious apple cider donuts are made with apple cider reduction to intensify its flavor. Warm and dipped in cinnamon sugar and apple pie spices, this fall treat will become your new favorite too.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) apple cider
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk, at room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon apple pie spice*
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Reduce the apple cider: Stirring occasionally, simmer the apple cider in a small saucepan over low heat until you’re left with about 1/2 cup. Start checking at 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc until you have 1/2 cup (120ml). Mine takes about 20 minutes. If there are any spices or solids on top of your reduced apple cider, leave them. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together. Pour into the dry ingredients, add the reduced apple cider, and whisk everything together until smooth and combined. Batter will be slightly thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities—for ease, I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. Cool donuts for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter.
- Coat the donuts: Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice together in a medium bowl. Once cool enough to handle, dunk both sides of each donut in the melted butter, then generously in the apple spice topping.
- Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can freeze the donuts, coated or not coated in the toppings, for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up to your liking in the microwave. I usually just zap ’em for a couple seconds.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Large Zipped-Top Bag | Cooling Rack
- Apple Pie Spice: Do you have apple pie spice where you live? It’s pretty standard here in the US. If you don’t have access to store-bought apple pie spice, you can make your own with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
- Milk: I usually use buttermilk, but I’ve found that any milk (dairy or nondairy) works pretty well. For a denser crumb, you can use 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream instead.
- No Donut Pan? Make donut muffins in your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Grease your pan or use muffin liners, fill each 3/4 full, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes about 10-12 apple cider donut muffins.
- Minis: Want to make mini donuts or mini apple cider donut holes in a mini muffin pan? Grease your pan, add the batter to the pan only about 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 8-9 minutes.
I have a daughter that must eat gluten free. Have you or anyone of your fans ever made these gluten free? Would love to make some at our next gathering. Thank you.
Hi Jan, we haven’t but a few readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten free flour like Bob’s Red Mill. Let us know if you give it a try!
Do you think this recipe would work well for a bundt cake?
Hi Linda, we haven’t tested this recipe as a larger Bundt cake, but you may enjoy this apple Bundt cake instead.
Great recipe, horrible prep time estimation. Reducing the apple cider was not accounted for when determining prep time. Reducing apple cider to 25% vol takes over an hour (although the recipe says it should take 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes to cool. That still leaves only 5 minutes to do all other prep. Impossible). If you want this recipe to only take 35 mins to prep, call for reduced cider in the ingredients rather than having it in the instructions, or increase the prep time by AT LEAST 30 mins.
Hi Stephanie, I appreciate your feedback. I’m wondering if your stove is electric or if your pot/pan is particularly heavy-duty on the bottom? It’s likely the time to reduce the cider was longer if either are the case. Let me look at the times presented and see about adjusting.
Oh my goodness these were absolutely 100% delicious! I was worried that since the donuts are not fried that they wouldn’t taste the same. These delivered! The butter bath ugh. I mixed 2 tablespoons of apple butter with the reduced cider. I’m so glad I made these!
Absolutely delicious! I was very pleasantly surprised. Perfect texture and delicious taste.
This recipe is so good that you can accidentally leave out an EGG and they are still delicious. Love the hint of cardamom.
Chiming in on some others, the doughnuts were great but dipping in the butter resulted in way too much sugar sticking to them so they were just way too sugary. Like some others, next time I’ll just brush with butter and then cover with sugar.
The doughnut itself was fantastic though. Just too sugary using the method you outline.
Can i substitute brown sugar for some of the white sugar because i don’t have enough white sugar.
Hi Ana, that should work in a pinch!
Can you make the apple cider donut batter ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake?
Hi Paula, we do not recommend making the batter ahead of time and storing in the refrigerator. The leaveners are activated once wet and dry ingredients are combined, so it’s best to bake the batter shortly thereafter. You could make the apple cider reduction ahead of time to cut down on a step though!
In my quest to get a bit of a crust, after baking 10 minutes, I unmolded, gave them a tiny spritz of oil, and popped them in the air fryer at 350 for 3 minutes. Perfection!
These donuts were awesome! I do have a question though. The day after making the donuts, they ended up being soggy. How can I stop that? I brushed butter on instead of dunking if that makes a difference.
Hi Marissa, for next time, when storing the leftover donuts, you can leave your container/bag open just a crack to allow for some air flow. That should prevent any sogginess. We’re glad you enjoyed them!
I was expecting a cake donut like the traditional cake donut we’ve all purchased from bakeries. Any recipes that have a dense consistency more like that? these were sort of literally just cake shaped like donuts.
Hi Amy, these should be denser than cake. Did you by chance alter any ingredients? Subbing sour cream for the milk could help if you want to try it again.
We have made these several times and creamy enjoy them! The only thing I would say is that when we try to reduce the apple cider, we have went up to about 40 minutes trying to do this and it never reduces down to a half cup? But otherwise, great donuts!
I wont be making these again. Took much longer to reduce the cider vinegar and it didn’t really improve the doughnuts. Labour intensive and not worth the effort.
Hi P., this recipe calls for reduced apple cider, not apple cider vinegar. If you wish to try them again, be sure to use apple cider and the outcome will be much better!
I love this recipe
I make it every fall with our homemade apple cider.
Just made! Excellent!!!5 stars
Another successful Sally recipe. I made these as mini muffins for a bridal shower and they were perfect. I made them dairy free using canola oil for the melted butter and used vegan buttermilk for the milk. I made them in advance and frozen them undipped and then brushed some extra reduced cider on the top. Delicious!
I absolutely love this recipe. I did change it up and make them Gluten Free using a GF Measure for Measure Flour and they came out perfect. These were my first time attempt at making donuts. I’ve made them twice now and both times they were delicious.
Curious .. I’d like to make these to serve in my fall foliage pontoon cruises … to stay in theme do you think I could do these as a “knot” (like garlic bread knots) … ir might they not cook through properly. I’m on Keuka Lake and we cruise through end of Oct. I could also do donuts and call them Life Rings ✈️
Hi Captain MJ, these donuts are made from a cake-like batter that can’t be shaped. You might try our yeasted doughnuts instead, although we haven’t tried knotting them. Let us know what you try!
I made these yesterday. I am celiac so I used 1 to 1 gluten free flour. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. These are soooo good. I can’t say that enough! I I will be making another batch tomorrow Thank you!!!
Lisa what kind of gluten-free flour? My husband has celiac. Thank you!
So delicious! Next time I would brush the donuts with butter to decrease the amount of butter and sugar they soaked up a little bit so I can taste the delicious cider more than the cinnamon sugar. So delicious will make again. Thank you !!
I always read reviews where people say their guests raved about the food… well finally I had raving guests. These were a crowd pleaser. Multiple people suggested I open a donut shop. Thanks, Sally!
This recipe is fantastic! I did do one thing differently. I chopped up an apple and added it to the batter. Going forward, this recipe will try be the only one I use for Baked Apple Cider Donuts. Thank you, Sally!
Made these with GF flour and they were AMAZING. Highly recommend!
Instead of donuts can these be made into donut holes?
Hi Angel, absolutely, see recipe notes for making as donut holes in a mini muffin pan.
Baked donuts…who knew they could be so scrumptious? Tried these for the first time this morning and my husband is still crowing his happy approval. Will make these again and again this Fall. Are there other baked donut flavors available for trying?
Hi Susie, we’re so glad these were a hit! We have several baked donut recipes on our site. You can see all of our donut recipes here.
I tried to scroll the comments to see if this question has been answered previously, but the comments weren’t loading. If I use Vermont boiled cider in this would I use a whole 1.5 cups or would I dilute it? It’s very thick. Thanks!
Hi Anna, you could be able to use that without reducing. Enjoy!
Can you add some cut up apple to the recipe
Hi Cathy, we haven’t tested it, but you could try adding some small chopped apples to the batter. It may let off some additional liquid, so you may want to extend the bake time by just a bit. Let us know if you do give it a try.
I tried it with some apples from my apple tree finely chopped into the batter, and it was delicious!! It did add about 2-3 min bake time, but yum!
Fantastic! The reviews are so mixed on this but I totally trust Sally so I gave it a try. Followed the detailed instructions and the taste and texture was so on point. Everyone in the family loved them. No issues with rising. No issues with sticking to the pan. Just follow the instructions. I made the muffin and mini-muffin style but this would be so much fun as a donut. Can’t wait to make this again. Thank you!
I did not love this recipe. I found the butter dipping and sugar dipping overwhelmed the very light flavour of the donut. Sorry not a fan of this one.
Thank you for your feedback; it’s helpful!
I brushed on the melted button, and they were fantastic!
My daughter and I had a great time making this and even more fun eating it! One comment: we tried it but prefer skipping the melted butter at the end. We just threw the donuts into a ziploc bag filled with the seasoned sugar when they came out of the oven and tossed them for a really simple and delicious coating.
So glad you enjoyed these, Kipp!
Yummy!! The kids and I loved this. This was also a forgiving recipe as my apple cider didn’t reduce as much, my daughter added a 1/2 tsp cinnamon too much to the dry ingredients, and for the topping I only had salted butter (not the unsalted butter called for), and it still turned out fantastic. My son is anticipating these disappearing fast and has asked me to make more. Thanks for a great recipe!