Name: Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tsp. baking powder; ¼ tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. salt; 2 ½ tsp. apple pie spice; 1 ½ cups apple cider (reduced); ¼ cup milk; 2 tsp. vanilla; ½ cup butter (at room temperature); 1 cup brown sugar; 2 large eggs (at room temperature); Non-stick baking spray (for the pans); 1/2 cup butter (melted); 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 ½ tsp apple pie spice

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This ultimate Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe is full of flavors of fall and bakes up to a golden brown, then is covered in cinnamon sugar and made with apple pie spice.

One of my favorite things about fall is apple cider, and with this recipe, you reduce the apple cider to get an even more intense flavor in the donuts. You are going to love making these and our Sugar and Spice Baked Pumpkin Donuts, Vanilla Baked Buttermilk Donuts, Cinnamon Donuts, and our new Baked Strawberry Donuts, too! To fully embrace fall, we also love our Apple Pie Smoothies, Baked Cinnamon Apples, Apple Dump Cake, or Apple Pie Macarons!

Donuts on a cooling rack with apples and linens

Helpful Items For This Recipe

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3-Pack Silicone Nonstick Donut Baking Pans

Apple Pie Spice

Cooling Rack/Baking Rack

What is in Apple Cider Donuts?

Ingredients

Simple ingredients that you may already have in the pantry and refrigerator. Using apple pie spice like a pumpkin pie spice is easy and has all the spices already figured out for you. The apple pie spice is perfect in the donut and in the sugar topping.

All-purpose flour

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

Apple pie spice

Apple cider

Milk

Vanilla

Butter

Brown sugar

Eggs

Non-stick baking spray

Sugar Coating

Butter

Granulated sugar

Apple pie spice

How To Make Apple Cider Donuts

This is an easy recipe and one that we have tested many, many times to get it perfect! You don’t even need great piping skills, just a zipped storage bag and your donut pan, and you are off. The donuts are forgiving as they rise and turn out perfectly. Plus you can always clean up the dough a bit with a moistened finger.

Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and heat until reduced to ½ cup.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice, whisking to combine.
Add the reduced cider, milk, and vanilla into another medium bowl and stir together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and mix until creamed, 4-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Continue to mix adding the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then ½ of the liquid.
Continue to alternate between the dry ingredients and the liquid until all the ingredients are in the bowl, end with the flour mixture. Continue mixing until the batter is just combined.

Piping, Baking, and Sugaring

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the batter over in the bowl 2-3 times to ensure it is mixed together. Pipe the batter into the donut molds filling 2/3 full.

Bake the donuts until they spring back and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Turn the donuts out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool. You can store the donuts in an airtight container for 3-4 days on your counter.

Horizontal shot of donuts on a cooling rack with apples on the side

Mix the sugar and apple pie spice together in a small bowl. Butter the outsides with the melted butter and roll the donuts in the sugar apple spice mixture before serving.

If you leave the donuts for a day in an airtight container you won’t need to butter before rolling as they become slightly moist.

Do you want some donut holes? Then just pop a bit of batter into a mini muffin pan and you have perfectly poppable bites!!

How do You Freeze Apple Cider Donuts?

Apple Cider Donuts stacked like a pyramid on a cake tray with apples and donuts below it.

There are a number of ways you can freeze donuts if you would like to make them ahead of time.

First off, don’t sugar them; that can happen later. They will be a bit moist when thawed, so you don’t need to butter them if you don’t want to before serving, just like when you store them in an airtight container.

You can lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze them like that and then store them in zipped storage bags.

I like to freeze in airtight containers and layer the donuts in between parchment paper. They should be good for at least 2-3 months.

You can also wrap them in foil and plastic wrap and freeze them that way. The choice is yours.

How Many Calories in an Apple Cider Donut?

Donuts stacked on a plate with the a front one broken in half.

Making a baked donut as opposed to a fried donut does reduce the calories and fat and therefore is a healthier option, but they are still considered a treat and not something that should be consumed regularly.

The calories will come from a lot of the sugar that is in the donut too. The calories for our donuts are about 220 compared to a fried donut being about 260 or more depending on the donut and if it is glazed or not.

A large apple fritter donut comes in at 500 calories, so making your own baked donuts at home is not only delicious but less calories. You are going to love this recipe for so many reasons.

Donuts stacked on a plate with apples and a cake stand of donuts in the background.

Square shot of donuts on a cooling rack with apples on the side.

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Pin it HERE!!

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Tara Noland

These baked not fried Apple Cider Donuts are amazing for fall and winter with a cinnamon sugar topping made with apple pie spice. You will want to make them to share!

4.72 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 25

Total Time 50

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings -20 Donuts

Calories 221 kcal

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 ½ tsp. apple pie spice
1 ½ cups apple cider reduced
¼ cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
Non-stick baking spray for the pans

Sugar Coating

1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp apple pie spice

Instructions

Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and heat until reduced to ½ cup.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice, whisking to combine.
In a medium bowl stir together the reduced cider, milk, and vanilla.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar and
butter and mix until creamed, 4-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Continue to mix adding the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then ½ of the liquid. Continue to alternate between the flour and the liquid until all the ingredients are in the
bowl, end with the flour mixture. Continue mixing until the batter is just combined.
Using a spatula, fold the batter over in the bowl 2-3 times to ensure it is mixed together.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a small to medium size piping tip. You can also put the batter into a large zip-close bag and cut off a corner, being careful
not to make too large a cut. You can always cut a little more; you can’t make
the hole small once you have cut it!
Pipe the batter into the donut molds filling 2/3 full.
Bake the donuts until they spring back and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
Turn the donuts out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool. You can store the donuts in an airtight container for 3-4 days on your counter.
Mix the sugar and apple pie spice together in a small bowl.
Butter the outsides with the melted butter and roll the donuts in the sugar apple spice mixture before serving. If you leave the donuts for a day in an airtight container you won’t need to butter before rolling.