Name: Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups apple cider (This will reduce to 1/2 cup for the recipe.); 1 cinnamon stick; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp ground ginger; 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg; 2 pinches ground cloves; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed; 1 large egg; 1/2 cup milk, room temperature; 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 3 tbsp melted butter, slightly cooled; Oil for the donut pans (I use a spray olive oil or just wipe them down with olive oil. You can use your preferred non-stick oil.); 6 tbsp melted butter; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 1 tbsp cinnamon; 2 large pinches of nutmeg

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Homemade Baked Apple Cider Donuts are full of the cozy flavors of fall. Sweet, lightly spiced with cider flavors, tender, moist – these cake donuts are a fall favorite on weekend mornings. And they are baked, not fried, so they are easy enough for anyone to make! Save this recipe to Pinterest so you can always find it.

Disclosure: Post contains affiliate links.

We are fully immersed in the fall months here and to celebrate, I decided to make my family homemade baked Apple Cider Donuts. When the kids were little we would always go to the apple orchards this time of year and get these made fresh. Now that they are a little older and we have our own apples, we tend to just spend our weekend mornings at home – unless there is a soccer game – enjoying each other’s company and catching up on projects. But sometimes you just want that apple orchard donut flavor right at home, right?

Cake donuts

I decided to really make my apple cider donuts authentic and make them as baked donuts. These are cake donuts so they are a little heavier than donuts that have been fried. The recipe tastes more cake-like and uses baking soda and baking powder as a leavening agent. A fried donut uses yeast, which gives it that lighter texture. Traditionally though, these are the exact type of donuts you might get served fresh at a orchard or pumpkin farm this season. And they are incredibly easy to make in the oven too.

Reducing the apple cider

The first thing you need to do to make my homemade baked apple cider donuts is reduce some apple cider. This gives you a concentrated flavor for the donuts. I like to use 1/2 cup of reduced apple cider in this recipe and to get that you need to simmer apple cider with a cinnamon stick on the stove for 20 minutes. Now you can do this the night before if you want to to save time. It does need to cool slightly before adding it to your dough mix.

Mixing it together

Once you have the cider reduced, my baked apple cider donuts come together quickly just as a cake would. The flour is mixed with the spices, the baking soda and baking powder and a little salt. Then brown sugar and sugar are combined with milk, an egg, vanilla extract and some melted butter. The flour mix is added to the sugar mix and finally that apple cider is poured into it all and whisked. I tend to use just a whisk for this and do not even bring out the hand mixer. The batter really comes together nicely and has the texture similar to pancake mix.

Prepping the donut pan

You do need a donut pan to make my homemade baked apple cider donuts recipe. I have these donut pans {HERE}.You also need to make sure these are nicely prepped before you add the batter. To do that, use a spray oil to coat the pan, including the center hole area for the donut. Getting these to release nicely is important and making sure that is greased correctly is a big piece of the equation. You can also use an oil and just wipe it in the pan if you do not have a spay. I have done both and the donuts where I use the spray tend to come out darker. The ones where I wipe the pan come out lighter. There is no taste difference though.

Baking the apple cider donuts recipe

The baked apple cider donuts get placed in the oven for just 10 minutes once everything comes together. To taste they are done, press your finger into one of the donuts. If it springs back, they are done. They need to cool in the pan for a few minutes and then cool on a cooling rack before adding on the sugar coating.

Adding the sugar coating

The sugar coating is a mix of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. The donuts are first dipped in melted butter and then added to that mix. Shake them off to reduce excess sugar. I then personally like to let the donuts cool for about 30 minute minutes.

Tips for making my Baked Apple Cider Donuts

You can reduce the apple cider the night before if you want to save a little time in the morning. Just take it out when you take the milk out so it is not overly cold.
You need donut pans to make my baked Apple Cider Donuts. Make sure to throughly grease the donut pan so the donuts come out easily. Include the part of the pan that will create the donut hole too.
Use a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag with the end snipped off to pipe your donuts into the donut pan. You can spoon them in but I find that piping goes much faster and makes less of a mess.

Saving the donuts

Since this recipe makes about 13-14 donuts, we always have leftovers. I save them on the counter by placing them on a cake stand with a dome like this one {HERE}. You can also wrap them lightly and place them in the refrigerator.

Looking for more apple recipes?

If you love a great apple recipe like my Baked Apple Cider Donuts recipe, try these too.

Homemade Apple Pie from scratch {HERE}
Easy Apple Strudel Recipe {HERE}
Homemade Apple Crumble Muffins {HERE}
Slow Cooker Apple Cherry Cider {HERE}
Apple & Sausage Breakfast Casserole {HERE}
Bacon Wrapped Gouda & Apple Stuffed Chicken {HERE}
Creamy Apple Gouda Sausage Pasta {HERE}

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope you love my Baked Apple Cider Donuts recipe. You can find a full, printable recipe below with all the ingredients and steps. Happy eating.