Description
These Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze offer a delightful autumn treat featuring warm spices, tender doughnuts infused with apple cider and chunks of honeycrisp apple, topped with a rich, slightly toasted cinnamon maple glaze. Perfect for celebrating the fall apple season with a baked, not fried, doughnut that’s both flavorful and comforting.
Ingredients
Scale
Doughnuts
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup apple butter
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 honeycrisp apple, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar
Cinnamon Maple Glaze
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3/4-1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 6-cup doughnut pan or 12-cup muffin pan with melted butter to ensure doughnuts don’t stick after baking.
- Reduce the apple cider: Bring the apple cider to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This concentrates the apple flavor for the batter.
- Mix the batter: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the reduced apple cider (1/2 cup), melted butter, eggs, apple butter, vanilla extract, and dark brown sugar until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined to avoid a tough texture. Toss chopped honeycrisp apples with cinnamon sugar, then fold into the batter gently.
- Fill and bake: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan cavities, filling each about half to two-thirds full. Bake for 12-13 minutes until the doughnuts are just set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert the doughnuts onto a cooling rack.
- Make the cinnamon maple glaze: In a small pot over medium heat, add salted butter and cook until it browns slightly and smells toasted (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in maple syrup, powdered sugar, instant coffee, and cinnamon until smooth.
- Glaze and serve: Dip or drizzle the doughnuts generously with the cinnamon maple glaze. These are especially delicious served warm, so enjoy a few fresh from the glaze while still warm.
Notes
- These autumn spiced doughnuts celebrate the fall apple season with warm spices and fresh apples.
- You can substitute apple butter with pumpkin butter for a different seasonal flavor twist.
- Use a honeycrisp or any tart apple for the best texture and balance of sweetness in the doughnuts.
- Ensure the doughnut pan or muffin pan is well-greased for easy removal.
- The glaze can be adjusted for sweetness by varying the powdered sugar amount.
- Leftover doughnuts are best stored in an airtight container and can be refreshed in a warm oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 doughnut
- Calories: 251 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
