These healthy baked apple cider donuts are made extra light and moist with applesauce and are spiced with boiled apple cider and warm cinnamon. They are topped with a maple glaze and make for a delicious fall breakfast treat!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple cider donuts, apple donuts, baked donut recipe, Baked donuts
½cupspiced apple cider, boiled down to about 2 tablespoons of syrup (See notes)
1 ½teaspoonsvanilla extract
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1 ½teaspoonssalt
1 ½teaspoonsbaking powder
2cupswhite whole wheat flour
For the glaze:
1 ½cupsconfectioners' sugar
3tablespoonspure maple syrup
2teaspoonsmilk or enough to make a spreadable glaze
Instructions
Making the donuts:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray. My pan makes 6 donuts, so I had to fill it twice.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, applesauce, cider syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
Add the flour, stirring until just smooth.
Fill a pastry bag or a sturdy gallon-sized plastic bag with the batter. Use scissors to snip off the tip of the bag, creating about an ½''' hole.
Pipe the batter into the wells of the doughnut pan nearly to the rim.
Bake the doughnuts for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. .
Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and loosen their edges by running a knife along the outer circle. After about 5 minutes, transfer them to a rack to cool completely before glazing.
Making the glaze:
Mix together all of the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth.
Glazing the donuts:
Dip the donut tops in the glaze. Let any excess glaze drip off before you flip the donut right side up. Set on a wire rack to dry completely; this will take about 30 minutes.
Donuts are best enjoyed on the day that you make them. If you need to store them, it's best to store at room temperature on a wire rack covered with a lid that allows air to circulate above and underneath the donuts. They will keep for about 2 days before the glaze starts to melt. Stacking the donuts on top of each other or refrigerating them will cause the glaze to melt into the donut.
Notes
1. If you don't have a donut pan, this recipe can easily be made into muffins. Simple fill greased muffin cups about ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes.3. Boiling the ½ cup cider down to 2 tablespoons will take about 15-20 minutes. I suggest doing this ahead of time and letting the syrup cool completely. You will want to boil it on medium-high heat until it is thick and syrupy.Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.