Fluffy, perfectly moist and tender donuts with sweet apple cider and warm cinnamon sugar coating. These taste just like my favorite apple cider donuts but are baked—not fried—and so simple to make that you can enjoy them year round!

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Why this recipe works

Because my pumpkin donuts are pretty perfect, I was able to adjust that recipe to use apple cider and it was equally perfect. I actually based them on my many varieties of loaf breads/loaf cakes, but wanted them more cake-y, so I altered the ratios of liquid and dry ingredients. It was the perfect blend of structure and fluffiness.

The apple cider both adds a great flavor and helps the donuts retain their moisture. To ensure a proper rise, there’s of course the egg and baking powder, but also just melted butter so these aren’t dense or weighed down. So, while the donuts are very moist, they’re also still super fluffy and tender. They’re right there in that sweet spot of dense enough to be a donut without tasting dry.

And the flavors! I use quite a bit of cinnamon—right in that sweet spot where it’s not overwhelming but it’s there and delicious. Then I tossed it in cinnamon spiced sugar after baking. Coating them in butter straight out of the oven then dipping them right into the spiced sugar makes the coating stay and also adds that quintessential “donut” crunch to an otherwise tender donut.

Key ingredients

Flour. Always spoon then level the flour so you don’t pack it in.

Sugar. One hard concession I made was using only granulated sugar. It’s necessary to get the right “donut” texture.

Ground cinnamon. I like a extra cinnamon in my fall desserts, but you can reduce the amount slightly if you aren’t a big fan.

Butter. Unsalted is preferable, but if you only have salted, omit the salt from the recipe.

Baking powder. This helps create a lovely rise that’s not too airy but also not dense.

Salt. I prefer sea salt in my baking, but table salt works, too.

Apple cider. Use actual cider, not apple juice (and not apple cider vinegar!). You will reduce this before using it so the flavors are more intense and it’s a bit thicker.

Eggs. Use fresh, room temperature eggs.

Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste).

How to make apple cider donuts

1. Prep your ingredients. Reduce your cider and melt your butter then let both cool.

2. Sift and whisk dry ingredients. Sifting helps create that super tender texture.

3. Whisk reduced cider, egg, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined, about a minute.

4. Slowly whisk in melted butter. Whisk quickly while slowly streaming in the butter to avoid scrambling the egg.

5. Whisk in sugar. Whisk about a minute, to partially dissolve the sugar.

6. Fold in dry ingredients. It should still be lumpy but have no visibly dry streaks of flour.

7. Pour into a greased donut pan(s).

8. Bake. Bake until a toothpick comes out with just some moist crumbs. This happens quickly, so watch them carefully.

9. Prep the coating while donuts bake. I prefer to make the spiced sugar and pre-melt the dipping butter before starting the donuts, so it’s ready to go when they’re hot. You may need to reheat the butter if it has started to solidify, but that is a quick process, compared to trying to prep it all while the donuts bake.

10. Dip warm donuts in butter then sugar. Do this within a few minutes of removing from the oven, using tongs or a kebab spear if needed to grab the donuts. You can either dip the donuts or brush them with butter. Coat immediately with sugar so it sticks.

Enjoy!

Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

How do I know if my cider has reduced enough?

When reducing liquid, I always measure out some water in the final amount I need. I place it in my pot and get a good visual of where it should stop when it’s reduced. I sometimes also stick a kebab stick in there and mark on it how deep the water should be. That way, as it reduces, I know when to stop.

Help! My cider reduced too much!

That’s okay! If it reduced to almost nothing, you’ll need to start over. If not, you can top it off by adding a splash of plain cider. Or, if needed, you can use all of the reduction (which should be much thicker than when it was cider) for the muffins and use plain, not-reduced cider for coating the muffins after baking.

Do I have to sift the flour?

Yes! Sifting is key in baking, particularly in anything cake-y. It helps it mix into the wet ingredients more easily, preventing clumps as well as circumventing the urge to over-stir and create a tough, rubbery texture.

Spoon then level your flour

Don’t scoop your flour! I never knew this until I started blogging, but it seriously makes a big difference. You will end up with roughly 25% more flour than the recipe called for if you just doonk (official baking term right there) your measuring spoon into the flour container and scoop. Gently spoon your flour into your measuring cup then level it off with the back of a knife. Trust me! It makes a difference.

Double the recipe as needed

This recipe makes about 10-12 donuts, depending on your pan and how full you fill it. If you need a larger batch, you can double or even triple it. A double recipe would literally just be double, but since math loves to trick even the best of us, here’s a double recipe:

For the donuts:

2 1/2 cups (340g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6g) salt
2 tablespoons (16g) pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons (6g) ground cinnamon
1 cup (244g) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons (26g) pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (84g) melted unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

For the spiced sugar coating (you don’t quite need a double batch):

2/3 cup (113g) salted butter, melted
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (11g) pumpkin pie spice

My tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making these donuts. Affiliate links provided.

Donut pan

Pastry brush

Mesh sieve

You might also like:

Apple Streusel Loaf

Apple Crumb Cake

Apple Cider Donut Muffins

Blueberry Applesauce Donuts

Pumpkin Donuts

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Print recipe

prep time: 15-20 minutes
bake time: 9-11 minutes
total time: 31 minutes

servings: 10-12

Ingredients:

for the donuts

1 ½ cups (204g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
2 tablespoons (16g) ground cinnamon
1 to 1 ½ cups (230-345g) apple cider
1 large egg, room temperature
½ tablespoon (6g) pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (42g) melted unsalted butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

for the cinnamon sugar coating

½ cup (113g) salted butter, melted (add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter)
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Grease 12 wells of your donut pan(s) lightly with butter or baking spray.
Reduce the apple cider by heating it over medium for 10-15 minutes, until it reduces to ⅓ cup in volume (or reduces to ⅓ of its original volume). Set in the fridge to cool. While the cider reduces, you can work on the next step.
Melt the butter and set aside. Don’t let it cool enough to solidify, but do let it cool somewhat before using.
Using a large fine mesh sieve, sift then whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled apple cider, vanilla, and egg until very well combined. If the cider is still pretty warm, slowly stream it in while whisking so the eggs don’t scramble. Slowly stream in the melted butter while whisking quickly (again, to prevent scrambling the eggs).
Add the sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk for about 1 minute, until the sugar looks partially dissolved. You can whisk it by hand or, if using a stand or hand mixer, mix on medium.
Add the flour mixture and stir or fold in gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. Don’t worry if it’s a little lumpy–that will bake out.
Spoon into your prepared donut pans. Fill until roughly level with the center hole thingy (I believe that’s the technical term).
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in one of the middle donuts comes out with some moist crumbs. Check early so they don’t over bake–each oven is different. Let cool in pan for just a few minutes while you prep the coating.
While the donuts are baking and cooling, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow, wide bowl (at least twice as wide in diameter as the donut–it makes coating them easier). Melt the butter, being sure it is still hot when you’re ready to coat the donuts. Optional: you can do this all before making and baking the donuts, so it is all prepped and ready to go when the donuts come out of the oven.
Within a few minutes of removing from the oven (using tongs or a kebab stick to handle them, if needed), remove from pan and use a pastry brush to coat both sides with butter, getting the inside and outer edges on both sides.
Immediately place in the sugar bowl and toss to coat, using a spoon or your fingers to coat the sugar on the inside and outer edges. Be sure to coat well, as some will inevitably fall off.

Enjoy with your morning coffee!

These will last, loosely covered, 2-3 days. You can store these in an airtight container to make them last longer, but the cinnamon sugar coating will become a bit soft by the second day due to the moisture in the container.