Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Welcoming the weekend with Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze. Made with boiled-down spiced cider, apple butter, and cinnamon. Then baked and dipped in a sweet brown butter glaze flavored with coffee and cinnamon. There’s really nothing not to love about these cute (and sweet) autumn spiced doughnuts. The true secret? Boiling the apple cider down to really concentrate its flavor. The perfect way to celebrate the autumn apple season!
The first apple recipe of the season and I could not be more excited. Every fall I’m so excited, but this year even more so than ever before. I think it’s because the world is in what feels like a very unsettled place, turning on any news source usually leaves you feeling frustrated.
Because of this, I am really embracing the things I love the most. I’m focusing on all the good that the world does have to offer. My goal this fall is to really go all out. I’m 100% grabbing more pumpkins than I need, making pumpkin spice lattes, and come October 1 – decorating for Halloween. I’m already plotting out my “spooky” desserts and cocktails for October.
Embracing all the good things and leaving the rest behind, you know?
And today that means we’re focusing on September apples and making some of the best baked doughnuts.
The Inspiration
Do any of you remember last year’s cinnamon spiced apple fritters? Well, those were the initial inspo for this recipe. I just loved those so much, especially the vanilla coffee glaze. I planned to remake them at least once this month, but the frying part really gets me. It’s just messy and not my favorite task.
That got me thinking about new recipes I could make that highlighted the same flavors but didn’t involve any frying.
And that’s where these baked doughnuts come in. They’re a cross between a really delicious apple cider doughnut and a sweet apple fritter. Totally delicious in every way possible.
On to the details – start with the doughnuts
If you love a classic apple cider doughnut, these are for you. If you can make a basic cupcake or muffin, you can certainly make these. There’s nothing fancy about them.
The key to these doughnuts? It’s all in the cider. I recommend finding the best spiced cider with no added sugars. If you can, pick up some fresh apple cider from your local farmers’ market. Or even better, go apple picking and pick some up! Nothing quite beats a really good apple cider. It’s always so flavorful this time of year.
To help intensify the apple cider flavor throughout the doughnuts, I decided to boil down the cider on the stove until reduced. Boiling the cider will concentrate the flavors and make the cider that much more flavorful. It’s an extra step, but one that I think is worth it.
Once you’ve boiled the cider, the rest is quick. Just mix the cider with apple butter, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, plus dark brown sugar. Then add in all the dry ingredients and stir in a chopped Honeycrisp apple. Adding the apple makes them kind of like apple fritter doughnuts.
Divide the batter between doughnut pans (or just a cupcake pan). As the doughnuts bake, the kitchen will start to smell like your favorite autumn candle, it’s perfection.
Make the glaze
I took inspiration from my Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies and apple fritters, and decided on a buttery maple glaze with cinnamon and a touch of coffee throughout. It’s just some browned butter, maple, powdered sugar, instant coffee, and cinnamon.
Not too strong, not too sweet, but just right. Especially when spread on top of a warm doughnut.
Delicious!
And with that, here’s my recommendation for the coming weekend…apple picking and doughnut baking – of course!
And if not this weekend, sometime soon. I promise you guys, these doughnuts are so good and such a great fall treat.
Looking for September apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze
Lastly, if you make these Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Servings: 14 doughnuts
Calories Per Serving: 251 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 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
Brown Butter 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
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 6-cup doughnut pan or 12-cup muffin pan with melted butter2. Bring the apple cider to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes or until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat. Let cool.3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1/2 cup boiled cider, melted butter, eggs, apple butter, vanilla, and brown sugar until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, mix until just combined. Toss the apples with the cinnamon sugar mix, then stir the apples into the batter.4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan, filling 1/2-2/3 the way full. Bake 12-13 minutes, until just set. Remove and let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to release and invert the pan. 5. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the butter to a small pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown slightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup, powdered sugar, instant coffee, and cinnamon. Dip or drizzle the doughnuts into the glaze. Highly recommend eating a few of these warm.
Do these freeze well?
I haven’t ever frozen these before so I can’t say!
wish i could add the picture i took! I quickly took the shot BEFORE the family woke up! This is the second batch! The coffee adds such a nice little zip!
Thank you so much Nancy! xT
I have made these before, but wanted to make a big batch to bring to many people- does the recipe double (or even triple) well, or should I make individual batches? Thank you!
Hi Tess! Yes you can definitely double this recipe! xT
These are so yummy! I have made these a few times and they are ALWAYS a big hit. My only question is regarding the icing. Every time it is super gooey and sticky and not white and frosted like yours. I follow the recipe so not sure what I’m doing wrong. Thanks in advance <3
Hey Leah,
Happy Friday!!☀️🐰 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was delish! Does the frosting need more powdered sugar? Is it too thin or too thick? xT
I can’t wait to try these! Making them for the kiddos so any suggestion on replacing the coffee (I have enough trouble as is with bedtime lol)
Hey Lan,
You can just skip the instant coffee:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
I have made these once before and they were so delicious. I am thinking of making these in muffin tins this time. Can they then be frozen?
Hey Carol,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out tasty for you! Sure, muffin tins would be great and you can totally freeze them! xT
Made these for our neighborhood’s annual chili cook off (the Chili Willi 😝) and they were a hit! So easy to make, and so delicious!
Hey Mallory,
Happy Sunday!! I truly appreciate you giving this a try and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
How many doughnuts does this make?
Hi there,
This recipe will make 14 doughnuts. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Fool proof and sooooooo delicious!!!!
Hey Avery,
Happy Friday!🎃 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it out and sharing your review! xx
This one was a miss for me. The timing seemed off; the cider boiled for more than 30 mins without reducing enough (finally stopped it when there was about 3/4 cup left), and even though I only baked for 12 mins @ 340, they were extremely dry & overbaked. The donut itself honestly didn’t taste like much – not really “appley”, but the glaze was SO delicious. If I made them again, I’d reduce baking time by 3 mins, add a touch more sugar, and double the spices in the batter.
Hi Dallas,
Thanks for trying this recipe, so sorry to hear they were not enjoyed! What size pan did you use? Please let me know if I can help with anything! xT
Made these for the first time tonight and they were really tasty. I did have the same issue as another poster with the instant coffee, it just didn’t want to dissolve. I ended up straining it, but it had infused the butter so you could still taste the coffee in the icing. I also had to increase the cooking time to 18 minutes for them to fully cook in my silicone donut pan. I might try in muffin form next time so that I could cook them all the same time.
Hey Nicole,
Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try!🍁 xxT
These came out great! I did everything with the exception of the instant coffee and everyone loved them!
Hey Stephanie,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for trying it out! Have a great weekend! xx
Hi Tieghan,
Any ideas for what I could substitute for apple butter?
Thanks!
Hey Kate,
You could try using a THICK apple sauce in place of the apple butter. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Ok, I’ll try that- thanks! (I’m overseas and can’t find apple butter & also don’t have enough apples to make it 😉)
I made these in muffins tins and they were delicious! Only problem I had was the instant coffee didn’t blend in with the rest of the ingredients in the glaze…maybe I should have added a bit of boiled water to it first? But it was still really good nevertheless.
Hey Toni,
Awesome!!🤩 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review and love to hear that it was a hit! Sorry about the instant coffee. Did you use the instant coffee granules? xTieghan
I used freeze dried coffee so maybe that’s why!
Could be!!
These were incredibly delicious! Thank you Tieghan for another yummy recipe. Quick question – after a day of leaving the donuts on the counter the glaze/dip had totally absorbed into the donuts. Any tips on how to not have this happen? I thought it would just harden like in your photos. TIA! Xoxo
Hey Chelsea,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out! Did you keep them in an airtight container? I would try the fridge next time! xT🍂
These are wonderful!! The donut isn’t too sweet which makes up for the sweetness of the icing.
Only thing is my icing was super gooey and sticky and not white and frosted. I’d love to know why…!🤔
But still delicious, nonetheless!
Hey Nicole,
Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Sorry to hear about your glaze, sounds like you may have just needed to use less powdered sugar!🍁 xxT