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Homemade Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cider Doughnut Holes. Made with boiled-down spiced cider, apple butter, maple, and a mix of warming cozy autumn spices. Toss each doughnut in brown butter and sweet cinnamon sugar. There’s really nothing not to love about these cinnamon sugar cider doughnuts. There are two secrets to this recipe. The first is to boil down the apple cider to really concentrate its flavor. The second is spiced apple butter, it provides even more delicious apple flavor! The coziest treats to enjoy with a steaming mug of hot chocolate or your favorite latte.
Happiest Friday from New York! What a special time to be here in the city, it’s just beautiful and so full of color right now. Very much what I am all about – so happy to be here!
And I have the most perfect recipe to celebrate the weekend, it screams, “Autumn in New York!”. As I walk around the city and take in all of the fall sights, I’m reminded of just how wonderful the season is. The other fun thing I’ve noticed is the major presence of pumpkin spice anything and apple anything. Pumpkin and apple are all throughout the city.
Every corner you turn there’s some kind of bakery serving up pumpkin spice lattes or sweet apple pastries. It really is the season!
I made these fun doughnut holes last week and we’ve been enjoying them throughout the day. They’re so simple to bake up and the flavor is just beyond delicious.
I’ve been so excited to share the recipe!
Here are the details
Start by boiling down the cider. I’ve been doing this for pretty much every sweet apple recipe I’ve shared. Boiling the cider gives you an even more concentrated flavor that really comes through in the end.
When the cider has boiled and reduced, I mix in the butter for the batter and let it melt.
Next, make the batter. It’s a simple muffin-style batter made with vanilla, eggs, apple butter, and, of course, apple cider. Then, I love to mix in whole wheat flour and a combination of warm autumn spices. The whole wheat flour gives these doughnut holes a nice bite and heartiness. But you can also use all-purpose flour. Either is a great option.
Now bake the batter into mini muffins or just make regular muffin “doughnuts”.
The final step is fun. Brown the butter and then dip each doughnut through the nutty, vanilla-infused butter. And then, just like a classic apple cider doughnut, dredge through sweet cinnamon sugar.
Is there anything more wonderful in the fall? Perfection.
Serve these with coffee or hot cocoa or even a steaming mug of cider for the quintessential fall treat!
Looking for apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Haunted Pumpkin Patch Margarita
Cinnamon Crunch Apple Butter Soft Pretzel Knots
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze
Lastly, if you make these Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cider Doughnut Holes, 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 Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cider Doughnut Holes
Servings: 24 doughnut holes
Calories Per Serving: 148 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Spiced Doughnuts
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup apple butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 24-cup mini muffin pan or 12-cup regular pan.2. Bring the apple cider to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes, until reduce to 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat and and stir in the melted butter. Let cool. 3. In a large bowl, stir together the boiled cider, eggs, apple butter, maple, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until just combined. 4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan, filling 1/2-2/3 the way full. Bake 10-12 minutes for mini doughnuts or 18-20 for regular muffins, until just set. Remove and let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to release.5. Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons butter in a skillet. Allow the butter to brown until it smells toasted, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla.6. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Brush each doughnut with butter, then roll through the cinnamon sugar. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Made these this morning and they are amazing!! Turned out perfectly:) I left nutmeg and cardamom out, and I baked them in my pampered chef donut pan. I could eat all of them, but trying to save some for my kids!😊
Hey Katie,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
These were FANTASTIC. So moist and flavorful. I was short on time so I didn’t boil the cider and it was still perfect! Also didn’t have apple butter so I used apple sauce. Next time I’ll use apple butter but either way these were so yummy!
Hey Lex,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
Would these work in doughnut molds?
Hey Erica,
Totally! I hope this recipe turns out well for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I made these muffins as my husband loves apple cider donuts. They were a huge hit with everyone I shared them with, I will put these into ,y autumn rotation. I regularly have King Arthur Boiled Cider in my pantry, next time I make them I will skip the boiling cider reduction and substitute this.
Thank you for this yummy recipe!
Hey Dianne,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
Made these the other day exactly as written and they were soooo good! Thanks for the great recipes!
Hey Laura,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xx
Made these yesterday and after reading the comments made a few minor modifications. I used spiced apple cider, increased the apple butter to 1/2 cup and added a little over 1/4 cup of shredded Honeycrisp apple. They were moist and really good! I also just used all purpose flour because I didn’t have any wheat flour. I’ll be making them again!
Hey Lynn,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xTxx
Made These guys yesterday! So yummy! I may have perhaps put too much butter at the end because they’re a little bit wet in the container. But they won’t last long anyway. Super delicious. I made mini muffins (donut holes) and regularS definitely recommend the mini muffins. Chefs kiss
Hey Andrea,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xx
These were yummy! I was going to say delicious but I know that’s a controversial word around here! I swapped the apple butter for an apple cider fruit spread from Trader Joe’s and also added 1/3 cup shredded apple. Super not dry and lots of apple flavor!
Hey Lauren,
Happy Monday! 👻 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Happy Halloween! 🎃
Made these as written. They were dry and had an odd texture. If you are going to make these, I would try with 2 cups of all purpose flour and skip the whole wheat flour. The flavor was bland. My family LOVES sweets like this, however, no one liked these. I also made the Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts from the NY Times. They were excellent and all eaten immediately.
Hi there,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for giving them a try. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
These were a family hit! I made them with a GF flour blend and I imagine turned out just as delicious as non-GF would have!? A fun fall breakfast treat!
Hey Krista,
Happy Sunday! 🎃 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
After reading all the comments, I added ⅓ cup of shredded apple (honey crisp) and ours turned out perfect!
Hey Marnie,
Happy Sunday! 🎃 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
I followed the recipe, and they turned out beautifully but were not quite as delicious as I expected. I think I would have liked a bit more spice or apple flavors coming through, and thought the texture was a bit, hmm… I am not sure I can put my finger on it, perhaps a tiny bit dry, or maybe I just wanted them to have a texture more like doughnuts. It would have been great to have a baked doughnut, which feels healthier, to taste the ones which are cooked in oil. Guess this is asking too much. Needless to say, I will still be taking them to share with a friend tomorrow while we sip coffee. Maybe the flavors will be stronger after sitting for a day.
Hi Victoria,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry the flavor and texture wasn’t what you were expecting. Please let me know if I can help in any way! xT
Followed recipe as written. End result was a little dry. Maybe add more apple butter.
Hi Barita,
Thanks for trying out this recipe, so sorry to hear they were a little dry! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know if I can help! xT
Good and easy to make with my 6 year old. I wish there was bit more apple flavor to them. However this could be the apple butter and apple cider I chose were not as quality.
I used quality apple cider and apple butter and thought there wasn’t any apple flavor also.
Hi Sarah,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩
Great recipe, so easy to follow! Will definitely be making these again soon!!
Hi Sherri,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩