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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.
So delicious! I baked them with gluten free flour (2 cups) because we had a gluten intolerant guest, but everyone else also loved them!
Hey Svava,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! xT
Thanks for another great one Tieghan!! These are delicious and oh-so-tender. Another great recipe to add to the ever-growing fall baking recipe file. 😀
Okay, so, I used homemade apple butter, (the HBH recipe minus the syrup), and a product I keep in stock from King Arthur called Boiled Cider. This is just a bottled, highly concentrated, greatly reduced cider.. so good and nicely syrupy. Also, didn’t have cardamom so left that out. On the advice of another reviewer, I added slightly more than 1/4 cup of a shredded Honeycrisp apple. The finished mini muffins are so moist and fluffy, and quite delicious.. though perhaps a little heavy on the cinnamon. I think that’s just from the spiced sugar coating though, so I may decrease that to 3/4 tablespoon next time.
Lastly, the batter yielded 40 (tall and nicely domed) mini muffins in my pan?!? How I wish manufacturers would standardize muffin pans, and though I know this is not the case… I still don’t think my Wilton mini muffin pan is extra small. Also, they baked up perfectly in 11 minutes, just as the recipe calls for. Thus, I do believe the batter will be too much for any single 24-count mini muffin pan, so bakers, plan accordingly. That said, I only have one mini pan so I baked up the first 24, cooled them, and coated them, then washed and dried my pan… All the while, leaving the remaining batter tightly covered on the counter. The second batch of 16 baked up just as nicely as the first so, despite taking longer and needing a bit more of the coating ingredients, things went just about perfectly.:) Thanks again HBH! I love all the cider recipes!!
Eeek!! Having said I used HBH apple butter without the addition of maple syrup… I should also add that apple butter needs sweetness. I just prefer using brown sugar in place of maple. 🙂
Hey Melissa,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
Just made these for my 8 year old who can’t have gluten. I used King Arthur GF flour and Bobs Red Mill almond flour and they came out amazing. I have a very picky child and he loves them. Thank you for such a great recipe 😄
Awe love to hear this Erin!! Thanks so much for making the recipe and sharing what worked well for you! xx
Hello! Any suggestions for a cardamom substitution? I went to the grocery store 3 different times and couldn’t find it. Can I use apple butter in this to give a stronger apple flavor? 🙂
Hey Theresa,
You could use some allspice in place of the cardamom, this recipe already uses 1/3 cup of apple butter:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
These were sooooo good! Thank you! I don’t want my jug of apple cider to go bad, so I’m thinking of o making more and freezing them? Do you know if they will freeze well? This way, we can have a few at a time instead of eating them all at once lol!
Hey Debra,
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, you could totally freeze these! xT
Do you have any experience in gluten free? I’m wondering which kind of flour I would need to use?
Hey Debbie,
I would recommend using an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
First, THANK YOU for this easy/yummy recipe. Used a mini-muffin pan and followed exact recipe. Delightfully light and sweet autumn treat without eating an entire regular sized donut. The 24-count creates plenty to share and enjoy. Will definitely make again…and again!!
Hey Barbara,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xT
These were delicious and just melted in your mouth. It took me an additional 10 min to get the apple cider to reduce to 1/2 cup and I didn’t have nutmeg but otherwise followed the recipe as is!
Hey Nichole,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) xT
This is the first recipe I’ve made that I was disappointed in. We found them to be dry and missing a flavor? We couldn’t put our finger on it, but it was a miss for us. I think I might try with regular white flour instead of mixing half/half with wheat.
Hi Colleen,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear they were not enjoyed. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xT
Hi!!!
Could you use apple cider concentrate instead of reducing the apple cider?
Hi Megan,
I’ve not tried that, but let me know how it turns out! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
What’s the best substitute for butter do that the taste is maintained?
Hi Ronald,
You could try ghee and see if that works for you! I hope this recipe turns out well, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Made these this weekend and they turned out perfect! I made them exactly as written in my mini muffin pan. They were wonderful and a big hit!
Hey Lauren,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xT
Mine didn’t rise at all. Baked exactly like I put them in the tins. It’s like the batter was too dry.
Hi Christina,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you had some issues! Were any of your ingredients expired? Please let me know how I can help! xx
I just made these for my family and we loved them! I substituted your pumpkin butter for the apple butter (and put a little bit less than 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 cup). I also didn’t have cardamom so just left it out. The result was neither apple nor pumpkin flavour but a moist, lightly spiced donut like cake and a sweet/salty mix between the salted butter and cinnamon sugar coating.
Finally, we live in France and used a mini “Madeleine” tin instead of mini muffins and it worked very well, giving them a different, but fun, shape!
Hey Kate,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
These were delicious…
Little bites of autumn.
Hey there,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
as written, these were a bit spice-y for our taste and I would love more apple flavor (I want to try with just cinnamon, and adding diced apple).
Hey Kelly,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you didn’t love the recipe! xT