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 apple cider donuts.
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 at an apple orchard 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 have the reduced apple 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.
Watch the How-To Reel
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.
This post was originally published on September 10, 2021
These look amazing. I am not a fan of coffee flavor, would it be ok to leave it out of the glaze or is the bitterness needed to offset so much sweet? If so, any suggestions to substitute for the coffee?
Hey Sara,
You can omit the coffee. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made these yesterday and they were sooooo good! My husband (who developed a gluten allergy several years ago) said “ These taste like an apple fritter which I haven’t had in 6 years!”❤️❤️ I substitute cup4cup in all of my baking. I guess I will have to attempt you actual Apple Fritter recipe. Not sure how it will turn out with GF flour but I’m going to try. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
So glad to hear these worked with C4C. I have Celiac Disease and am going to try a GF version!
Hey Angie,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Perfect! I didn’t have a donut pan so made these in a muffin pan instead and they turned out just right with no issues. I baked them slightly longer than recommended just to be sure it baked all the way through. This recipe is an immediate keeper.
Hey Alex,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
My SIL made these for her fam and loved them! We’d like to try. However, one of our family members has a wheat allergy and another an egg allergy. Do you think Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour could be subbed? Also, what egg substitute might work? We’ve used apple sauce, Bobs Red Mill Egg Substitute, flax seed and Aquafaba in the past. Would one of those possibly work?
Hey Sabrina,
Sure, Gf flour would work totally fine here. I have not tested this recipe with an egg substitute, but let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made the recipe as muffins. Wonderful flavor and texture. I reduced the sugar in the batter knowing the glaze would be plenty sweet. I didn’t have instant coffee and substituted a half teaspoon of instant espresso. The glaze was sweet and smoky—really good. The next time I make this recipe I’ll use a loaf pan.
Hey Betsy,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
Could the batter be made the night before and then baked the next morning?
Hey Sarah,
Sure, that would be totally fine to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Thank you for the lovely fall recipe! My family enjoyed it. With no donut pan these became muffins. My instant coffee granules did not dissolve in the glaze so I ended up straining it through a sieve before topping the muffins. Also did not toss the apples with cinnamon sugar before adding as there is plenty of sugar already. A lovely weekend recipe when you have the time to enjoy the process. ?
Hey Connie,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
Just finished making these! It made 10 traditional doughnuts plus 6 small pumpkin shaped muffins. Fantastic flavor, the glaze really took it to the next level. I’ll be wrapping individually and sending to work with my husband, I expect many more rave reviews and will be making these again.
The only change I made was using Penzys pie spice instead of cinnamon sugar on the apples, doubt there was much flavor difference, just wanted to simplify.
Hey Rory,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
Anything we can sub for instant coffee? Or can we just leave it out?
Hey Ang,
You can just skip the instant coffee. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Made these this weekend. They turned out great and my boyfriend loved them.
Hey Bethany,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
So delicious! Made these for work as muffins and everyone loved them! For the muffins I used liners and cooked them for 16-18 min at 350.
Hey Katie,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
Delicious and super easy!!
Could apple sauce be substituted for apple butter?
Hey Kari,
Yes, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hey Sue,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
These are so incredibly delicious! I just finished making them and of course had to taste a warm, freshly glazed one. You’ve done it again with another fantastic recipe; I appreciate all the time and effort you put in to not only creating amazing recipes, but photographing them so beautifully, too! Have an awesome day. 🙂
And I found that they were the opposite of bready and bland, but rather moist and full of flavour. ???
Hey Allison,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
DELICIOUS! I made mini versions of this recipe, cut the bake time roughly in half, and they turned out amazing. Another genius recipe Tieghan!!!?
Hey Sue,
Thanks a lot for trying out this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed and hope you have the best week! xTieghan
I have one of those little donut making machines that were so popular a few years ago, but have never tried it out. Bought it resale. Can I make your recipe in my machine? It’s the type that looks alittle like a George Foreman grill. Thank you! These look yummy!
Hey Christie,
So sorry, I honestly have no idea, I’ve never used a donut machine before, if it involves frying I would not recommend that with this batter. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan