Hello, Autumn! Nice to finally see you! We hit our first “cold” front of the season, and feeling the temps drop down just a few degrees to make the mid-afternoon heat tolerable has certainly been well welcomed! We live in the middle of a field of planted pines, so not many of the trees that surround our house ever change colors. It’s pretty much green outside all year, so I always make sure I go the extra mile to make things really feel like fall around here. Yesterday afternoon that meant breaking out the apple cider and getting a little creative in the kitchen, and these Apple Cider Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts have been the perfect treat to help us welcome in the season!
I’ve seen a lot of polls going around social media lately asking people to vote and take a side as either team pumpkin spice or team apple cider. People will come out of the woodwork to give their two cents on something like that, but I won’t be voting until there’s an option in the poll where I can choose both, because both pumpkin AND apple cider are my jam during this time of year!
In fact, I actually did include a hint of pumpkin spice in the cinnamon sugar coating! Pumpkin spice is just a blend of several warmer spices, and the flavors in it really complement these Apple Cider Cinnamon Sugar doughnuts perfectly!
ย Here’s a free printable copy of the recipe if you’d like to give it a try!
Apple Cider Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 apple large - peeled and grated
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 stick 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbs baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Combine apple cider and grated apple in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to about 1/2 cup (roughly 25 minutes)
- Allow mixture to cool completely
- Stir applesauce, vanilla and apple cider vinegar into mixture, set aside
- Beat butter and sugar using a stand mixer until light and fluffy
- Add egg and beat until combined
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and cinnamon
- Add four mixture and apple mixture to butter mixture alternatively, starting and ending with flour mixture
- Beat on low just until blended
- Transfer contents to a piping bag or gallon ziploc bag and snip the end
- Pipe batter into greased doughnut pan
- Bake at 350 F for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch
- Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice in a bowl
- Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl
- Once doughnuts are removed from oven and slightly cooled, dip one side of doughnuts quickly into butter, then dip into sugar mixture to coat
- Allow butter to dry before serving
- Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram: @SouthernMadeSimple or use the hashtag #SouthernMadeSimple and share your love of southern cuisine!
This week apple cider has really been stealing the show in our household, though. These doughnuts have real bits of apple in them, and they’ve got a sweet cake-like texture that is perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning. My daughter even had one for her after school snack! They get two thumbs up from everyone here in the Tucker House! ๐
If you liked this recipe, I can almost guarantee that these other fun recipes found right here at Southern Made Simple will quickly become the apple of your eye! ๐
Triple Caramel Candy Doughnuts | Homemade Apple Butter | Cinnamon Roll Apple Cobbler | Baked Honey Pecan Stuffed Apples
Leave a Reply