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These small batch baked apple cider donuts are soft and tender, dipped in melted butter and coated in cinnamon sugar. Six donuts with rich apple flavor, made from scratch for one or two.
Featured Comment
“My new favorite donut recipe!! Tastes like fall which I absolutely LOVE.”
– Deborah
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes (20 minutes to reduce the cider, 15 minutes to bake)
- Cool Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Equipment: 1-quart saucepan, donut pan
- Cook Method: Stovetop and oven
- Servings: 6 donuts
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Sweet and apple-forward, with cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter and a buttery cinnamon sugar coating on the outside.
These are the warm cider donuts you’d usually drive to an orchard stand for, coming out of your own oven instead.
Why You’ll Love These Baked Apple Cider Donuts
A few years ago we moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina, right in the heart of apple country, and that first fall I fell hard for the apple cider donuts sold at the orchards here. They come warm from the bag, soft all the way through, with cinnamon sugar that ends up on your fingers. I wanted that same donut at home, in a batch small enough for one or two people, so I created this recipe, which makes six of the best apple cider donuts.
The apple flavor comes from reducing the cider. I simmer a cup and a quarter of cider down to a quarter cup, which concentrates the flavor so the apple comes through in the finished donut. It takes 15 to 20 minutes on the stove, and the cider turns darker and a little thicker. I’ll sometimes do this a day or two ahead and keep the reduction in the fridge, so the donuts are ready in about 30 minutes.
A batch this small needs its own proportions, so I use a single egg yolk; a whole egg is too much liquid for six donuts. Use the leftover egg white in any of our small batch egg white recipes.
The batter comes together by hand in about 10 minutes and bakes in a regular donut pan. Once the donuts have cooled for a few minutes, dip each one in melted butter, coat it in cinnamon sugar, and eat the first one while it’s warm.
For more small batch apple recipes, try my small batch apple fritters, small batch apple cinnamon scones, or small batch donut holes. If you have cider left over, a small batch mulled cider uses it up.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Here’s what goes into these small batch apple cider doughnuts and why each one matters. If you have anything left over, check the Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Apple cider: Fresh, unfiltered cider gives these donuts their apple taste, and reducing it first is what makes that taste come through. Unfiltered apple juice can be used instead, but clear or sparkling juice cannot. Apple cider vinegar is a different ingredient altogether and does not work here.
All-purpose flour: Plain all-purpose flour gives the donuts a soft, cake-like crumb that holds together when you dip them in butter.
Baking powder and baking soda: The powder lifts the batter, and the soda works with the acid in the cider to help the donuts rise evenly. Both lose strength as they sit in the pantry, so test them if the containers have been open a while. For baking powder, stir ¼ teaspoon into ½ cup hot water; it should bubble. For baking soda, stir ¼ teaspoon vinegar into ½ cup hot water, then add ¼ teaspoon baking soda; it should fizz.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger: Cinnamon carries the flavor, nutmeg gives it depth, and ginger adds a quiet warmth.
Salt: A pinch keeps the donuts from tasting flat and makes the spices come through.
Unsalted butter: Melted butter in the batter keeps the donuts tender, and a second dip in melted butter after baking is what holds the cinnamon sugar on. Salted butter works too.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Brown sugar brings moisture and a faint caramel note. Granulated sugar sweetens the batter and makes the coating. If you’re out of brown sugar, make a small batch of brown sugar to use in this recipe.
Egg yolk: One yolk binds the batter and keeps it rich. A whole egg is too much liquid for six donuts. Save the white for a mini Texas sheet cake or small batch meringues.
Vanilla extract: A little vanilla softens the spices and ties the batter together.
Whole milk: Milk loosens the batter so it pipes easily and keeps the crumb soft. Almond or oat milk works for a dairy-free version.
Recipe Variations
This baked apple donuts recipe takes a glaze well, and the batter bakes just as well in a muffin pan or a small baking dish if you don’t own a donut pan.
Apple Cider Glaze For Donuts
Skip the butter and cinnamon sugar and glaze them instead. Whisk ½ cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon apple cider and a pinch of cinnamon, then add more cider a teaspoon at a time until the glaze drips slowly off the whisk. Dip the tops of the cooled donuts and let them sit for 15 minutes to set.
Mini Apple Cider Donuts
Grease a mini donut pan and fill each cavity about two-thirds full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 8 to 9 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed. One batch makes about 15 to 18 mini donuts. Dip and coat them the same way, or brush the butter on and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.
Mini Apple Cider Cake
Pour the batter into a greased 5×5-inch baking dish and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 25 to 27 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Two 10-ounce ramekins or a mini loaf pan work too. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while it’s warm.
How To Reduce Apple Cider For Donuts
Reducing the cider is the step that makes these taste like apple cider donuts. Simmering cooks off water and concentrates the apple flavor, which is what gives these donuts their rich apple taste. It takes 15 to 20 minutes, and you can do it while the oven heats or up to 2 days ahead.
- Measure: Pour 1¼ cups apple cider into a 1-quart saucepan. A small pan matters here; in a wide skillet the cider reduces too fast to control.
- Boil: Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Simmer: Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring now and then. Start checking at 12 minutes. The easiest way to check is to pour it into a liquid measuring cup; if it’s above the ¼-cup line, pour it back and keep going. The last few tablespoons go quickly, so stay close near the end.
- Cool: Take it off the heat when you have ¼ cup and let it cool for 10 minutes before it goes into the batter. It will still pour like a liquid, just darker and a little thicker than it started.
If it reduces past ¼ cup, stir in a splash of water to bring it back. If it’s taking much longer than 20 minutes, your heat is too low; a bare simmer in a small pan will get there, but barely bubbling won’t.
How To Make Small Batch Apple Cider Donuts
These photos show each stage of making homemade apple cider donuts so you know what the batter and the baked donuts should look like. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Make the batter: Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, both sugars, egg yolk, vanilla, cooled reduced cider, and milk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk just until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be thick and the color of caramel.
- Fill the pan: Lightly grease a 6-cavity donut pan. Spoon the batter into a zip-top bag, snip off one corner, and pipe it into the cavities, filling each about two-thirds full. A spoon works too, but piping keeps the batter off the center posts.
- Bake: Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the tops spring back when you press them gently.
- Cool and coat: Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out. Melt the topping butter in one shallow bowl and stir the sugar and cinnamon together in another. Dip both sides of each donut in the butter, then press it into the cinnamon sugar. Eat them warm.
Expert Tips
Apple cider vinegar is a different ingredient: The names look alike on the shelf, and that’s where the trouble starts. Apple cider vinegar is sour and sharp and will not bake into a donut you want to eat. You need fresh apple cider, the cloudy kind sold in a jug.
Don’t overfill the pan: Two-thirds full is the limit. Any more and the batter rises over the center post and bakes closed, so you get a muffin top with no hole.
Measure the flour by spooning it: Stir the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level the top with a knife. Scooping packs in extra flour, and in a batch this small even a tablespoon too much makes the donuts dry.
Stop mixing when the flour disappears: A few extra strokes won’t hurt, but whisking until the batter turns smooth and shiny works the flour too hard and the donuts turn out dense and gummy.
Brush the butter for a lighter coating: Dipping both sides gives you the classic orchard-stand coating. If that’s too much butter for you, brush the tops with a pastry brush and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over them instead.
Check your oven temperature: An oven thermometer costs a few dollars and takes the guesswork out of a 15-minute bake. Ten degrees off in either direction shows up in donuts this small.
Troubleshooting
If your apple cider donuts didn’t turn out quite the way you wanted, here’s how to correct them.
Why are my apple cider donuts dense and gummy?
Apple cider donuts turn dense and gummy when the batter is overmixed or the leavening is old. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet only until the flour disappears. If they still come out heavy, test your leavening. Stir ¼ teaspoon baking powder into ½ cup hot water; it should bubble. For baking soda, stir ¼ teaspoon vinegar into ½ cup hot water, then add ¼ teaspoon baking soda; it should fizz.
Why don’t my apple cider donuts taste like apple?
Apple cider donuts taste like plain spiced donuts when the cider wasn’t reduced enough, or wasn’t reduced at all. Simmer 1¼ cups cider down to ¼ cup before it goes into the batter. Start with fresh, unfiltered cider; clear or sparkling juice won’t give you the same apple taste.
Why did my apple cider donuts lose their hole?
Apple cider donuts lose their hole when the pan is overfilled. The batter rises over the center post as it bakes, and the donuts come out looking like muffin tops. Fill each cavity only two-thirds full. Piping the batter from a zip-top bag makes it easier to stop at the right level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apple cider donuts are cake donuts made with apple cider and fall spices, then coated in cinnamon sugar. They’re a fall favorite at apple orchards. This baked version gets its rise from baking powder and baking soda and bakes in a donut pan.
Yes, unfiltered apple juice works in a pinch. Like apple cider, it’s cloudy and has plenty of apple flavor. Skip clear apple juice and sparkling juice, since they won’t give the donuts the same apple taste. If you can see through the bottle, it’s the clear kind. Reduce the unfiltered juice the same way you would the cider.
Yes, you can freeze apple cider donuts with or without the cinnamon sugar coating. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 4 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, then warm them in the microwave.
Store apple cider donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They’re best the day they’re baked.
Yes, the batter bakes into apple cider donut muffins or a mini apple cider cake. Fill 4 or 5 greased muffin cups three-quarters full and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 18 to 20 minutes, or bake the batter in a 5×5-inch baking dish for 25 to 27 minutes.
No, apple cider vinegar won’t work in apple cider donuts. It’s a sour vinegar, and it would take over the flavor of the donuts. Use fresh apple cider, the cloudy kind sold in a jug, often in the refrigerated section.
No, the coating is optional. You can skip it to cut back on sugar, though the donuts won’t taste quite the same, or use the apple cider glaze above. For a lighter coating, brush butter on the tops and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over them.
Warm apple cider donuts in the microwave for a few seconds, just until they’re warm. If they’re frozen, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator first.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this small batch apple cider donuts recipe please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Small Batch Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 1¼ cup apple cider
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter -melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
For the topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the apple cider reduction
- Pour 1¼ cups apple cider into a 1-quart saucepan.
- Bring the cider to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cider reduces to ¼ cup.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the reduced cider cool for 10 minutes. You can make the reduction up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.
Make the donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Lightly spray a 6-cavity donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon melted butter, the brown sugar, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, the egg yolk, vanilla, cooled reduced apple cider, and milk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until no streaks of flour remain. Stop there; extra mixing makes the donuts dense.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the donut cavities, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the tops spring back when gently pressed.
- Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Turn the donuts out of the pan.
Make the topping
- Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a shallow bowl.
- In a second shallow bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon.
- Dip both sides of each warm donut in the melted butter, then coat it in the cinnamon sugar.
- Serve the donuts warm.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
What temperature to bake at? I didn’t see it listed in the recipe.
Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the tops spring back when gently pressed.
Just made your small batch. Came out perfect. I love your small batch recipes. Shared with a neighbor, my son and wife and my husband and I.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to know the donuts were enjoyed by all.
I’m a newly diagnosed celiac patient and an curious, can I substitute gluten free flour for ‘regular’ flour?
Hi Sharon, I’ve tested several of our recipes with King Arthur brand Gluten Free 1:1 flour with success. Although I have not tested this donut recipe with GF flour, based on my other tests with our baked goods recipes, I believe you can substitute here too.
Made 15 mini muffins. They were delightful! Thank you so much, Joanie, for all these wonderful recipes! You are making me into a cook!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Deb!
My new favorite donut recipe!! Tastes like fall which i absolutely LOVE
I love apple cider donuts! Followed your instructions and tips to a T except used a (15) mini muffin tin. They were perfect!! Having had limited experience cooking, I find that using your website is a great way to build my confidence.(w/o wasting a lot) Thank you so much, Joanie!!
These donuts are so easy and delicious! Perfect for fall. Thanks Joanie!
Great recipe.