Easy Baked Apple Cider Donuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your donut pan.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the apple cider until it begins to simmer. Continue simmering (and stirring) for about 10 minutes, or until liquid has been reduced by about half.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup of the cider mixture with the sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
5. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
6. Combine the dry ingredient mixture with the cider/egg/yogurt mixture and stir until just combined.
7. Pipe the batter into the donut cavities evenly. (you can pour batter into a Ziploc bag, cut the corner of the bag off, and pipe the batter in that way)
8. Place donut pan into preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.
10. To prepare topping: combine 2 tablespoon of the apple cider reduction with the melted butter and place in container large enough to dip donuts into.
11. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon/sugar. To coat donuts, dip one side into the butter mixture and immediately dip into the cinnamon/sugar mixture
12. Set onto a cooling rack or serve immediately! Enjoy!

What to do if you don’t have a donut pan

I highly recommend getting one as I use mine frequently, but if you don’t have one, here is an alternative option to try!

1. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Take a square of tin foil and roll it into a thick cylinder, the size you want the hole of your donut to be.
3. Next, stand the tin cylinder upright in the middle of each muffin tin, pressing it down flat so it stands up straight.
4. Pipe the donut batter around the tin cylinder in the muffin pan so each donut bakes with a hole in the middle.

Tips for the perfect baked donuts

• Spray or butter your pan and then flour it, even if it is nonstick.
• Loosen the doughnuts around the edges, just like you would with a bundt cake, and then flip the pan over.
• You could technically make these with apple juice but there is nothing like the flavor of apple cider.
• Feel free to use cake flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
• Use room temperature eggs as they tend to mix into the other ingredients easier.
• Do NOT over-mix batter as that will make the donuts dense and not fluffy.
• Don’t fill  donut pan higher then ¾ full as they will lose their classic shape if they rise over the pan.

How to store Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Baked apple cider donuts are best the day of making them. However, you can store the baked donuts in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

These donuts are freezer-friendly! Simply wrap donuts individually in freezer-safe bags or store them in a large freezer bag in your freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, reheat for 30-45 seconds in the microwave or simply thaw them at room temperature.