Apple Cider Doughnut Recipe

Draining and glavingApple cider doughnuts make their appearance each Autumn at apple orchards and farm shops. They are more like a traditional cake doughnut than a puffy Krispy Kremes. The latter use yeast to raise the dough, while apple cider doughnuts rely on baking powder for a more dense crumbly texture. Here's an easy recipe that anyone can follow!

If you want the yeast type apple cider doughnuts, see this page!

Apple Cider Doughnut Recipe

Yield: about 18 doughnuts and and doughnut holes (really depends on the size you make !)

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • total 5 cups of all-purpose flour
    (3 1/2 cups flour added at first, plus additional for the work surface and
    another cup if needed to make the dough the right consistency)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (low-fat or nonfat works fine)

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider

Or for a maple syrup glaze:

  • 1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

Or granulated sugar coating

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

And vegetable oil for fryingReduce the apple cider

Directions

Step 1 - Reduce the apple cider

reduced ciderBoil the apple cider in small saucepan(or a crockpot on high) until it is reduced to 1/3 cup.

That will take 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool down to 105F to 115F ( 40-46C)

Step 2 - Making the IcingMaking the icing

Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with about 2 tablespoons of apple cider. It doesn't take much cider. Add it sparingly until you get a paste, like elmer's glue. A wand blender is perfect for making a smooth, well-blended glaze.

If you prefer, you can just mix 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a ziploc bag and use this instead of the glaze. You'll just put each cooked donut in the bag and shake.

Step 3 - Get your mixer going and mix with the whisk!

  1. First add the biutter to your mixing bowl.
  2. Add the sugar
  3. Then add in the eggs, one by one, until the well mixed
  4. Add rmilk and reduced cider.

Step 4 - Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl

Mixr together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in another bowl. Mixing step 1 - whisk

Step 5 - Add the dry ingredients to those already in the mixer / mixing bowl

Put the dough hook on the mixer.

Add the dry ingredients from step 3 into the wet ingredients already in the mixing bowl and mix with the dough hook on medium for 5 minutes.

The whisk is good in the beginning, but the dough will become too thick for either the whisk or paddle.

Step 6 - Add just enough additional flour as needed Switch to the dough hook and mix

You gradually add more flour until it starts to become dough that can form a ball or wad of its own. This is a judgement call, I can't tell you precisely how much more flour to add. Simply put, you add just enough of the remaining floour so the dough feels like, well, dough, meaning it doesn't stick to everything, but will almost hold some shape of its own.

Step 7 - Chill the dough

Step 7 - Chill the dough

Put the dough to the freezer until it is slightly hardened, about 20 minutes. Then remove the dough from the freezer.

Step 8 - Heat the oil

Now is a good time to get the oil heating. It takes about 20 minutes. Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep pan 3 inches; heat the oil to 360 to 370F (check with a frying or candy thermometer). The temperature is important, you don't want to burn them.

Step 9 - Roll out the dough

Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Actually, it depends how thick and big you want the donuts. 1/3 to 1/2 inch makes pretty big doughnuts. 1/4 inch is more the size of Krispy Kremes.Rolling and cutting the dough Same with the size of the donut hole cutting. 3 inch circles expand to about 4 inches.

Step 10 - Cut out the donuts

If you don't have a donut cutter, don't sweat it.

You can use either use a 2 or 3-inch donut cutter to cut out the donuts, or a large wide mouthed jar (or a large cuCutting the doughnutsp as I did in the photo) and a small circular item like an empty medicine bottle. They do expand at least an inch, so go smaller, rather than larger.

I used a shot glass for the inner hole.

Just press down and twistCutting the doughnuts to cut through the dough.

Separate the donuts and put them on a lightly oiled pan in a warm place while you get everything else ready.

Step 11 - Chill the cut out doughnuts

Refrigerate the doughnuts for 20 to 30 minutes. (If you have leftover dough scraps, just re-roll them, refrigerate them briefly and cut additional doughnuts from the dough.)

Step 12 - Cook the donuts!Cooking the donuts

Fry several doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice, until golden brown and cooked through.

That should be about 1 minute per side, but the key is watching them and flipping when they are light golden brown Cooking the donuts

and removing themwhen they're done on each side.

Watch them carefully; they'll quickly burn otherwise.

Step 13 - Remove and drain

Remove the doughnuts with metal tongs or a slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.Draining and glaving

Step 14 - Glaze or dust with sugar/cinnamonDraining and glaving

While still warm, shake a few at a time in a paper bag containing cinnamon sugar OR pour the glaze (see ingredients and step 8) over them.

Step 15 - Snarf them down!

Needs no explanation!
Estimated calories per doughnut: 200 calories

Estimated calories per doughnut: 200 calories

Comments and Feedback

  • A visitor writes on October 16, 2011: "I just wanted to thank you for the cider donuts recipe! This was my first time ever making donuts. I made a couple of mistakes in preparing the dough and cooking: I cut the first few donuts too large (I got greedy, what can I say), and let the oil get too hot. A little adjustment though and the rest came out really nice. The dough is delicious and very forgiving to work with; just keep it cold right up until it\'s ready to go in the fryer. Fantastic! Now excuse me as I need to grab more donuts before the hubby eats them all!"
  • A visitor writes on October 26, 2010: "Wanted to show you photos of the DELICIOUS & PERFECT cider donuts we made with your recipe!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/8586076@N02/5114401355/in/photostream/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/8586076@N02/5115003548/in/photostream/ Thank you! SO PERFECT!!! we're from New England, and live now in Baltimore and miss things like this from home in NH. This was the perfect match for what my husband & I remembered. What fun to make them & bring them to a friend's housewarming party. "


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