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These baked apple cider donuts are soft, warmly spiced, and packed with strong apple flavor thanks to a reduced apple cider base. No deep frying, no complicated steps, just real fall bakery vibes from your own kitchen. If you’ve ever gone apple picking or visited an apple orchard and wished you could recreate those cozy apple cider cakes at home, this is the recipe.
We’re reducing fresh apple cider on the stove for maximum flavor, mixing a tender donut batter with real spices, and baking instead of frying for a lighter, easier result. They bake up beautifully golden brown and finish with a buttery cinnamon sugar coating that sticks perfectly to warm doughnuts.
Let’s Chit Chat!
I’ve been missing those warm orchard donuts lately, the cozy cinnamon sugar, that soft cake texture, and the real apple flavor you only get fresh from the farm stand. So I decided to bring that same fall feeling home and recreate them in the simplest way possible. No frying, no fuss, just soft, spiced, bakery-style baked apple cider donuts that taste absolutely incredible! Want something a little larger and more impressive? Try my apple cider donut bundt cake!
And here’s the deal: two things matter most with this recipe. Use the right donut pan so you get those big, fluffy, bakery-style rings, and reduce your apple cider properly. That step concentrates the flavor so every bite tastes like actual apple cider, not just cinnamon.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Real reduced apple cider for deep apple flavor
- Uses both oil and melted butter for moisture and richness
- Baked donuts, not fried
- Comes together quickly with pantry staples
- Freezes well for fall make-ahead baking
- Works in muffin pans if you don’t have doughnut pans
Ingredients You’ll Need (and Why)
- Reduced apple cider – Simmering apple cider until it thickens is the key to flavor. This step concentrates the apple notes and keeps the donut batter from tasting flat, unlike versions that skip the reduction.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar – Brown sugar adds moisture and warmth, while the granulated sugar keeps the crumb light.
- Melted butter + a little vegetable oil- Butter adds richness, and oil keeps the texture soft and tender even after cooling.
- Warm baking spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom create that classic cider donut flavor profile.
- Buttermilk – Acidity helps with tenderness and keeps these donuts soft instead of cakey-dry.
Full ingredient amounts in the recipe card.
Substitutions
- No buttermilk: mix whole milk with a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar
- No doughnut pans: bake in muffin pans and roll in sugar
- Want glaze instead of sugar coating: mix powdered sugar + a splash of cider for a drizzle
How to Make Apple Cider Donuts
- Reduce the cider – In a small saucepan, simmer the apple cider until it reduces to about half a cup. Let cool completely before adding to the wet ingredients.
- Mix the dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour mixture: flour, leavening, salt, and spices.
- Mix the wet ingredients – In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugars, then add melted butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and your reduced apple cider.
- Combine- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until combined. The batter should be thick, like muffin batter. Overmixing can make the donuts dense.
- Fill the pan – Spray donut pan generously or use my nonstick cake goop. Transfer batter to a disposable piping bag or a zip-top bag and pipe the cup of batter evenly into the wells of the doughnut pan, filling about three-quarters full. If using a muffin pan, divide evenly among cups.
- Bake – Bake at 350°F for 14-16 minutes until the donuts are set and the tops are golden brown. A toothpick should come out clean.
- Coat – Brush warm donuts with melted butter using a pastry brush, then toss in a cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a cooling rack so the coating sets without getting soggy on the bottom. Serve them with a warm cup of apple cider
Texture note: These are soft, cakey, and moist with the perfect crunch from the cinnamon sugar. They taste just like classic orchard donuts but slightly lighter since they’re baked.
About the donut pan
For that thick, bakery-style rise, a deep-well donut pan makes a big difference. Shallow pans work too, they’ll just be a little flatter. I actually used it in my viral baked pumpkin donuts and they turned out AMAZING too!
Tip: Fill each cavity about ¾ full for that perfect puff + clean donut hole. (I’ll link the pan I use in the recipe card.)
Tips for the Best Apple Cider Donuts
- Bake on a sheet pan if using silicone doughnut pans for even heatin
- Reduce apple cider fully for intense flavor (this technique is also used by King Arthur Baking as well!)
- Spray donut pan well to prevent sticking
- Use a piping bag for the cleanest, easiest way to fill pans
- Do not overmix the batter, treat it like muffin batter
- Coat while warm so the cinnamon sugar coating sticks perfectly
Storage
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container: 1-2 days
- Refrigerator in an airtight container: up to 5 days
- Freeze (uncoated) in an airtight container or freezer safe bag: up to 2 months, thaw, warm lightly, then coat with the. melted butter and cinnamon sugar!
Reheat: warm in a 300°F oven for 5-6 minutes for a fresh-from-the-bakery texture.
Frequently Asked Questions About These Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Yes. Reduced cider is what gives these donuts that strong apple flavor and authentic cider-mill taste.
Yes, the batter bakes well in muffin pans. Bake slightly longer and roll in cinnamon sugar after brushing with butter.
Yes, but warm sugar coating sticks better and gives the traditional texture most people expect in an easy baked apple cider donuts recipe. One thing I love to do is coat them in cinnamon sugar then drizzle some homemade caramel sauce on top! Total show stopper.
Yes! You can freeze them after baking, thaw, rewarm, and coat with a layer of melted butter and cinnamon sugar right before serving.
Apple Cider Baked Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Cider Reduction
- 1 ½ cups apple cider reduced to ½ cup
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 & 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice or apple pie spice
- 1/ tsp ground cardamom
Wet Ingredients
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup neutral oil canola, vegetable, or light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- ½ cup reduced apple cider from above
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Reduce the cider:
- Add 1 ½ cups apple cider to a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until it reduces to ½ cup and becomes slightly syrupy. Cool completely.1 ½ cups apple cider
Make the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350°F . Grease a large silicone donut pan well.
- In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 & 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp allspice or apple pie spice, 1/ tsp ground cardamom
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg and sugars until smooth.1 large egg, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- Add melted butter, oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and apple butter. Whisk in cooled apple cider reduction and whisk one more time to combine.¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup neutral oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons apple butter
- Add dry ingredients to wet and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pipe or spoon batter into the donut mold, filling each cavity ¾ full.
Bake:
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt.½ cup reduced apple cider, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Working one at a time, Brush the warm donuts generously with melted butter. then immediately toss each donut in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated. Repeat until you coated all of them.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- Transfer to a wire rack to set so the bottoms don’t get soggy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
