Now that fall and apple picking season have officially arrived, these Apple Cider Donuts are a must-make this season! They are the perfect texture with a crispy outside while being perfectly tender inside.

If you love a cake-y warmly spiced donut rolled in cinnamon sugar, then these donuts are for you. Apple cider donuts are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or anytime you need a fall-inspired sweet treat.

These are truly the best Apple Cider Donuts ever!

The Best Apple Cider Donuts

While I love a yeasted donut, I am truly a cake donut girl through and through. I love a classic old fashioned donut recipe!

Because this recipe for apple cider donuts doesn’t involve yeast, they come together quickly and have a deliciously crispy exterior.

Plus, who doesn’t love a warm donut rolled in cinnamon sugar? They’re so good enjoyed with a steaming cup of spiked cider or with your morning coffee.

The best part? You can prep these donuts in advance and fry them up right before serving. These also make a great start to the day for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

These apple cider donuts are going to absolutely be a game changer for your fall eats because they’re so good and perfectly spiced!

What are Apple Cider Donuts?

If you’ve never made or enjoyed these special donuts, you may be wondering what apple cider donuts actually are!

Cider donuts are “cake donuts” that get their flavor from cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider used in the batter. They are a harvest tradition in autumn in the northeastern United States when apple season is upon us.

Apple cider is a fresh-pressed, unfiltered, and unpasteurized apple juice with no added sugar, just the fresh and delicious flavor of apples. It’s often a seasonal offering and sometimes difficult to find outside the season.

How to Make Apple Cider Donuts

Apple cider donuts are a treat for the season and come together fairly easily with a little special equipment.

Tools Needed

• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
• Small Saucepan
• Donut Cutter
• Rolling Pin
• Mixing Bowls
• Oil Thermometer

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Apple cider. You’ll want to use fresh pressed apple cider here. In a pinch, you can use shelf-stable pasteurized apple cider sold at places like Trader Joe’s.
• Butter. Some recipes call for oil, but I think butter is best!
• Sugar. You’ll need brown and white sugar for this recipe.
• Eggs. Egg help bind and keep the donuts nice and fluffy.
• Sour cream. I love the tang that sour cream adds to cake donuts! You could swap full-fat greek yogurt if needed.
• Flour. Good old fashioned all-purpose flour is the way to go.
• Cornstarch. A bit of cornstarch in the dry ingredients make the donuts extra tender.
• Leaveners. You’ll need baking powder and baking soda to make apple cider donuts.
• Spices. You’ll need cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg to give these donuts the perfect warm spice flavor.
• Canola oil. I love canola oil for frying but you could also use peanut or vegetable oil.

The Process

1. Reduce the cider. Pour the cider into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let the cider simmer until it’s been reduced down to 1/3 cup. Let the reduced cider cool to room temperature. This step can be done up to 3 days in advance.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and whisk to combine.
3. Cream the butter and sugar. Combine the butter, sugar, and white sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. You can also use a hand mixer here.
4. Add the eggs and sour cream. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Beat until very smooth.
5. Add the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on low. Stream in the reduced apple cider and mix until a soft dough forms.
6. Chill the dough. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined small baking sheet or place and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
7. Roll out and cut. On a well-floured working surface, roll the chilled dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a donut cutter to cut out the donuts and donut holes. Gather the dough scraps and mash them back together, roll out again, and cut donuts from the scraps. Discard any scraps after this.
8. Mix the cinnamon sugar. In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
9. Fry the donuts. Heat about 2 inches of oil (about 6 cups) in a 4 qt heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven to 375. Fry the donuts in batches of 2-3 for about 1 minute per side, until browned. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the donuts from the oil to a paper towel lined tray. Let the donuts drain for 2-3 minutes, then toss the donuts in the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining donuts. At the end, fry the donut holes in the same manner.

Tips for Making Apple Cider Donuts

While apple cider donuts are simple and delicious to make, some helpful tips never go amiss. Here are all my best tips for making the best apple cider donuts:

Use room temperature ingredients. This is SO important. Making sure your butter, eggs, and sour cream are all room temperature is important because it helps the dough mix and emulsify. Has your baking mixture ever looked curdled? You probably tried to mix cold ingredients together!

Don’t overmix the dough. Once you add the dry ingredients and cider, mix on low until the ingredients are just combined. You can even do the final mixing by hand by folding the dry ingredients in with a rubber spatula until no streaks of flour remain.

Chill the dough. Don’t rush this step! Moist donuts need a sticky dough and refrigerating it adequately makes it easier to work with. The butter will firm up and make the dough less sticky.

Fry at the right temperature. Fry the donuts at 375 F and this is where you really need an oil or probe thermometer. Once you add the donuts to the oil, it’ll naturally cool down so make sure to let the oil come back up to temperature before frying the next batch. Frying in oil that’s too cold will cause the donuts to absorb the oil and be heavy and greasy.

How to Reduce Apple Cider

The key to getting really great apple flavor in your apple cider donuts is by reducing the apple cider down because this really concentrates the flavor. You can use this in cocktails too! Try my bourbon apple cider fizz which is so great alongside an apple cider donut.

Reducing the cider is so easy and you can do this step in advance and hold it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

1. Pour the cider into a small, wide saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce down until there’s 1/3 of a cup. The best way to do this is to periodically pour the mixture into a measuring up to see how far it has reduced.
2. Once the cider has reduced, cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or cool to room temperature before using in the apple cider donuts.

Making Apple Cider Donuts without a Stand Mixer

While a stand mixer is helpful in making cider donuts, it’s not totally needed! You can still make apple cider donuts by using a quality hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until very smooth. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. Add the dry ingredients with the reduced cider and mix on low until almost combined, then switch to a rubber spatula and fold everything together until no streaks of flour remain.

Prepping Cider Donuts in Advance

Making donuts from scratch can feel like a lot of work, so it’s great that this recipe can be broken up into steps that can be done in advance.

You can reduce the apple cider down and cool it before storing it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The other way you can partially prep apple cider donuts is to make the dough, cover it, and chill overnight. Then, the next morning, all you have to do is roll out the dough, cut the donut shapes, and fry them up!

You can have fresh apple cider donuts first thing in the morning with minimal work by prepping a couple of things in advance. Easy as pie!

Storage Instructions

I find that most donuts, both from the bakery and homemade, are best the day they are made. But if you store them correctly, you can get an extra day or two out of them!

I like to store fried donuts in bakery style boxes or in paper bags. These boxes are perfect for packaging apple cider donuts to share with friends and family. The cardboard or paper will help draw oil out of the donuts, which will keep them from getting soggy.

You can freeze fried donuts for up to 3 months and simply defrost overnight in the fridge. I like to refresh donuts in the air fryer or toaster oven for a few minutes because it really brings the donuts back to life.

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These Apple Cider Donuts are a must-make this fall season because they’re so good!. They’re perfectly crisp, warmly spiced, and delicious! If you do give them a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!

More Fall Recipes to Try

Apple Cider Donut Cake
Creamy Pumpkin Tortellini
Pumpkin Curry
Cranberry Almond Danishes
Pear Apple Crisp

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