Homemade Apple Cider Donuts with Brown Butter & Cinnamon Sugar
Orchard-style apple cider donuts you can make at home: reduced cider and nutty brown butter give a tender, deeply apple-y crumb, fried until crisp and rolled warm in cinnamon sugar. Perfect for Halloween weekend, fall brunch and rainy-day baking.
Use the Link importer in the app to save this recipe. Apple Intelligence is required on a supported iPhone or iPad.
Ingredients
Serves 12
- 2 cups apple ciderfresh, unfiltered if possible (not apple cider vinegar)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flourabout 440 g, plus more for dusting
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmegfreshly grated if you have it
- 1/2 cup light brown sugarpacked
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggsroom temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilkroom temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 quarts neutral oilcanola, vegetable or peanut, for frying
- 3/4 cup granulated sugarfor the coating
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamonfor the coating
The method
Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until it reduces to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes. This concentrated cider is where the big apple flavor comes from. Pour it into a measuring cup and let it cool to lukewarm.
20 minWhile the cider reduces, melt the butter in a small light-colored skillet over medium heat. Keep swirling until it foams, smells nutty and the milk solids turn golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape it, browned bits and all, into a large bowl to cool slightly.
5 minIn a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and the nutmeg.
3 minWhisk the brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar into the brown butter. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the buttermilk, vanilla and cooled cider reduction until smooth.
3 minAdd the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. The dough will be soft and sticky; that is what keeps the donuts tender.
2 minTurn the dough onto a well-floured sheet of parchment, dust the top with flour and pat it into a rough 3/4-inch-thick slab. Cover and chill until firm, about 45 minutes (or 20 minutes in the freezer). Cold dough is much easier to cut and won't stick to your hands.
45 minNear the end of chilling, heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy Dutch oven to 350°F, about 10 minutes, using a thermometer. Mix the 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl and set a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with paper towels.
10 minOn a floured surface, pat or roll the cold dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a floured 3-inch donut cutter (or a 3-inch round plus a 1-inch round for the hole). Gather the scraps, press together and cut once more. If the dough softens, chill the cut donuts for 10 minutes.
8 minFry 3 or 4 donuts at a time for 60 to 90 seconds per side, until deep golden brown, and the holes for about 1 minute total, turning often. Keep the oil between 340 and 360°F. Drain on the rack for 30 seconds. Break open the first donut to check that the center is cooked; if it's dark outside but raw inside, lower the heat a little.
15 minWhile each batch is still warm, toss the donuts and holes in the cinnamon sugar until well coated. Serve warm, ideally with a mug of hot cider.
3 min
Timings are a guide. Use the instruction and your own judgment as you cook.
Tips for orchard-style donuts
- Reduce the cider. Plain cider adds liquid without much flavor; boiling it down to a quarter of its volume is what makes these taste like the farm-stand kind.
- Chill the dough. It starts out sticky on purpose. Chilling makes it easy to cut, and extra flour on your hands and cutter helps more than adding flour to the dough.
- Use a thermometer. Oil that’s too cool makes greasy donuts; too hot browns them before the middle cooks. Aim for 340 to 360°F.
- Fry safely. Use a heavy, deep pot filled no more than halfway, keep kids and pets away from the stove, and never leave hot oil unattended. Let the oil cool completely before discarding.
Baked version (no fryer)
Grease two 6-cavity donut pans. Use only 2 3/4 cups flour so the batter is thick but pipeable, skip the chilling, pipe it into the pans about two-thirds full and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until springy. Brush the warm donuts with 3 tbsp melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar.
Make ahead
Make the cider reduction up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. The dough can be chilled overnight, tightly wrapped. Donuts are best within a few hours; rewarm leftovers in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes and re-roll in cinnamon sugar.
Makes about 12 donuts plus holes. Vegetarian (contains eggs and dairy).
Photo: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Keep this recipe in Flavor Folio
Bring the ingredients and method into your collection, check the details, then save it for the next time you cook.
Apple Intelligence is required on a supported iPhone or iPad. Check supported devices
Copy the recipe link
Use the button below, or copy the address shown.
Open Flavor Folio
Choose Add, then Link. Paste the recipe link and start the import.
Check it. Make it yours.
Review the ingredients and method, then save the recipe to your collection.
