These quintessential fall delights are delicious rolled in cinnamon-sugar and dunked in apple cider syrup.
Apple Cider Doughnuts
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 4 cups apple cider*
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons apple pie spice, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup grated Golden Delicious apple
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a small Dutch oven, bring apple cider to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until cider is reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Add egg, beating until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Beat in sour cream.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until combined. Add apple, beating just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. (Dough will be slightly sticky.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough 3 or 4 times. Roll dough to ½ inch thick. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut dough, rerolling scraps as necessary.
- Fill a cast-iron Dutch oven halfway full with oil, and heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350°. Add doughnuts to hot oil in batches; fry until golden brown, about 1½ minutes per side. Fry doughnut holes for about 1 minute. Remove using a slotted spoon, and let drain on paper towels. Let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine remaining 1 cup sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon apple pie spice. Dip doughnut holes in sugar mixture, shaking off excess. Drizzle with apple cider syrup.
Notes
*We used Martinelli’s Apple Cider.
How do you make the Apple cider syrup?
I have reduced the cider and it cooled but it’s not a syrup be any means!
There must be a missing step
Hi Frances, the apple cider syrup is made in step one by boiling the cider until it’s reduced to about 1 cup. It will be like a glaze in consistency, not thick and sticky. Hope this helps.
Can these be baked in a donut pan?
Hi Brenda, we have not tested these doughnuts by baking them, but feel free to give it a try. Let us know if it works for you.