One fall drink that has to make an appearance around my house is apple cider. Since my husband doesn’t like coffee, he couldn’t care less about pumpkin spice lattes or the other coffee drinks that reappear around this time of year. Apple cider, however, is a must. This year I decided that I needed to do more with it than just serve it to drink.
Since apple cider donuts are also popular in the fall, I figured I may as well try and make them at home. When I set out to make them, I knew that they had to be baked since I don’t like fried doughnuts (I know, you wouldn’t be the first to think I’m weird!). Since they are baked, they obviously don’t have the same texture as most apple cider donuts, however, they are still full of apple cider flavor.
In order to make the flavor more intense, I reduced a cup of cider down to 1/3 cup, but feel free to just use the 1/3 cup called for in the directions if you don’t want to take the time for it to simmer and reduce. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger are found both in the muffin and in the topping. (Have you noticed that those are my favorite spices lately?) The tops are dipped in melted butter and then into the spice and sugar mixture to give them a rich, sweet coating that melts in your mouth as you take a bite. I think we just discovered another “must have” for fall!
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ C sugar
- ⅓ C brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ⅛ tsp ginger
- ¼ C unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ¼ C unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ C pure apple cider
- ⅓ C buttermilk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- 3 tbsp butter
- Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, applesauce, eggs, apple cider, and buttermilk.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Fill about ¾ full. I used about a rounded teaspoon of batter per cup.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden brown.
- Move to a wire rack to cool.
- Stir together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a small bowl. Melt butter in a separate small bowl.
- Dip tops of muffins into melted butter, then dip top into cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with all donut muffins.
Abby says
omg I bet baking these makes your house smell ah-mazing!! and they are so cute!
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
The house did smell pretty good! Thanks Abby!
steph@stephsbitebybite says
How fun are these little guys!!
Heather @ French Press says
delicious – but how can your hubby NOT like coffee, I would seriously DIE 🙂 bit I do LOVE my cider as well
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
I know, I don’t understand!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I just bought a jug of apple cider, love these muffins!
Tieghan says
Mmmm! So fun, cute and delicious! Perfect for snacking!
Emily says
These look great! I LOVE donut muffins and apple cider so it’s a great idea to combine them.
Eat Good 4 Life says
These look awesome. Nice to see that you used apple sauce as well 🙂 I need to make something like this soon.
Jocelyn says
These look awwwweeesome!! 😉 I will take a dozen, please!
Ramona says
These muffins looks amazing… love the flavor of apple cider. 🙂
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Jessica, I am such a sucker for anything apple cider and your Spiced Apple Cider Donut Muffins are something I need to whip up a large batch of soon! Thanks for sharing, girl! Pinning!
Alex Hamilton says
These look amazing! Has anyone tried making them as regular sized muffins?
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
I haven’t made them in a regular sized muffin tin, but they would work fine! You would need to cook them longer by a couple of minutes.
Emily @ Life on Food says
I am so late in my fall apple treats. These are so cute! Yum, yum!
Margarita says
These look so yummy and cute!! I’ll be making them next week as soon as I get some apple cider. Do they really take only 5 to 7 minutes to bake?
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
Yes, if you use a mini muffin tin, they should only take 5-7 minutes! 🙂
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Cathy says
Fall hits and I start craving apple cider donuts, but don’t want them fried, tried this recipe and was very impressed. I’ll be making these again.
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
So glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know!