Homemade | Baked Apple Cider Donuts

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of apple cider (1/2 cup reduced, see below)
• 3 tbsps of unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of AP flour
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsps of kefir or Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar:

• 3 tsps of unsalted butter
• 2 tbs of reduced cider (see below)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 1/2 tsps of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Donuts:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 6-cup donut pans. But if you just have one like me, just re-use it for the second round.
2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, simmer 1 cup of apple cider. Stir occasionally every minute or two, until it is reduced by about half. Maybe 10 minutes. Take it off the heat, add 3 tablespoons of butter. Whisk and melt until combined. Set it aside for a few minutes to cool down. There should be about 1/2 cup of this reduced cider for the donuts. Reserve 2 tablespoons for the glaze.
3. In a medium bowl, add the 1/2 cup of reduced cider/butter mixture, sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla and whisk until well-combined. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula to incorporate. Fold until just combined and no signs of flour. Do not over mix.
6. You can spoon the donut batter into the donut pan, one at a time. Or pipe them in by filling a gallon-sized bag with the batter, cutting off a corner and filling each donut space about 2/3 of the way.
7. Bake anywhere between 9 to 11 minutes. Until golden brown on the edges. Take it out and set aside to cool for 2-3 minutes.
8. Set parchment paper on a baking sheet and place a wire rack on top. This will help catch any of the cider glaze in the next step.
9. Once they are cooled down, they pop right out onto a wire rack.
10. Butter the pan once again and bake another batch.

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. While your second batch of donuts are baking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the reduced cider into a bowl.
2. Combine sugar and cinnamon into a bowl large enough to dip the donuts.
3. One by one, dip one side of the warm donuts into the butter/cider mixture or spoon the butter/ cider over each donut.
4. Next dip each donut into the cinnamon sugar or sprinkle the donuts one by one. 

Note:

Because these are fresh, please consume the same day or cover lightly and store at room temperature for up to two days. Also, these donuts are not overly sweet on their own, so add as much cinnamon sugar as you desire. Enjoy.