Cute little apple cider donuts topped with a cinnamon-sugar coating. These baked donuts are easy to make and perfect for fall.
I have a thing for mini donuts and love making them but until recently I haven’t ventured beyond making glazed donuts like my Chocolate Glazed Mini Donuts and Vanilla Glazed Mini Donuts. So, since it’s fall, I thought I’d try mini apple cider donuts. The flavors sounded perfect for the season.
Update: Since writing this post I’ve made a lot more donuts so be sure to browse all of my Donut Recipes.
Baked Donuts
As much as I love fried donuts, baked donuts are just so much easier to make. You don’t need a mixer because the donut batter is easy to make with just a bowl and whisk. Plus, you don’t have to worry about heating up oil and frying donuts in batches. I used my mini donut pan* to bake them in the oven and it was so easy.
Apples
You also don’t have to worry about chopping up a bunch of fresh apples to make these baked donuts. I used applesauce instead and there’s also some spiced apple cider in the batter, too. The mini donuts bake up with a wonderful apple flavor that’s lightly spiced with some cinnamon that’s also included.
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
These apple cider baked donuts are delicious plain, but I added a simple cinnamon-sugar coating for a little texture and extra sweetness. I love how the little donuts look coated in the cinnamon-sugar. Once the donuts bake, I just dip them in melted butter and then dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Surprisingly, these mini apple cider donuts tasted better the day after they were baked because the extra time really helped develop the apple flavor. These were so easy to make – I’ll definitely make them again.
More Donut Recipes
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Mini Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
- 1/3 cup spiced apple cider
- 1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Topping
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray mini donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, applesauce, agave nectar, cider, yogurt, and oil.
- Add in dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- Fill each mini donut halfway. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let donuts cool slightly for a few minutes. Use a plastic knife, gently pry around edges of the donut until donuts pop out.
- Let donuts cool completely. Then melt 1/4 cup butter in a small glass bowl. In another small bowl, combine 2/3 cup white sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Dip top of donuts in melted butter and then dip in the sugar mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These sound delicious! How many doughnuts does this recipe yield? My daughter wants to make them for her class and we’ll need to have about 36 total. Thanks so much!
I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly how many these yield, but if you are making mini ones, I think it should make 36, if not more
Maybe I did something wrong! I just got done making these and I had to make some adjustments to the baking time and temperature. Unfortunately, my first pan of donuts baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes turned out like dog biscuits. It took me a few more rounds to figure out the donuts were perfect baked at 350 for 6 minutes.
To neatly fill the mini donut pan, I put the batter in a piping bag with a size 12 tip. I found that if I filled them over half they ended up looking like mini muffins with holes in them.
If I made these again I would go find the apple butter, they just don’t have a noticeable apple flavor I was looking for.
Hmm, I’m not sure why you had trouble with the baking time or with them spreading.
I found this recipe on Tastespotting, definitely trying it out! I have never eaten apple cider donuts but they look delicious and pretty easy to make, thanks for adapting it (I don’t have apple butter either!)
I enjoyed these. I hope you do too!
Thank you for the delicious recipe. Made them this afternoon for my Mom and toddler son and they were loved by all of us. Very easy recipe, and finally one for our mini doughnut pans!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I plan on making some more soon. They are definitely easy to make and yummy.
Mmm, mm mmmm! These look delicious! I have a brunch coming up and think I’ll make these 🙂 So cute!
I hope you enjoy them! The best part is that they are baked, and are healthier than regular donuts, so you can eat more without feeling guilty!
goshhhh! i keep seeing your mini donuts and each post makes my tummy rumble. i really need to get my hands on a mini donut pan…
I heart my mini donut pan! I never thought I would like mini donuts so much. I bought two pans off of amazon and I definitely feel like I’ve baked my money’s worth. Of course the only problem is I can’t stop eating these mini donuts..
I wonder if you could bake these on a pan, regular sized, without the mini-donut pan?
I have a regular donut cutter and have been looking for a recipe for baked donuts forever!
I’ve never tried using a donut cutter and no mould..The dough for this recipe may be a bit too sticky to try using a donut cutter. You could definitely put it in some other mold like mini muffin pan, cupcake pan, mini bundt pans.