Baked Apple Cider Donuts
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Last updated on Aug 19, 2023
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The perfect fall treat, these healthier baked apple cider donuts are made with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut sugar, Greek yogurt, and coconut oil.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of fall I immediately think of apple picking. It’s something Isaac and I enjoy doing every year around September. There are a couple of orchards relatively close to Richmond, but the one we usually go to is called Carter Mountain. It’s just outside of Charlottesville and they have the best apple cider donuts. They’re particularly delicious when you get them fresh and they’re still warm!
I decided to try my hand at making homemade baked donuts. And of course, in true EBF fashion, I worked to make them a bit healthier using real food ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, coconut sugar, coconut oil and Greek yogurt. A major upgrade from the traditional recipe that uses melted butter and brown sugar.
How to Make Donuts at Home
First things first, to make baked donuts you’re going to need a donut pan. Luckily, they’re really inexpensive! You can get a set of 2 non-stick, six cavity Wilton donut pans on Amazon for less than $15.
It can also be handy to have a large icing piping tip for adding the donut batter into the pan, but it’s not 100% necessary. You can always spoon the batter into the pan and then shake it to make sure the batter is even.
Once you have your materials, you’re ready to get started and to be honest, making baked donuts is really similar to making muffins.
Ingredients in Healthy Apple Cider Donuts
Apple Cider Donuts
- unfiltered apple cider – no, I don’t mean ACV, I mean apple cider! I prefer getting mine from a local orchard but a lot of local grocery stores carry it as well.
- unsweetened apple sauce – any kind works great and you can use cinnamon unsweetened apple sauce for more cinnamon flavor. I like to use my recipe for homemade applesauce.
- whole-wheat pastry flour – more fiber, protein, and other nutrients than traditional white flour. I prefer using Bob’s Red Mill Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour.
- baking powder and baking soda – your leavening agents.
- cinnamon – the perfect spice to use with apple flavors.
- sea salt – brings all of the delicious flavors together!
- coconut sugar – the less-processed upgrade for granulated sugar or brown sugar.
- Greek yogurt – the yogurt adds protein and moisture to these donuts! My favorite brand of dairy yogurt is Fage 5% Greek yogurt or Stonyfield whole milk Greek yogurt.
- coconut oil – the perfect sub for butter.
- egg – a binding ingredient, plus a little protein boost.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- coconut oil – again, the perfect sub for butter. You can certainly butter if you prefer!
- organic cane sugar – the sugar topping is what makes an apple cider donut so delicious!
- cinnamon – adding cinnamon to the sugar topping makes these the ultimate fall treat.
Substitutions and Tips
- yogurt – I’ve only tested this recipe with Greek yogurt, but you could try with your favorite non-dairy yogurt instead to make these dairy-free or vegan. Others have tried it and said it worked great! I love Culina coconut yogurt.
- eggs – I haven’t tried this recipe with flaxseed eggs, but it could work well as a replacement binding ingredient to make these egg-free or vegan. Let me know if you try it! To make a flaxseed egg, mix 1 Tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons of water and let sit for a few minutes to create a gel-like consistency.
- sugar – This recipe calls for coconut sugar for the donuts, and regular cane sugar for the sugar coating. You could certainly use coconut sugar for the sugar coating as well!
- whole wheat pastry flour – You can always just use all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand! You can also sub in 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour to make these donuts gluten-free. I always recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF baking blend.
- donut pan – If you don’t have a donut pan, you can try making muffins instead! Someone else tried this and said they turned out perfectly. You’ll just need to double the cook time.
How to Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Prep – Preheat your oven to 350°F. Then, prepare your two (6-cavity) donut pans by spraying with cooking spray.
Combine ingredients – Mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) together in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (the apple cider, apple sauce, sugar, yogurt, oil, and egg) until combined. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until everything is mixed together.
Pipe batter – Pipe or spoon the batter evenly into the 12 cavities.
Bake – Bake in a preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. While baking, mix together ingredients for your cinnamon sugar topping.
Cool and coat – When finished baking, let donuts cool for about 2 minutes in the pan before inverting the donuts onto a wire rack too continue cooling. Brush each donut with coconut oil on both sides and dip into a cinnamon sugar topping to coat.
Storing and Reheating Donuts
They’re best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. I like to reheat them in the toaster oven so they get nice and crispy!
Popular Donut Recipes
- Baked Almond Flour Donuts
- No-Bake Blueberry Muffin Donut Holes
- Healthy Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
- Chocolate Frosted Baked Donuts (Entenmann’s Copycat)
- Protein Donuts
- Coconut Crunch Donuts (Hostess Copycat)
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love
- Apple Pancakes
- Baked Apples
- Apple Dutch Baby
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Granola Bars
- Apple Butter
- Raw Mini Apple Pies
- Apple Muffins
- Vegan Apple Bread
- Apple Yogurt Muffins
- Apple Cake
- Dutch Apple Pie
Be sure to check out all of my apple recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider, not vinegar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 egg
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ Tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together apple cider, apple sauce, sugar, yogurt, oil and egg until combined.
- Add wet mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
- Spray two (6-cavity) donut pans with cooking spray. Spoon or pipe batter evenly into the 12 cavities.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Invert donuts onto a wire rack.
- While donuts are baking, mix together sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
- Brush each donut with coconut oil on both sides and dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Repeat until all donuts are coated.
- Best enjoyed immediately but can be stored in an air-tight container for 2-3 days and reheated in the microwave or toaster oven.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
DELICIOUS!!! light and fluffy and so much flavor. Another one of my favorites!
I made them twice this week to share.
Followed the recipe and they were wonderful! Is there a chance I could sub almond flour for the pastry flour? Thank you!
Hi Tessa – I do not recommend subbing almond flour for pastry flour. You typically cannot sub almond flour 1:1 for other flours. You can always just use all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand! You can also sub in 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour to make these donuts gluten-free if you need. I always recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF baking blend. Let me know how they turn out for you.
this is my second time to use this recipe, the previous attempt I chopped some apples and they didn’t soften. so this time I (using measurements from recipe )melted butter, combined the brown sugar, cinnamon, and some finally chopped sour apple (about 1/4 -1/2 cup) into a pan on simmer about 5 minutes until apples soften. then combine the dry and other wet ingredients, and gentle folded carmalized apples in to batter. omg they came out really good. I wish I could add a picture.
Ahh this is seriously the best, Janicelynn! I am so glad you gave these another try and they turned out great for you. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Can I used banana purée instead of the applesauce ?!!😅😅😊
Hi Maria – I am not sure, I think it would change the flavor of the donuts. Let me know if you give this recipe a try and how it turns out for you!