Baked Apple Cider Donut Muffins

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Mini Apple Cider doughnut muffins made with fresh apple cider and then dipped in hot melted butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. No need to stop at the donut shop now!

two apple cider doughnut holes

Back home there is this great little cider mill that I have to visit every single time I go home to see the fam. It’s a must visit tradition for my family. I always wait in a ridiculously long line for some homemade donuts. These workers are working tireless each day to pump out HOT fresh donuts.

There is seriously nothing like them. I’m wiping drool of my keyboard as I think about those donuts.

Now if you can’t make it to a cider mill, hopefully you can pick up a gallon of local cider at your grocery store to make these doughnut muffins that I was inspired to make after my recent trip to the cider mill.

Baking Tools Needed For These Apple Cider Donuts muffins:

bag of apple cider doughnut holes spilled out

How To Make These Apple Cider Donuts Muffins

These apple donut holes start with a basic muffin recipe and utilizes the muffin method.

This means you will measure your dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then combine them. The key is to just to make sure to not over mix to activate too much gluten which results in a tough doughnut.

You will grease and use a mini muffin pan to make these baked apple cider donut holes. Then mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in one bowl.

dry ingredients mixed in a bowl

In a second bowl, mix together your liquid ingredients – apple cider, applesauce, buttermilk, butter, and eggs.

bowl of wet ingredients whisked together

And then add the liquid to the dry and mix just until incorporated. Then fill the muffin pans and bake for about 10 minutes. You want to let these cool slightly before they get their cinnamon sugar bath on.

wet ingredients combined with dry ingredients

Now it’s time to dunk! Melt some butter and then dip each donut hole into the melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Then faint from deliciousness. Hoard them for yourself. No judgement here.

donut hole dunked in butter then in cinnamon and sugar

Tips For Making These Apple Cider Donuts Muffins:

  • A little helpful hint if you use one hand to roll in butter and the other for the other cinnamon sugar mixture, you can make the dunking and rolling process fairly a quick and clean (sort of!) process.
  • Your brown sugar may not combine completely with the other dry ingredients leaving small chunks of brown sugar. Don’t worry those will melt in your batter in the oven, creating little pockets of brown sugary goodness.
  • If you have only one mini-muffin pan and leftover batter as your first batch bakes. Pop the leftover batter in the fridge while the first batch bakes. This will slow down that whole reaction that is happening with batter and you won’t lose any lift in your muffins in your second batch.

bag of apple cider donut holes

Can I Freeze These Baked Apple Cider Donut Muffins?

Absolutely! To freeze them, bake them and allow them to cool completely. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and allow them to freeze solid first. Then you can pop them into a plastic sealable bag after they are frozen. Then when ready to enjoy,  you can allow them to thaw at room temperature. You could warm them up in your microwave for a few seconds as well!

If you love freezing and making desserts ahead of time, then be sure to get my “5 Desserts You Can Freeze Now and Bake Later”.  When it comes to baking, the freezer is your friend!

More Apple Recipes To Enjoy

If you like this baked apple cider donuts holes recipe, be sure to let me know and leave a comment!

Happy baking everyone!

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Holes

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Holes- bursting with apple flavor and covered in cinnamon and sugar
5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: breakfast
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 36 donut holes
Calories: 60kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup apple cider
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 stick butter melted and cooled slightly

For the coating

  • 1 stick 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini muffin pan. (If you have multiple pans, good for you- go ahead and grease them up! This recipe will make about 36 mini muffins).
  •  In one bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, both sugars, and spices. Stir to combine.
  • In another bowl, combine the milk, cider, applesauce, eggs and butter. Whisk to combine.
  •  Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do NOT overmix.
  • Scoop the batter into each muffin well and fill each about 3/4 cup full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • While they bake, melt 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter in one bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in another bowl.
  • Allow to cool slightly on a cooling rack. Then take each muffin and dip in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Notes

  • A little helpful hint if you use one hand to roll in butter and the other for the other cinnamon sugar mixture, you can make the dunking and rolling process fairly a quick and clean (sort of!) process.
  • Your brown sugar may not combine completely with the other dry ingredients leaving small chunks of brown sugar. Don't worry those will melt in your batter in the oven, creating little pockets of brown sugary goodness.
  • If you have only one mini-muffin pan and leftover batter as your first batch bakes. Pop the leftover batter in the fridge while the first batch bakes. This will slow down that whole reaction that is happening with batter and you won't lose any lift in your muffins in your second batch.

Nutrition

Calories: 60kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
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14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Excellent! From Boston, this is a great throw back to fall apple cider donuts! I added finely diced honey crisp apple to the cider before reducing the cider- everything else exactly the same. I halved the recipe, and still turned out perfect.

    1. Thanks Missy!! I’m so glad you loved them!! And love the idea of adding honey crisp apple to the cider. Sounds yummy ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. I don’t have applesauce, can I substitute something else for it?

    1. I haven’t tested it with something else so I’m not sure what would make a good substitution here? I hate to recommend something that doesn’t then work for you in the end. I might try something like apple butter, or pumpkin puree. Something that would have the same consistency!

  3. Sally Dickinson says:

    5 stars
    I’ve never commented on anything before but I must on these mini-muffins!! Delicious!! I made them this morning exactly how your recipe read. I getting ready to make a second batch to share with my co-workers. That’s if my husband allows them out the door. Awesome recipe

    1. Aw thank you Sally! That means so much! Glad your husband loved them..and hopefully your coworkers get to try them too LOL. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Bailey Mills says:

    5 stars
    That is a combo I never would have thought of, I am now heading to the kitchen to make a midnight snack. I can’t wait to try these!

  5. 5 stars
    These look so good. The perfect way to start a fall day. I have some of those mini silcone muffin pans so I will be making these soon.

    1. Thanks Debi!! Enjoy ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Boston Girl Bakes says:

      Stew,

      Thank you so much! Means so much and happy baking! Hope they were delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

      Heather

  6. Sounds good, going to try this today. What’s the yield

    1. Boston Girl Bakes says:

      I made them in mini-muffin pans and got about 36 of them! If you make them in a large muffin/cupcake pan let me know how many you get!

5 from 10 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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