Ahh, homemade apple cider donuts. As I said in my “C is for Cider Donuts” contribution to the 2012 Yankee Magazine “Autumn A-Z” package:
Visit an apple orchard this fall and you’re just as likely to see folks munching on golden-brown apple-cider doughnuts as you are actual apples. Beyond the standard cake doughnut, cider doughnuts have apple cider added right into the batter, lending a touch of sweetness and a subtle cider tang that most people find dangerously addictive.Fresh and sweet homemade apple cider donuts. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
This year I upped the ante and made a batch of homemade apple cider donuts myself using the Vermont Apple Cider Doughnuts recipe from Yankee senior lifestyle editor Amy Traverso’s The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, turning my autumn donut dreams (plus a rough dozen of my family and co-worker’s) into a reality.
Homemade apple cider donuts start with (what else?) apple cider. Boiled cider lends a stronger flavor, and to make it at home you’ll need to boil 1 1/2 cups of cider down to 1/3 cup before proceeding with the batter, which also gets an extra dose of tang from the addition of buttermilk. The batter (turned dough) will be very soft, so once you start handling it you’ll want to make sure your hands and every surface it comes into contact with are floured.
Boiled cider adds concentrated apple cider flavor to homemade apple cider donuts. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Even with the flour, you’ll want to send the dough to the freezer or fridge as necessary to keep it chilled and firm for cutting and handling. Also, if you don’t have a traditional donut cutter (who does?), feel free to use two floured concentric biscuit cutters to cut out your donut shapes. Twisting the cutter as you release it will help get a cleaner cut. I kept a small, shallow bowl of flour nearby so I could dip the cutter in it as needed.
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Cutting out the donut shapes. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Next up is the tricky stage — the frying. I used my large, heavy Dutch oven and it took a gallon of oil to get the correct 3-inches of oil needed for frying. Just try not to think about it…
You’ll want a thermometer here to make sure the oil is hot enough before you start adding the donuts. The kind that clips right onto the pot is best. Once that oil gets hot it’s dangerous and you’ll want to minimize splatter.
Homemade apple cider donuts frying. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Then it’s time to fry up some homemade apple cider donuts! Make sure you’ve got plenty of double-layer paper towels nearby to drain off the oil as you remove the donuts from the pot. I used a large slotted spatula to transfer them out and over.
Once the donuts have cooled enough that you can handle them, add a good amount of sugar to a bowl along with a generous few shakes of cinnamon, mix them together, and gave each donut a cinnamon-sugar bath. The donut holes you can roll in the sugar, but for the large donuts just settle them into the bowl, twist them, then flip and repeat.
Sweet, sugary cider donut perfection. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Of course, you could skip making the donut holes by repeatedly re-rolling the dough and only frying the circles, but sometimes a 2-bite donut hole is exactly the right amount of sugar and grease, so they’re good to have on hand.
Donut centers make perfect 2-bite donut holes. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Finally, homemade apple cider donuts taste best when eaten on the day they’re made, or within 24 hours, so make sure you’ve got family and friends to share them with! I know my Yankee co-workers were glad to help me out…I bet yours would, too.
Happy apple cider donut season!
Want all the homemade apple cider donut flavor without the frying? Our baked Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins are a delicious (easy!) alternative.
This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
Aimee Tucker
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Senior Digital Editor. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
hi aimee…i want to make these. i am ready. i am trying not to think about the gallon of oil. but after showing my husband the recipe because he is my number one fan, he asked me, what do you do with the oil after the frying?
any information about the discarding of the oil is so appreciated.
Hi Amy! Excellent question! After you’ve fried the donuts let the oil cool to room temperature, then pour into a container and discard in the trash. The original bottle is a handy thing to hang onto for this. We hope you make the donuts and enjoy them!
Hi, ladies. I saw this and had to comment. I make thing like this all the time and I never throw out my oil. I filter it with a coffee filter and store it in its container. Not to worry about bacteria, the next time you use it the heat will take care of any of that. It to expensive to throw it out!!!!!
Hi Lauren. We have not tested this recipe by baking the donuts rather than frying them, so I can’t advise you on how long to bake them for and at what temperature, but the texture and taste will definitely be different — I expect they will taste more like a dense scone/bread rather than a donut. Not necessarily bad, but different. You may want to look for a cider donut recipe that is intended to be baked, or try our recipe for Cider Doughnut Muffins, which are baked, and delicious! Here’s the recipe: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/cider-doughnut-muffins
My daughter and I made these last weekend and they turned out pretty good. I was hoping for even more of that cider flavor to come through. My memories of the cider donuts from this orchard outside of Albany, NY were of these richly flavored golden brown, bursting with flavor beauties. I’ve had a few different variations since but none really measure up. Your recipe sounded promising but I didn’t want to take any chances.
We did a few things to really enhance the flavor. I was worried about being short on apple flavor so I started with a gallon of really tasty cider and cooked it down to around 3 cups. It was close to the consistency of Vermont maple syrup.
After we made the first couple donuts I wanted more apple flavor so I added a little apple pie spice to the sugar we were rolling the donuts in. That helped a little but I still wanted more.
Since we had cider syrup left I had the idea of drizzling thx donuts with a little before sugaring them. OOOH Boy! Did that make a difference! The flavor was amazing! We weren’t very good with the drizzling so we quickly dipped a few in the syrup and that seemed to get just the right amount of syrup without being soggy.
Quickly dipping the donuts into the cider syrup added so much flavor. They were exactly what I was looking for.
Hi Mona. This is the homemade apple cider donuts blog post, detailing how to make the donuts for folks that like to see step-by-step instructions. If you click on the link at the bottom of the page that says “View and print the recipe for Homemade Apple Cider Donuts” and it will take you to a traditional recipe page with just the recipe and one photo. Thanks!
Hi Aimee, I am trying to make these donuts in UK and I am quite confused about what apple cider is now! Is it the alcoholic apple cider, apple cider vinegar or simply freshly squeezed apple juice?..
Many thanks,
Laura
Hi Laura! It’s a common source of confusion! When we talk about apple cider in New England, it’s the fresh-squeezed apple juice kind, and what you might think of as “sweet cider,” meaning it’s unfermented and non-alcoholic. We call boozy cider “hard cider.” Hope this helps, and happy baking!
hi aimee…i want to make these. i am ready. i am trying not to think about the gallon of oil. but after showing my husband the recipe because he is my number one fan, he asked me, what do you do with the oil after the frying?
any information about the discarding of the oil is so appreciated.
thank you for all you do and the inspiration!
Hi Amy! Excellent question! After you’ve fried the donuts let the oil cool to room temperature, then pour into a container and discard in the trash. The original bottle is a handy thing to hang onto for this. We hope you make the donuts and enjoy them!
Hi, ladies. I saw this and had to comment. I make thing like this all the time and I never throw out my oil. I filter it with a coffee filter and store it in its container. Not to worry about bacteria, the next time you use it the heat will take care of any of that. It to expensive to throw it out!!!!!
Has anyone tried this recipe? If so please let me know how it came out.
We made these today and they were great! On par with the apple orchard donuts. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you bake these in a donut pan? I don’t want to fry them.
Hi Lauren. We have not tested this recipe by baking the donuts rather than frying them, so I can’t advise you on how long to bake them for and at what temperature, but the texture and taste will definitely be different — I expect they will taste more like a dense scone/bread rather than a donut. Not necessarily bad, but different. You may want to look for a cider donut recipe that is intended to be baked, or try our recipe for Cider Doughnut Muffins, which are baked, and delicious! Here’s the recipe: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/cider-doughnut-muffins
So glad you enjoyed them, Beth!
My daughter and I made these last weekend and they turned out pretty good. I was hoping for even more of that cider flavor to come through. My memories of the cider donuts from this orchard outside of Albany, NY were of these richly flavored golden brown, bursting with flavor beauties. I’ve had a few different variations since but none really measure up. Your recipe sounded promising but I didn’t want to take any chances.
We did a few things to really enhance the flavor. I was worried about being short on apple flavor so I started with a gallon of really tasty cider and cooked it down to around 3 cups. It was close to the consistency of Vermont maple syrup.
After we made the first couple donuts I wanted more apple flavor so I added a little apple pie spice to the sugar we were rolling the donuts in. That helped a little but I still wanted more.
Since we had cider syrup left I had the idea of drizzling thx donuts with a little before sugaring them. OOOH Boy! Did that make a difference! The flavor was amazing! We weren’t very good with the drizzling so we quickly dipped a few in the syrup and that seemed to get just the right amount of syrup without being soggy.
Quickly dipping the donuts into the cider syrup added so much flavor. They were exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for sharing your experiments with us! We’re definitely going to make them your way!!
Why do you have to us wax paper
Hi Stella. When making the cider donuts, the waxed paper or parchment paper keeps the dough from sticking. Happy baking!
Please try to limit recipes to 2 pages & 1 photo.
This is so rude. Shame on you.
Hi Mona. This is the homemade apple cider donuts blog post, detailing how to make the donuts for folks that like to see step-by-step instructions. If you click on the link at the bottom of the page that says “View and print the recipe for Homemade Apple Cider Donuts” and it will take you to a traditional recipe page with just the recipe and one photo. Thanks!
Can these be baked?
Hi Aimee, I am trying to make these donuts in UK and I am quite confused about what apple cider is now! Is it the alcoholic apple cider, apple cider vinegar or simply freshly squeezed apple juice?..
Many thanks,
Laura
Hi Laura! It’s a common source of confusion! When we talk about apple cider in New England, it’s the fresh-squeezed apple juice kind, and what you might think of as “sweet cider,” meaning it’s unfermented and non-alcoholic. We call boozy cider “hard cider.” Hope this helps, and happy baking!