Packed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, these vegan Baked Apple Cider Donuts are a perfect way to welcome in the fall. Made in just 25 minutes for a delicious treat.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Have I mentioned how much I love fall?
With the kids finishing the first month of school, temperatures beginning to drop, and the days getting noticeably shorter, I couldn't be more excited.
Fall is both a wonderfully nostalgic time for me, as I reflect on past years and old family traditions, while simultaneously representing new beginnings and fresh starts. There is a world of potential ahead of us!
So, for the next few months, you will find me over here in pure bliss. But before I get too lost in the glory of it all, where were we?
Oh right, Vegan Apple Cider Donuts!
Apple Cider Donuts {Video}
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Making baked donuts is incredibly easy and satisfying. Who doesn't love a soft and warm sweet pastry filled with herbs and dipped in the glaze? And better yet, they are so simple to master.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour - For a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking Powder & Soda
- Spices - Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt
- Maple Syrup
- Apple Cider - This recipe calls for apple cider or apple juice, not apple cider vinegar.
- Applesauce - This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with ⅓ cup mashed banana, ⅓ cup of pumpkin puree, or a variety of other egg replacers.
- Oil - This recipe calls for coconut oil because it doesn't add flavor. You can also use avocado, olive, or canola oil. If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.
- Vanilla Extract
- Granulate & Powdered Sugar - Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
Recommended Equipment
Most importantly, you will need a couple of donuts pans. With a donut pan you can make all the baked donuts you want this fall.
It’s also nice to have is a good piping bag. When baking donuts (rather than frying) the batter is soft like cake and will need to be piped in the donut pans. You can get reusable piping bags or one-use plastic bags. Either way, they are super cheap and nice to have on hand.
In addition, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment such as a mixing bowl, utensils, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to make Apple Cider Donuts
Step one - Make the Batter
First, mix your dry ingredients together. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. You don't want to over mix or your doughnut will become tough rather than tender.
Step Two - Bake the Donuts
The batter will be soft, so a piping bag is the best option here. If you don't have one, you can make a makeshift piping bag by pouring your batter into a ziplock bag, cutting off the tip, and piping from there.
Bake the donuts for just about 8-10 minutes. When done the dough should spring back when gently pressed.
Step Three - Glaze the Donuts
Once the donuts are ready, pull them out of the oven and flip them onto a wire cooling rack.
Let them cool 10 minutes before dipping them into your glaze and sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar.
Pro Tip: This cooling time is necessary otherwise the donuts might crumble and the glaze will definitely melt off.
Serving and Storing
Serve donuts immediately as a morning pastry or afternoon snack. Serve with a homemade Chai Latte.
Store leftover donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, pull them out of the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
Tips and Tricks
- Generously spray the donut pan before piping in the batter to ensure the donuts do not stick to the pan.
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Take care not to overmix the batter. Overmixed batter becomes tough and gummy.
- For cleanest results, pipe in the batter with a piping bag.
- Let the donuts rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping them onto a wire cooling rack. Let donuts cool completely before dipping them in the glaze to prevent the glaze from melting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I omit the oil?
Sure. If you would like to make any of these recipes oil-free, simply swap out the oil for additional applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
For sure! For gluten-free doughnuts, I recommend using a 1:1 baking blend.
I don’t have a doughnut pan. Would these work as muffins?
Yes! When making muffins, I prefer using a mini-muffin pan (<<affiliate link) for these as they do tend to be a bit sweeter than muffins.
More Vegan Donut Recipes
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
Ingredients
Apple Cider Doughnuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp. allspice
- ½ tsp. salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Apple Cider Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a donut pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together maple syrup, apple cider, apple sauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each mold about ¾ full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the donuts springs back when gently pressed. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring doughnuts onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and apple cider in a small shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for cinnamon sugar topping.
- Once doughnuts have cooled, dip the tops of each doughnut into the glaze. Immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Let the glaze harden and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Generously spray the donut pan before piping in the batter to ensure the donuts do not stick to the pan.
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Let the donuts rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping them onto a wire cooling rack. Let donuts cool completely before dipping them in the glaze to prevent the glaze from melting.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Kristen says
I can't wait to try this recipe! How many doughnuts does it yield?
Sarah says
6, which is sadly the only size of donut pan I've found.
Marla says
I may be just a little bit obsessed with this recipe right now. I've made them a BUNCH of times - always with a combination of white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. One of the times I was...a bit distracted, forgot the apple sauce, and then wondered why the batter was so dry (the batter is usually so fluffy and perfect) so I dumped in extra cider and they came out...not bad at all! And another time, the maple syrup bottle was nearly empty so I mixed what was left with a simple syrup I'd made previously - and THAT worked very well. Thank you SO MUCH.
William Burnside says
These doughnuts look awesome and I love that they're baked instead of fried! I too don't have a doughnut pan, but I imagine I could just use a muffin pan like others have mentioned. These would be awesome on one of our cool Chicago fall evenings along with a mug of mulled apple cider. Yum!
Christina says
These look amazing!!
Is it possible to somehow make these without a donut pan? I don't have one. Could I just cut the center out with something and then bake them on a cookie sheet?
Sarah says
Thanks Christina! The dough is pretty soft, so it would be hard to make without a donut pan. You could try piping it in a donut shape on a parchment lined cookie sheet - that would work better than cutting a hole out of the middle. You could also use the batter to make muffins - but then you would want to double the batch because it only makes 6 donuts (to fit in the pan) and muffins will take more batter.
Good luck! Let me know if anything works out.
Christina says
Ooh, I like the muffin idea! I think I am going to try that this weekend, thanks!
Christina says
The muffins came out great! I ended up baking them longer than the donuts (about 20 minutes total). The kids love them!
Maureen says
Sounds delicious ! Just curious if you mixed the batter by hand or used a stand mixer which I have? Thanks, can't wait to try this recipe.
Sarah says
I just mixed it by hand. The batter is a small amount so it seemed easier to do it by hand. Either would work, you would just want to make sure not to over-mix it in a stand up mixer.
Maureen says
These came out picture perfect and tasted amazing! Thank you for the great recipe Sarah. 🙂
Savita says
Hi,
I just made your recipe today!!! Absolutely phenomenal!! Even though I didn't have some of the ingredients, I am amazed how amazing these were. I can only imagine how delicious they would be if I following it exactly.
Instead of allspice (which I didn't have,) I added a pinch of ground cloves. I also didn't have maple syrup so I just substituted coconut sugar and added some extra apple cider. I can't believe how moist and delicious they were. Thank you so much!! I'm not a baker by any means, but this recipe was so easy and fantastic.
Sarah says
Savita, thank you so much for letting me know how you liked them - and I'm so glad you did. Your comment makes me think I should make another batch this week...
Venus says
Hi Sarah,
I made this last night so they would be ready for breakfast this morning... I have to say that I Absolutely love them!!!... I didn't chance any ingredients ( i think changing the recipe makes it lose its "essence"), anyways, I posted on Instamatic and mentioned you.
What I'm having a little hard time though is with the glaze... It looks to me like the donut absorbs the glaze... I tried adding more confectioners sugar, but i don't want them to be too sweet.. any suggestions? I want them to look like yours 🙂
Sarah says
Hey Venus,
I'm glad you liked them. Did you wait until the donuts were completely cooled before dipping them? Perhaps I should clarify that. Also if it still seems too runny, you can add more powdered sugar (or less apple cider) and because the donuts themselves are very sweet I think it would be okay. Hope that helps!
Matt says
Sarah! These look absolutely phenomenal. I was looking through the blog at work and all my co-workers were standing behind me freaking out over how awesome they look. We have been going through a doughnut phase here at work where we talk about them all the time. My buddy Marcus has been hankering non-stop for the doughsant/cronut hybrid pastries that are all the rage lately!
Anyway, these look amazing! Definitely want to try them out. 😀
Sarah says
Thanks Matt! I haven't heard about the doughsant/cronut yet, but that sounds AMAZING! I may have to try out some recipes...
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
I've been scouring the internet for the ideal-sounding cider doughnut recipe, and I think I've finally found it! This recipe sounds as spectacular as your photos look-- can't wait to give it a try!
Sarah says
I'm glad you found me Kailley. Hope you like the doughnuts!
Bobbie {the vegan crew} says
Give me a week or two and I will be incredibly excited for fall, but I'm currently still relishing all things summer (probably due to the unseasonably cool weather we've had recently). Once that happens however, I'll be giving these a try -- the donuts look fantastic!
Sarah says
It's totally understandable that many people are still enjoying the final days of summer- we do still have 3 weeks until it's official. Enjoy the end of your summer while I enjoy the beginning of my fall! 🙂
becca says
Do you think this recipe would work using a GF all-purpose flour?
Sarah says
I would think so. As far as I know GF AP flour is supposed to substitute pretty well in basic baking recipes. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Tiffany says
I tried it this morn using gf all purpose flour and the apple sauce didn’t allow the doughnuts to rise that much.....but they were good anyway! Is there something else we can sub for the applesauce?
Sarah says
Interesting. I've never had that issue with the donuts. You could try using chickpea flour or a chia egg - both which are referenced here: https://www.mydarlingvegan.com/replacing-eggs/ you could also just add 1/8th tsp of baking soda and see if that helps.
Erin S says
These donuts are making me drool just thinking about them. They look so pretty!
Lisa says
Ah... I remember all those fall events as well--and a few others besides! This recipe looks amazing. I don't have a donut pan, but imagine I could improvise and make them square cakes or muffins... but the donut is so classic here! Love your pictures and everything about this blog.
Sarah says
Thanks Mom!
I was thinking about mentioning a muffin option as I think it would work well - you would want to double the batch because muffins will use more batter and I imagine you'd want more than 3-4 muffins.
Allison says
I did make this recipe in a muffin pan and it was a great success!! The little muff-onuts, as I lovingly call them, turned out so light inside with a soft, thin crispy layer on the outside. I hand-greased each muffin tin with a bit of extra virgin coconut oil and there was no coconut flavor imparted to the final product, so no worries there. I came out with 12 muffins (approx 1in. tall each after baking) and they easily came out of the pan with no problems to finish cooling on a cooling rack. I also substituted apple butter for the apple sauce because I happened to have some on hand, and this worked just fine. I cooked them for 10.5 minutes at 350 degrees and the oven was fully preheated when I put them in there. So, if you're like me and don't own a donut pan and don't want to buy one, then no fear-- you can use a muffin pan and you will still have great results!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing how it worked out Allison! I have had some other people mention the apple butter and I think it's a good idea - it gives a stronger apple taste.
Shannon says
I am so glad it's gonna start cooling down soon. My tea drawer is ready for cool mornings. These donuts would be perfect for dunking in some black tea!
Lou says
Hi there! I have nominated you for the Shine On Blogger award, because I think your blog is just plain groovy. As per the instructions given to me, you now need to tell us seven things about your lovely self, and then nominate seven other bloggers that you think take the cake! If you want to see how I did it, the link to my post is here:
http://freshpickedvegan.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/shiny/
Thanks for sharing your vision with the world!
Sarah says
Thanks for the nomination Lou. And now I know about your blog, so even better!
LizW says
As a fellow pale-skinned, freckle-faced Oregonian, I agree 100%! I LOVE the cool, cloudy fall 🙂 And I can't wait to try this recipe 🙂
Sarah says
Ah, a kindred spirit! I only recently started admitting I didn't like summer when I realized I spend most of it indoors hiding from the sun. 🙂