Baked apple cider donuts

Every September, these seasonal businesses roar to life, drawing huge crowds seeking homemade cider donuts and fresh-pressed cider. Our baked donuts are for anyone who wants to capture the feeling of a crisp fall day without having to break out the fryer-or leave home. The crunchy cinnamon-sugar coating is a must!

Makes 12 | Prep: 30 minutes | Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the donuts

• Cooking spray, for greasing
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the coating

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180C). Lightly grease two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray.
2. To make the donuts, to a small saucepan over medium heat, add the apple cider and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces to 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, milk, melted butter, applesauce, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and the reduced apple cider from step 2.
5. Using a spatula, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing just until the batter comes together. Don't overmix. Transfer the batter to a gallon-size Ziplock bag and snip off one corner of the bag with scissors. Into each cavity of the donut pan, pipe the batter about 3/4 of the way to the top.
6. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until the tops are a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a donut comes out clean. Let the donuts cool in the pans for 2 minutes, then flip over onto a cooling rack to remove the donuts.
7. To make the coating, in a shallow bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.
8. Brush each donut lightly with the melted butter, then coat both sides in the 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Storage instructions: Let the donuts cool completely and transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Make it plant-based: Replace the whole milk and butter with nondairy milk and plant-based butter.

Make it gluten-free: Swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1-to-1 or measure-for-measure flour.