apple cider donuts

 Fall is my favorite. 

I know there are only 4 seasons to pick from, and each of them entirely different from the other, but fall is just the best (sorry, if you are more of a summer or winter person!).  Walking through sidewalks covered in dried up leaves, layering my clothes (hello favorite sweatshirts and jean jacket, you have been missed!), drinking a HOT pumpkin latte from my favorite local coffee, soccer games and all the excuses to gather with my people. 

I have this video I took a few years ago on a pathway near my in-laws house. On cold, fall days it RAINS leaves.  No joke, these big huge (possibly oak?) leaves fall from the rows of trees that line the sidewalk to the neighborhood park.  Click this link and you can find it!  It's gorgeous! 

I also want to bake ALL the things.  And here’s the thing.  It has not been super fall-ish here.  The leaves are just barely beginning to turn and just some of our trees are raining leaves . . . And that’s IF the wind blows.  This is the first week, where I’ve needed to put a sweatshirt on when I took the kids to school and it didn’t really stay on that long, but it's not triple digits.  It’s a start, though.  And looking at our weather, I have high hopes of wearing a sweatshirt to Ethan’s game on Saturday afternoon, where usually we sit under umbrellas, don wide brimmed sun hats, and lather up the sunscreen and deodorant! I am excited!

Last week, when it was still in the 90’s, I decided we needed a taste of fall.  I bought a Costco pumpkin pie (I just couldn’t help it!) and some apple cider and a jug of oil.  We were going to eat that pie and I was going to make the apple cider donut recipe I found on the most recent cover of Bake from Scratch magazine.  Weston had been with me when I bought it and had agreed that it had to be done.  I will be honest with you, usually if I make donuts they are the Bake kind using THIS doughnut pan.  It’s a lot of work to make fried donuts. . . So if you are going to make them, you’ve got to commit to them.  The nice thing about these were, that they don’t use yeast, so there isn’t a proofing time.  These needed to be stuck in the fridge for at least an hour, so it allowed me to break up the making process into chunks.  Super easy! 

This recipe has a few little steps, but please don’t let that detour you.  Plan ahead and do some things a day or two early, or even take a short cut and buy store bought.  I wrote some helpful hints and notes under the recipe, so make sure to check that out, because this recipe is 100 percent worth the time and energy to make.

I fried these up on a Saturday night, so the kids had a delicious breakfast for Sunday ready to go before church.  Sundays are usually filled with something delicious. . .and usually easy since I take a little bit more time getting ready in the morning than my male dominated house. . . Ha ha.  Most of the time, Jon tosses some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls or Trader Joe’s almond croissants in the oven, but occasionally, I like to surprise them with something yummy. . . Like these donuts. 

 So, before you read the instructions, pay close attention to these words:

A lot of steps does NOT mean this is a hard recipe.  (It is actually super simple!)

2.       Plan what you can do ahead (or make take a shortcut. . . (I will help you out in the instructions).

3.       Don’t run away screaming.  Repeat after me: I am capable.  I can do this.  I will do this. 

 

Now, go hop on amazon and buy this.  You are going to need it to be able to make your donuts.

And consider this.  It is a game changer, for getting them out without all the oil leaving your pot!

Now here’s the recipe. . . Don’t forget to look for my helpful hints at the bottom. 

Spiced Apple Cider Donuts

Adapted from Bake from Scratch, Fall 2022

 

Ingredients:

3 cups apple cider

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 ½ cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp cinnamon

1 ¼ tsp Apple (or pumpkin) pie spice*

1 tsp salt

¼ cup buttermilk **

¼ cup apple butter ***

½ cup reduced apple cider (COOLED)

1 tsp vanilla

 

4 cups oil & 4 cups of vegetable shortening

Cinnamon and sugar for tossing warm donuts in

Directions:

1.        In a medium saucepan, bring cider to a boil.  Simmer over medium high heat until cider is reduced to ½ cup.  This step takes 30ish minutes depending on your stove.  Keep an eye on it, but you can totally do the dishes or catch up on that book you’re reading while you stand there keeping an eye on that cider.  This needs to cool for awhile.  It will also get thicker as it cools. 

2.       Time to make the doughnut dough.  In your stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Scrape sides of bowl and add eggs.  Beat well.  This will look funny and you might question everything at this point, but be strong.  You are doing good!

3.       Slowly add dry ingredients and spices and wet ingredients (buttermilk, cider, and apple butter), alternating between the two of them.  Beat only until it is just combined.  Just like making muffins, you don’t want to overheat once you add that flour, or else your dough just won’t be as great!

4.       Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.  This is a great time to go to bed and finish tomorrow, or just go run some errands, or play a game of monopoly with the kiddos. 

5.       Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. . . You aren’t going to bake these donuts, but you do need a place to set the rounds and holes where they won’t stick before you fry them. 

6.       Get out a wire rack, make your cinnamon sugar and heat up your oil in a heavy bottom pot (I used my Dutch oven for this).  Your oil is good to go when it gets to 350 degrees.

7.       While the oil is heating, flour a surface and pat out the dough, like you are making scones.  Use that donut cutter I mentioned a ways back there and cut out donuts.  Place them on your baking sheet. 

8.       In batches of 2 (or 3. . . However you feel comfortable), carefully place the donuts in (don’t toss, we don’t want to burn your hands, face, or eyes!).  Cook for about 1 ½ minutes on each side.  If you have a meat or bread thermometer (they are almost the same thing. . . Long stabby thing that you poke into bread or meat for get the internal temp), check to make sure it reads 198-200 degrees and then you’ll know they are finished cooking.  Nothing is worse than taking a bite of a beautiful donut and finding it completely raw inside (trust me. . . I KNOW this from experience!)

9.       Place hot donut on metal rack and let it cool slightly and then toss in cinnamon and sugar. 

10.   Eat them up.  Take them some to a friend or neighbor. 

Now, for those helpful hints:

·         The original recipe calls for apple pie spice.  I didn’t have that, but when I googled the ingredients, they are basically the same thing as pumpkin pie spice, which I did have.

·         :: Buttermilk is something I often don’t have in the fridge.  But, milk and a little bit of vinegar will give the same effect.  I even do this with oatmilk (I use Oatly) and NOBODY every knows!

·         :: Apple butter: You can buy this at Trader Joe’s or Williams Sonoma, but you can also just make some with applesauce, which is what I did.  I made mine a week or so before, because I knew we would be making these. A lot of the recipes are using a crockpot, but you can kind of wing it on the stove top with a jar of apple sauce, brown sugar and spices.  Just use pinterest for 100's of recipes and what works for you. 

·        ::  I also did not use the shortening like it called for. . . I actually didn’t even see that until I typed this recipe and was like, OOPS!  I don’t know if it would have gotten a better fry or not, but they turned out great.