Baked Apple Cider Donut Holes

These baked apple cider donut holes are soft, sweet, and full of cozy fall flavor. They’re made in a mini muffin pan (no frying needed!) and rolled in cinnamon sugar for that classic apple orchard-style sweetness. These donut holes for fall brunches, school snacks, or just because it’s apple season.

 

Why We Love Baked Apple Cider Donut Holes

• Apple cider donuts are a delicious dessert, breakfast or snack.
• These donuts have great apple cider flavor with every bite.
• Sweet cinnamon sugar is rolled on the outside, which is hard for anyone to resist!
• Mini sized donuts are great for sharing, and the perfect mini size for kids.
• Baked in a pan, not fried like traditional donuts.

Ingredients For Apple Cider Donut Holes

For The Donut Cake Batter

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• ground cinnamon
• white sugar
• apple cider – or I recommend using the Simply Apple brand apple juice for a similar cider flavor
• milk – I used 2%, but you can use what you have
• egg – lightly beaten
• vanilla extract

Ingredients For Donut Topping

• melted butter – salted butter is fine
• white sugar
• cinnamon

How To Make Apple Cider Donut Holes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a mini muffin pan by coating with cooking spray or melted butter.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, two teaspoons cinnamon and one cup of sugar, then mix until combined.

3. Add the apple cider, milk, beaten egg and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix and stir until fully combined into a batter.

4. Use a small cookie scoop to fill each section of the mini muffin pan about 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Use the toothpick test inserted into the center to make sure the batter is cooked through and that the donuts are golden brown. Remove donut holes from pan and let cool for a few minutes.

6. Mix together 1/3 cup white granulated sugar and two teaspoons of cinnamon. Dip each donut hole in melted butter coating the outside, then roll each donut in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat for all donuts then enjoy!

Variation Ideas, Swaps and FAQ

• Powdered Sugar– Instead of dusting these doughtnuts with cinnamon sugar, try costing them in powdered sugar. Wait until the donuts cool completely or the powdered sugar may melt off the donuts. Then dip the donuts in melted butter and roll in powdered sugar. Rolling the donuts a second time through the powdered sugar can give them a nice powdered look.
• Dip In Chocolate– Serve these delicious donuts with a chocolate sauce to dip for an extra special dessert, yum!
• Add Chopped Nuts– Adding chopped nuts like peanuts,walnuts or pecans can add extra crunch. You can add them to the inside of the batter. Nuts go really well with the other flavors.
• Apple Cider Glaze– An apple cider glaze can also be drizzled over the top of the baked apple cider donut holes or used as a dip. To make a glaze whisk together 1/4 cup of apple cider, one cup of powdered sugar, and a tablespoon of melted butter together. Drizzle or dip the cake once the donuts are cool. You can also mix some apple butter with butter and powdered sugar until you get the right glaze thickness.
• Add Nutmeg– Adding a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to the donut batter can really bring out the cider flavor. Use a light hand, nutmeg can have a strong flavor by itself! Cider typically has a little nutmeg in it, but putting more in the batter will bring out the flavor even more.

What Should I Use If I Can’t Find Apple Cider?

Depending on where you live apple cider can sometimes be the hardest ingredient to find!  I’ve found that Simply Apple brand apple juice tastes really close to apple cider I drank at the orchard and makes a good substitute. Cold-pressed apple juice is another great option, which I usually see at Sprouts or sometimes at juice bars. Apple juice from concentrate usually won’t give you quite enough apple flavor.

Apple cider can usually be found in stores in the fall starting in late August through between October and November. Store availability will vary greatly depending on where you live.

Apple cider can also be frozen and defrosted for later. Often I have also seen apple cider in small farm stores year-round. If you have a local farm store or pick your own farm and they have an apple orchard, they may carry apple cider.

Can I Bake These Donut Holes In The Air Fryer

To make donuts in the air fryer preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees then expect these muffins will take about 6-8 minutes to cook through.

Check the center of the donuts with a toothpick until cooked all the way through, and work in batches as needed.

To bake these donuts in the air fryer you need a silicone egg bite pan or another silicone mini pan, I used the silicone pan from this kit when I made pumpkin donut holes in the air fryer (oven directions included with the pumpkin donuts too!) The process will be the same for baking apple cider donut holes.

How Long Will These Apple Cider Donut Holes Last?

Store in an airtight covered container at room temp for up to 3 days for the best flavor.

Freeze up to 2 months in a zip-top freezer bag. Then defrost on the counter before enjoying.