Well, I am going to hide in the AC today and pretend it’s Autumn out and light my “Leaves” candle and everything will be okay.
Oh and eat a million doughnuts, did I mention I will eat a million doughnuts?
Awful weather is NO MATCH for doughnuts!
Though I do hope to overcome my fear of deep-frying and attempt true apple cider doughnuts this season, I just couldn’t wait to whip up a baked version so that I could eat them all without feeling guilty.
Bet you thought I’d strike that last part out and pretend I was ashamed, huh?
NOPE! These little doughnuts are so delectable, I don’t care who knows that I ate a bunch immediately after photographing them.
They are tiny; they are baked; they are the reason I am sane enough to write this post for you today. Why do I need doughnuts to keep me sane?
Oh a multitude of reasons, but the most pressing being that I, Your Humble Narrator, took on a second job this week.
….
I also finally read A Clockwork Orange so I apologize for the lame reference; I just couldn’t help myself.
Yes, it’s true. My work as a Multimedia Assistant leaves me with enough space in my schedule to shove endless hours of turmoil to fit a small 3 month contract with Rutgers Future Scholars, that fantastic non-profit I worked with over the summer. They are holding a huuuuuugggggeeeee convention on college access this November, and need some help publicizing it on various digital media platforms.
I AM THE SOCIAL MEDIA GURU!
Heehee, just kidding. I am happy to help with such a great cause, and so for the next few months it’s going to get a bit more hectic around here.
What else is new?
So with the added tension of a second job, I desperately needed some sweetness in my life.
Sweetness that involved plenty of apple cider, apple pie spice, and sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.
Oh and coffee too. HAVE YOU NOTICE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES ARE BACK?! OH MYLANTA I AM SO EXCITED I AM JUMPING UP AND DOWN AS I TYPE THIS SENTENCE.
Ahem.
Maybe I had a little too much coffee. Or too many doughnuts.
Oh well. Too late to turn back now!
I guess to finally get to the point: these apple cider doughnuts are DEEEEEEELIGHTFUL!
You can feel less guilty since they are baked, not fried, and they are teeny tiny so eating all of them is totally fine. If you have a problem I feel bad for you son I got 99 problems but a doughnut ain’t one with eating all of them then share them immediately! They will go quickly.
Again, I am sorry for the strange outbursts of song and caps lock. Blame the Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Or join in the fun!
Happy Baking!
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp butter melted and cooled
For the glaze:
- 2 to 4 tbsp apple cider
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat mini-doughnut maker or your oven to 350 degrees. If using a doughnut pan and a conventional oven, spray mini doughnut pan with cooking spray.
- Combined flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together apple cider, egg, butter, and vanilla until well combined.
- Pour wet ingredient mixture over dry ingredient mixture and stir gently until batter forms. Add batter to a large ziploc bag, snip off an end, and pipe either into your doughnut pan OR spray your mini doughnut maker with cooking spray and then pipe directly into it. Fill cavities halfway with doughnut batter.
- Bake for 4 minutes in mini doughnut or 4-6 in conventional oven, until they spring back when touched gently or a toothpick inserted into a doughnut comes out clean. Remove carefully from doughnut maker/pan to cool on a wire rack.
- While they are cooling, *make the glaze.* Sift powdered sugar and apple pie spice into a small bowl and add apple cider one tablespoon at a time until a thick glaze forms. If mixture is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. If too thick, keep adding apple cider.
- Dip doughnuts either halfway or completely in glaze, then let dry on cooling rack.
