I saw this recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts on Tastespotting and had to give them a try. The recipe was shared by A Bowl of Mush. I have never made cake type doughnuts before. I have only made the raised version, so this was all new for me.
The dough to me looked just like sugar cookie dough. I didn’t make doughnut holes. I added them to the scraps when I re-rolled the dough. The original recipe said it makes 12 doughnuts, but I got more like 17.
These were tasty, but I was hoping you could taste the apple. I really couldn’t taste the apple at all. However, they were still yummy. They tasted very similar to the recipe I have talked about before for French Breakfast Puffs.
Here is what you need to make the Apple Cider Doughnuts
Boil cider until it reduces to 1/4 cup, allow it to cool completely. Mix 3 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, and mix until blended. Add buttermilk and reduced cider, blend until incorporated. Add flour mixture gradually, until just incorporated.
Turn dough out on a well floured board, knead it a few times to make sure ingredients are well-mixed. (The dough to me looked just like sugar cookie dough) Pat or roll into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Using a 3″ round cutter (or doughnut cutter), cut as many circles as you can. Cut smaller hole in center. Set aside centers to make doughnut holes, or collect them along with dough around the larger circles, form a ball, flatten to 1/2 inch and repeat the cutting of doughnuts (This is what I did and I got like 17 doughnuts).
Heat appox 3 inches of oil in a high-sided pan or Dutch oven. When oil is hot, place as many doughnuts/holes as will fit into pan without crowding them. Allow the doughnuts to brown, then turn them over and brown the other side. Turn carefully, these babies are delicate. Remove them from the oil and set them on a paper towel.
When all of the doughnuts are fried, coat them in the cinnamon sugar mixture and serve. Doughnuts are best eaten the day they are made.
