Fried Apple Cider Donuts
Nothing quite says fall like fried apple cider donuts do. These are made from a tender dough spiked with reduced apple cider. They fry up super quick, and are then rolled in lots of cinnamon sugar.
Servings: 12
Calories: 330kcal
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 2 1/2 cups fresh apple cider
- 3 3/4 cups (548g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup cold whole milk
- 2 cold large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cold large egg yolk
- 2 quarts Vegetable oil (for frying)
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Donuts
- Add the apple cider to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer, swirling ocassionally, until you're left with 1/2 cup of cider (this took me about 45 minutes).
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl, whisking to combine.
- Stir in melted butter, applesauce, and milk. The dough will be very shaggy here. Stir in the eggs and egg yolk until well combined.
- Scrape the reduced apple cider into the bowl, stirring well to combine. You should have a very sticky dough that forms. Cover the dough and let it chill for at least 1 hour (or overnight, see note below).
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly line a third rimmed baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack on top. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed, high-walled Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat to 330°F.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough to 1/2 to 3/4-inch thickness. Use round cookie cutters (a large and a small one) or a donut cutter to cut out donut shapes. Place the donuts onto prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- When the oil reaches 330°F, use tongs or a spider to drop 2 or 3 donuts into the oil. Cook each donut for about 2 minutes on each side, making sure to pay close attention to the oil temperature. Adjust the temperature of your burner as needed to maintain a steady temperature.
- When the donuts are golden brown on each side and cooked all the way through the centers, use tongs to remove each donut and place on the cooling rack with a paper towel underneath. Repeat this process with the remaining donuts.
- Tip: the temperature of the donuts will naturally decrease the temperature of the oil, just make sure you're adjusting the burner heat as necessary to maintain this 330°F temperature.
For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- When all of the donuts and donut holes have been fried, turn off the heat of the oil. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
- Dip each donut in the cinnamon sugar, being sure to cover each side of the donut is fully coated. Enjoy these donuts when they're warm!
Notes
If you want to make the dough ahead and let it chill overnight, increase the baking powder in the dough to 4 tsp.