These baked apple cider donuts are quick and easy, fluffy and loaded with spicy apple cider flavor! Made with 6 ingredients in 30 minutes. Low calorie, no dairy and with pumpkin puree instead of oil. So sweet and spicy, these fall donuts will easily be your favorite fall donuts ever.
These baked apple cider donuts are quick and easy to make with 5 main ingredients, spicy and sweet, with pumpkin puree instead of oil making them low calorie. Just like my easy 15-minute pumpkin sugar cookies, my baked pumpkin muffins, and my soft healthy pumpkin bread, these apple cider donuts are full of fall flavor! And the recipe is quick because you do not have to boil down the apple cider, and low calorie with 174 calories per donut.
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Why You'll Love These
Soft & Spicy Donuts. These apple cider donuts taste soft and spicy, and rich with the apple cider flavor, supported by apple pie spices. Although I used pumpkin puree instead of oil, you don't taste pumpkin flavor at all, only apple.
Donuts with nutrition. Each donut contains 6g of protein, and 3g of fiber, as well as iron, calcium and even vitamin C thanks to the veggie puree. And these donuts are lower in sugar and free of oil.
Suitable for all diets. My apple cider donuts are vegan, naturally gluten-free, eggless, dairy free, nut free. Adults and children alike will love these whether they are vegan or not.
Ingredients
Apple Cider: Use as fresh and pulpy and quality cider as you can. You do not need to boil down (reduce) your apple cider for a stronger flavor.
Pumpkin puree: Use pumpkin puree from a can or use the same amount of unsweetened applesauce.
Flour: I used oat flour as it's naturally gluten-free and brings a lovely donut shop flavor to baked goods. Or use all-purpose flour.
Sugar: You can use cane sugar or brown sugar or coconut sugar to keep it refined sugar free. If using brown sugar or coconut sugar, pack the cup.
Spices & Leaveners: Use an apple pie spice blend of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger to make these donuts taste deliciously like fall. The leavener is baking powder. Don't forget vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating: A mix of cinnamon and finely granulated sugar is best here.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
Pumpkin puree. If you want more of an apple flavor, use unsweetened applesauce instead.
Flour. Instead of oat flour, use all-purpose flour but because all-purpose flour is less absorbent, use less, only 1 ¼ cup instead of 1 ¾ cup.
Spices. It's logical to add apple pie spices, however the store-bought apple pie spice mix is not my favorite flavor. I prefer to put it together myself using cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger.
Sugar. These donuts are lighter with cane sugar, but brown sugar works, as well as refined-sugar-free coconut sugar. Brown sugar retains more moisture so the texture will be heavier.
Step by Step Instructions
My full and detailed recipe with measurements is below, but you can read through the main steps here.
Step 1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step 2. Combine wet ingredients and sugar in a smaller bowl. Stir until sugar appears fairly well dissolved.
Step 3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and use a hand mixer to combine until smooth.
Step 4. Add the mixture to a piping bag or ziplock bag with tip cut off. Use that to fill a donut pan. Fill wells to the top.
Step 5. Bake for 12 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Step 6. Stir together the sugar cinnamon mix. Spray donuts very lightly with coconut oil spray, dip both sides and spoon mix over to coat donuts.
How to Store
Baked apple cider donuts can be stored in an air-tight container for 2 days and then refrigerated for a week and microwaved for 10 seconds to warm them up. Apple cider donuts can be frozen for a month. Recoat them with cinnamon sugar once thawed.
FAQS
To make these donuts without a donut pan, use a muffin pan lined with paper. Fill wells about halfway, and dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture once done. Bake muffins at 350 F for 15 minutes.
No, baked donuts have the texture of cake, and less of the light and airy texture fried donuts have. However, baked donuts are far healthier, lower in calories and in saturated fats since they are made without oil.
More Baked Donuts
If you love fall flavors, you also might enjoy my cinnamon apple cake, apple crisp without oats, my homemade marzipan recipe, or my new soft almond sugar cookies.
If you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Baked Apple Cider Donuts (low calorie)
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- 2 mixing bowls
- hander mixer or spoon
- donut pan or muffin pan
Ingredients
Donuts
- ½ cup fresh apple cider no reduction needed
- 1 ¾ cup oat flour or 1 ¼ cup all-purpose or GF baking
- ½ cups pumpkin puree canned
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon each of cardamom, nutmeg and ginger
- pinch of salt
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon
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Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 6-well donut pan or cupcake pan.
Make Donuts
- In a medium bowl, mix up dry ingredients.1 ¾ cup oat flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, pinch of salt, ½ cup cane sugar
- In a larger bowl, stir up wet ingredients and sugar. Mix with a hand mixer or spoon until just combined.½ cup fresh apple cider, ½ cups pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and use a hand mixer to blend smooth.
- Pipe or use a spoon to fill the wells to the top.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Make Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- Stir together the sugar cinnamon mix. Spray donuts with oil spray, dip both sides and spoon mix over to coat whole donuts.½ cup cane sugar, 2 tablespoon cinnamon
To Make as Muffins
- To make these donuts without a donut pan, use a muffin pan lined with paper. I fill wells about half way, and dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture once done. Bake muffins at 350 F for 15 minutes.
Store
- Baked apple cider donuts can be stored in an air-tight container for 2 days and then refrigerated for a week and microwaved for 15 seconds to warm them up. Apple cider donuts can be frozen for a month. Recoat them with cinnamon sugar once thawed.
Dee-Dee Bauman
In your recipe you say to mix dry ingredients separate from wet. But then you say to add sugar in both wet and dry. Which is it???
Dee Dine
Hi Dee-Dee, thanks for making the donuts! You want to add the sugar to the wet ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved so your batter isn't gritty. Let me know how it works out!