Apple Cider Donut Holes are an easy breakfast recipe made with a simple apple cider batter and baked in a mini muffin tin, then rolled in a cinnamon and sugar coating. They are positively scrumptious!
I sure get excited about fall and all the flavors that come with it. Fall has always been my favorite season – but now that we have this property my fall days are full of picking apples from our orchard and making all sorts of apple recipes – fall is all the more fun.
easy donut holes
So here I was picking through all of my apple recipes in grandma’s cookbooks this season because we had a massive crop of apples this year. I knew I would be making apple recipes for FOREVER. We had already made a ton of cider and wanted to make some recipes with that cider. I think these little donut holes were a perfect choice.
Be sure to try our Instant Pot Apple Cider & Apple Cider Donut Cake!
I’m so in love with these little donut holes. My daughter has been begging me to make more since she ate the last of this batch. Fortunately, the recipe is so easy that I can just hand it off to her and let her make her own.
These are the perfect little breakfast to enjoy throughout the fall season. I know I will be making these for guests coming this Thanksgiving – they are definitely a hit.
apple cider donuts
Here are some commonly asked questions
How to store leftover donut holes
These mini muffins/donut holes are super easy to store. Just place leftovers in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature. I don’t recommend refrigerating as the cooler air will moisten the sugar coating and make it dissolve and soak into the donut holes.
baked apple cider donuts
Why are these called donut holes?
While these are technically mini muffins – when they are baked and then rolled in the cinnamon and sugar mixture they take on the flavor and texture of a donut hole. Because they are also the same size and shape as a donut hole – the name just sort of stuck and became the popular and more common way to refer to these tasty little gems.
apple cider donut
Can these be made as a regular-size muffin?
Sure – these can be made in a standard muffin tin. If you would like to do that – bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden on top and spring back when they are gently pressed on the tops.
apple cider donut recipe
Ingredients for Apple Cider Donut Holes
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- apple cider
- sour cream
- eggs – gently beaten
- vanilla extract
- molasses
Coating
- butter – melted
- granulated sugar
- cinnamon
How to Make Apple Cider Donut Holes
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly oil or grease a mini muffin tin – set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the cider, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and molasses until the mixture is smooth and all of the ingredients are combined.
- Spoon into the prepared baking pan – you should be able to get about 1-2 tbsp of batter in each well of the ini muffin tin. I filled each until they were just below the tops.
- Bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned and the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
How to Make Apple Cider Donut Hole Coating
- While the muffins are baking – combine the sugar with the cinnamon and stir well.
- Once the muffins are done baking – immediately remove one muffin and dip it in the melted butter, then immediately roll it in the cinnamon/sugar mixture until coated.
- Set the coated “donut hole” on a plate or in a bowl and continue with the remaining donut holes until they are all coated.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
apple cider muffins
What type of apple cider should I use?
I used homemade cider (which I will be linking to here once I get that post written) but you can use the jug of cider that you can find at either the local farmers market or the grocery store. Keep in mind that if you are using a commercial brand vs something made locally and found at the orchard – the cider will most likely be thinner.
My cider had a thicker consistency which made for a thicker batter. Either is okay.
Also – you can use either the spiced cider or the plain cider – that is up to you if you want to have a stronger spiced flavor to the donut holes. I used spiced cider – but they are delicious either way.
apple cider baked donuts
Can these be baked into regular donuts?
Yes – if you have a standard donut pan, you can add the batter to the pan and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I don’t recommend trying to fry this dough as it is meant to be baked.
apple donut recipe
Can this recipe be cut in half?
Yes – this recipe makes 48 donut holes – which was enough for the 3 of us here to enjoy for a whole weekend. I made this recipe because I had the larger mini muffin pan and I had completely forgotten that I also had a couple of smaller mini muffin pans I could have used. Either way – this recipe easily reduces to make half or you can double it if you need a whole lot of donut holes.
apple cider donut muffins
If you love these donut holes – check out these other apple recipes!
Since we have quite a few apple trees on our property – it is no surprise that we make a ton of apple recipes. Here are just a handful of our favorites.
- Instant Pot Apple Sauce
- Applesauce Muffin Recipe
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Mini Apple Pies
- Apple Stuffing
- Air Fryer Apple Hand Pies
- Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
- Apple Pie Mug Cake
- Quick Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
- French Apple Pie
Can these be made with apple juice?
Theoretically yes, however, the apple juice will give you a very light apple flavor compared to what you get with the apple cider. In addition to that, it will be a much thinner consistency, resulting in a thinner batter – so you will want to make sure your sour cream is thick and doesn’t have too much whey mixed in before you add it.
donut holes
Products I love when making these donut holes…
This mini muffin/donut hole recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made donuts or muffins before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love them. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this breakfast recipe.
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- ground cinnamon
- apple cider
- pure vanilla extract
- molasses
- mini muffin tin
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- dry measuring cups
If you love this Easy Apple Cider Donut Holes recipe, you’re going to love these other breakfast recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
If you love this recipe for Apple Cider Donut Holes as much as I do, please write a five-star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
CONNECT WITH YUMMI HAUS!
Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post!
Apple Cider Donut Holes
Ingredients
Donuts
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs – gently beaten
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp molasses
Coating
- ½ cup butter – melted
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly oil or grease a mini muffin tin – set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the cider, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and molasses until the mixture is smooth and all of the ingredients are combined.
- Spoon into the prepared baking pan – you should be able to get about 1-2 tbsp of batter in each well of the ini muffin tin. I filled each until they were just below the tops.
- Bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned and the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
Coating
- While the muffins are baking – combine the sugar with the cinnamon and stir well.
- Once the muffins are done baking – immediately remove one muffin and dip it in the melted butter, then immediately roll it in the cinnamon/sugar mixture until coated.
- Set the coated “donut hole” on a plate or in a bowl and continue with the remaining donut holes until they are all coated.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Reader Interactions
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Share Your Thoughts