Fall is among us here in Connecticut.
Kind of. Last week it snowed and yesterday had a high 74, but with the trees blazing orange, red, and yellow, it’s definitely late-October here in New England. This time of year is one of the things I missed most while living in North Carolina. Especially the apple picking.
A few weeks ago my brother, my boyfriend Ryan, and I headed to a local orchard and picked a peck of apples and a few pumpkins. It was a GORGEOUS fall day and I had a great time with my favorite boys. The apples were delicious, and the orchard’s apple cider donut holes were to die for.
The donut holes were so good that this strapping young man even claimed they were one of the best things he’d ever eaten. He won’t be too young for much longer though, he turns 22 next Wednesday! I’m going up to Cape Cod to visit him this weekend, and I’m surprising him with a homemade, baked version of apple cider donut holes.
Frying scares me, particularly the part with the bubbling, scalding hot oil, so I opted for a safer and healthier recipe involving baking the dough.
Of course they didn’t come out quite like the orchard’s, but I’d say they look and taste pretty damn good. My roommate, with her very sophisticated palate, declared: “They taste like munchkins!”. Success!
Let’s get a little closer…
Ahhh, beauty. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have 4 of these as my dinner last night.
That’s a whole lot of yumminess staring you down right there. Now go buy some fresh apple cider and get baking!
Baked Apple Cider Donut Holes
DONUTS:
3 tbsp sugar (for pans)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 tbsp vegetable oil
TOPPING:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
For the donuts:
– Preheat oven to 400 degrees
– Brush mini muffin pan with butter and sprinkle sugar on top, shaking out the excess
– In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
– In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, applesauce, maple syrup, cider, yogurt, and vegetable oil.
– Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir gently just until evenly blended
– Divide the batter into the muffin pan, filling the cavities only half way
– Bake for 10 minutes
For the topping: (set this up while the donuts are baking)
– Melt butter
– In a large ziploc bag, combine the sugar and cinnamon
– When donuts are still hot, brush them with the butter and toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated.
Happy Birthday Ry!
Whats on the outside of them? Is that mold…
Yum those look GREAT!
am not into cinnamon and nutmeg. what could I replace it with?
Erica — September 13th, 2012 @ 5:02 pm
I would just suggest leaving it out. Good luck!
is it important to use both types of flour, or would using only all-purpose give close to the same results?
Erica — October 1st, 2012 @ 1:56 am
No, using only all-purpose flour would still yield a great product! I was just trying to be semi-healthy :)