Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked): A Recipe from the Farm

Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by TheFarmChicken

Picture this: A crisp blue sky, the beautiful leaves, and a sunny warm fall day; donut in hand. You can skip the trip to the apple orchard and enjoy a taste of it right at home. Enjoy these Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked): A Recipe from the Farm with the autumn blend coffee from the Roasterie. Perfect! Not that I tried it… 😉

These are quite delicious…decadent even. A baked sourdough donut with an apple cider reduction that is covered in apple pie spice sugar. Yum! These baked apple cider donuts are soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside with a pleasant apple cider flavor. Perfect for a chilly day on the farm or at home with friends after an apple picking adventure. These would also be a great field treat for something different than cookies! These homemade donuts are a perfect Fancy Farm Food.

Fancy Farm Food: (Noun) A food made from fresh ingredients that is made on those special occasions like birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. A food that is just a little fancier than everyday dishes.

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The Ingredients:

Apple Cider:

Apple Cider is different from apple juice but if you are in a pinch, you could substitute apple juice in this recipe. You usually can find apple cider easier in the fall winter months. Check in the produce section of your grocery store or a local orchard for fresh apple cider.

The Spices:

Cinnamon and a little bit of cloves and nutmeg makes for the perfect apple pie like spice. Spiced and sweet these donuts are so good!

Sour Cream:

I added the sour cream to this recipe to give it more moisture and tang.

Sourdough Starter:

Do you have a sourdough starter? If not Agnes and I would love to help you learn all about it. Learning Sourdough with Agnes is a helpful guide to get you to baking with sourdough in your home.

You can use either active sourdough starter or sourdough discard in this recipe. Both work!

Applesauce:

Applesauce adds to that apple flavor and moisture in this donut. The perfect addition to apple cider donuts.

Pure Vanilla Extract:

I don’t know if I have ever had a baked good that wasn’t good with vanilla added to it. These donuts are no exception to that! Add a little pure vanilla extract to bring the flavors together! Yum!

Simple to Mix Up

These donuts are really simple to mix up. Basically like mixing up a cupcake; kinda. Here’s what you do!

1. Mix up the dry ingredients.
2. Mix up the wet ingredients.
3. Add the wet to the dry and mix the donut batter till just combined.
4. Bake! (or Fry.)
5. Dip in melted butter and apple pie spiced sugar.

Bake or fry the donuts?

I prefer them baked. Not only because they are better for you that way but they aren’t so heavy. Now I am not going to say that frying them isn’t good because it is good too but expect them to be very rich.

To Fry the Donuts:

If you prefer to fry these donuts you can do that too.

• In a Dutch oven heat 1 ½ inches of canola oi or other frying oil to 375 degrees. You can measure the temperature using a candy or instant read thermometer.
• Once the oil has heated up take your dough out of the fridge and place on a floured surface. Pat to about 1 ½-2 inches thick and cut into donuts or donut holes…or both! Use a donut cutter, biscuit cutter, or a cookie cutter to do this.
• Transfer to the hot oil being careful not to burn yourself. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side.
• Then transfer to a paper towel lined plate or pan and then dip in melted butter and the cinnamon sugar mixture once they have cooled enough to handle. Enjoy!

To Bake the Donuts:

Follow the recipe instructions if you want to make these a baked donut and not fried. You will need a donut pan if you want to bake them. Check out the link at the bottom of this post, “Shop this Post”. I’ve seen them baked in a muffin pan also if you don’t want to invest in a donut pan.

Ways and Occasions to Enjoy these Donuts:

• With a cup of coffee
• A fall get together at your home

Day Old Donuts:

These donuts are the best freshly baked and rolled in sugar but don’t throw them out after a day. They still rewarm really well! Store in an airtight container and when you are ready to have one, place it in a 200 degree preheated oven on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. So good again!

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Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked): A Recipe from the Farm

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups apple cider, reduced to ½ cup
• 1 egg, room temperature
• ½ cup sourdough starter, discard or active
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 T butter, melted

Spiced Sugar Coating:

• 5 T butter melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees on the convection setting if you have it. Next, grease your donut pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
• To reduce your apple cider take 2 ½ cups of apple cider in a small saucepan and boil until reduced to half a cup. You can eye ball it or pour it into a liquid measuring cup to check if it is reduced enough and if not boil it some more until you reach that point!
• Next, in a medium bowl combine the first 7 ingredient (the dry ingredients). Whisk these together and set aside.
• Next in a large mixing bowl combine the sourdough starter, sour cream, reduced apple cider(Not HOT), egg, melted butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and vanilla.
• Mix this well with a whisk. Stir for 2-3 minutes until well combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the large bowl and mix with a spatula until just combined. DON’T overmix.
• Next, take the dough and place it in a plastic gallon zip bag or something similar and using a kitchen shears snip the corner off. You can use a piping bag too if you have one. Squeeze the dough out of the bag into the donut pan.
• You want to make sure not to overfill the donut spots. A little less than level full is about perfect. If you fill them too full, they begin to lose their donut shape once baked.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Pop them out onto a cooling wire rack and when cool enough to handle dip in melted butter and the apple pie spiced sugar.

Dipping the donuts:

• In a small bowl melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan and set aside. Then in a shallow dish mix the sugar and spices.
• Taking one donut at a time dip them first in the butter on both sides then in the apple pie spiced sugar. Enjoy fresh!

Makes about 16 donuts.

Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked): A Recipe from the Farm

A baked sourdough donut with an apple cider reduction that is covered in apple pie spice sugar. Yum! These baked apple cider donuts are soft on the inside and crunchy of the outside with a pleasant apple cider flavor.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Donut Dough Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups apple cider reduced to ½ cup
• 1 egg room temperature
• ½ cup sourdough starter discard or active
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 T butter melted

Spiced Sugar Coating

• 5 T butter melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees on the convection setting if you have it. Next, grease your donut pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
• To reduce your apple cider take 2 ½ cups of apple cider in a small saucepan and boil until reduced to half a cup. You can eye ball it or pour it into a liquid measuring cup to check if it is reduced enough and if not boil it some more until you reach that point!
• Next, in a medium bowl combine the first 7 ingredient (the dry ingredients). Whisk these together and set aside.
• Next in a large mixing bowl combine the sourdough starter, sour cream, reduced apple cider(Not HOT), egg, melted butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and vanilla.
• Mix this well with a whisk. Stir for 2-3 minutes until well combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the large bowl and mix with a spatula until just combined. DON’T overmix.
• Next, take the dough and place it in a plastic gallon zip bag or something similar and using a kitchen shears snip the corner off. You can use a piping bag too if you have one. Squeeze the dough out of the bag into the donut pan.
• You want to make sure not to overfill the donut spots. A little less than level full is about perfect. If you fill them too full, they begin to lose their donut shape once baked.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Pop them out onto a cooling wire rack and when cool enough to handle dip in melted butter and the apple pie spiced sugar.

Dipping the Donuts:

• In a small bowl melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan and set aside. Then in a shallow dish mix the sugar and spices.
• Taking one donut at a time dip them first in the butter on both sides then in the apple pie spiced sugar. Enjoy fresh!
• Makes about 16 small donuts.

Notes

Store in a airtight container for up to 5 days. To enjoy after 1st day rewarm in a 200 degree oven on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes.

Servings: 16 donuts

I hope you enjoy these Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked): A Recipe from the Farm. I love a simple recipe that makes such a tasty treat. These delicious donuts do not disappoint. Apple Cider is one of my favorite fall flavors. Let me know what you think below and if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Mariah N | TheFarmChicken

Shop this Post:

• Donut Pan (silicone) – This is the one that I have. I do like the silicone for being able to easily remove the donuts from the pan. This one is nice to because the base is metal which makes it easy to transfer to and from the oven.
• Donut Pan (metal)
• Cooling Wire Rack
• My Favorite Rust Resistant Whisks
• Roasterie Coffee (Our Favorite)

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