Oct 4

Oct 4 Baked Apple Cider Donuts and a Trip to the Apple Farm

Baked Apple Cider Donuts | cinnamon, clove, nutmeg an cardamom pair perfectly with the sweet cider in these baked donuts

We recently went apple picking for the very first time. I can't believe we live in upstate New York and have never been before! It was the perfect day...a slight chill in the air, a bit overcast, just long sleeves or sweater could warm you through. The local family farm was very accommodating for families with little ones. There was a small playground out front of the farmstand for the kids to play on while we waited for the large wagon to bring us out the orchards. All the paths were clearly marked, directing us to our favorite varieties. (There must've been two dozen at least!) Rows and rows on both sides of us were packed with brightly colored red, green and yellow fruit of all sizes. I was especially excited to see my favorite, the Jonamac! It's a great all-purpose apple; snacking, baking and for sauce. I fell in love with it when I was a flight attendant. I would cut it up in the morning and pack it in my luggage. Hours and hours later, even across the country, it would still be white! I swear, it never browned! I haven't seen it in supermarkets for at least eight years. I can't tell you how excited I was to come across it again.

Other favorites are the Honeycrisp, Empires, Sweet 16, and Sweet Tango. I got to chatting with the woman at the stand. She said at the end of October the Crispin variety will be ready. She promises this is the best for pies! Pies hold a special place in my heart. (When I was a kid I would request my mom make me a birthday pie instead of cake.) As soon as she told me that, she had a customer for life. Looks like will be going back in a few more weeks! Until then, we will make juice, cider, breads and of course...these Spiced Apple Cider Donuts!

adding reduced apple cider in the batter gives these spiced donuts even more concentrated flavor

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple cider or apple cider concentrate*
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 T melted butter, slightly cooled

*To make your own apple cider concentrate, pour 2 cups apple cider into a medium sauce pan and simmer until reduced by half. Cool before using in the recipe.

Glaze ingredients:

2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. apple cider (more if needed)
2 tsp vanilla

my mini kitchen helper, whipping up a simple glaze. he's always at my side.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Prepare a donut pan with nonstick baking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Whisk to combine. In a large measuring cup, combine the apple cider concentrate, eggs, vanilla and melted butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until combined. Don't over mix! Pour the batter into a large zip top baggie and then snip off about 1/4" of one corner. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each well until almost full.

Bake for about 7-9 minutes or until the tops are dry to the touch and they spring back a little. Turn out onto a cooling rack and let them cool for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl. If the glaze is a little too thick, add a splash of cider as needed to thin it out a little more. Dip the tops of each donut into the glaze and transfer back to the wire rack to let the glaze harden. Once the glaze has set, serve and enjoy!

Makes approximately 2 dozen donuts