Apple Cider Donuts

It's officially October! Which means three things:

1. All things pumpkin spice are now acceptable

2. All things that combine the word sweater and blanket are normal

3. All things apple cider are a MUST

Donuts are always fun to make. That is because you can really make them any flavor you want and they're donuts...I know I'm being repetitive, but who doesn't like donuts?

It took me probably two to three weeks to find an apple cider donut taste/consistency that I liked. And these are definitely a winner. The apple cider is not too overpowering and the donut is not too heavy...but I'll just keep telling you more as we go.

Most donuts are fried...in oil and then the oil has to soak off. Personally, I prefer to BAKE my donuts. I found two things are different when I bake the donuts vs. frying the donuts.

1. When I fry them, the inside is a little less dense

2. When it is baked, it is softer to the touch than when I fry them

Based on those two differences, I decided to stick to baking the donuts. The dough on the inside is more like a cake so it is more filling to the bite plus, you don't have all that oil that creates grease. Don't get me wrong, fried food is delicious, but the cake-like texture, in my opinion, allows your taste buds to savor the taste a little more. And I like that.

I hope you do too :)

Okay, back to these apple cider donuts...

The key part to the process is to simmer actual apple cider until it reduces to half its amount and its thickened. When you do this, it separates the sugar of the cider which ends up being what we use as the liquid for the batter. This process can take quite a long time. It took me probably about 30 minutes to 45 minutes because I had really low heat on to make sure I didn't burn the cider. Because it is essentially making a sugar mixture, you will not be using as much white sugar as you normally would in a recipe.

The apple cider is quite potent after this step.

As for seasonings in the dry mixture for these donuts, I really just thought about what I like to put in apple pie or apple tarts. So, for spices I used:

• Cinnamon - of course!

• Nutmeg

• Cloves

• Ground ginger

• A dash of cardamom

With these spices, I also put a separate bowl of it aside for the sugar topping - of course, the only thing added for the topping in addition to the spices is white sugar.

After the apple cider reduction is cooled, we pour it into the dry mixture with the spices and stir it all together until it is well combined. Once it is combined, if you wanted to add apple chunks, you can fold them in at this time.

I have a donut mold pan and at first, when I first made donuts a year or two ago, I used a spoon to fill the molds. And to say, it was a DISASTER, is an understatement.

So now, I use a pastry bag, if I have, or a zip lock bag and I fill the bags with my batter. If I'm using a ziplock bag, I cut out a piece in one of the corners to make my own piping bag.

Then, I just pipe away into the molds. Another thing I did my first time was I filled the molds to the top and I had mega donuts. To get normal looking donuts, now I fill them half way. The baking soda and baking powder will make them rise.

They bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until a fork or tooth pick comes out clean. As always, keep in mind that they will cook for about about 3-5 minutes after you take them out of the oven because the heat that is still trapped inside is being spread throughout.

Instead of where we would typically let them cool, while they are still hot or warm, you will have two bowls set up - (1) melted butter (2) sugar/spice mixture.

For quickness, you just dip the top of the donut into the melted butter and then right into the sugar/spice mixture to create the topping. If you want to be more conservative with the butter, which is completely okay, you can brush the butter onto the tops and then dip the tops into the sugar/spice mixture. Using a brush, though, may be more time consuming to make sure you are brushing the tops evenly.

After you top the donuts, just let them cool and enjoy as a snack or breakfast delight! If you're like me, you will enjoy them with a cup of coffee.

& There you have it! A delicious, fall donut! Enjoy!

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Thank you for reading! I appreciate your support and time to read my posts as Cafe Nessa. Please give me a like on this post if this is something you would buy to add to your dessert/breakfast options.

Stay happy,

Vanessa