Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts
Sourdough apple cider donuts are soft, tender, baked instead of fried, and coasted in cinnamon sugar for an easy fall treat.
These sourdough apple cider donuts are soft, tender, packed with cozy apple flavor and coated in cinnamon sugar for the ultimate fall breakfast treat.
They’re baked instead of fried, and a great use of that jar of discard in your fridge!
Grab a mug of cider, find your coziest sweater, and fully embrace the fact that its now apple cider season!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Donut vibes, no frying. These donuts bake right in a donut pan, so there’s no frying involved!
- Delicious use of sourdough discard. No feeding your starter or waiting for fermentation to happen. Just grab your starter from the fridge and get to work.
- They taste like fall. Apple cider, warm spices, and cinnamon sugar give you all the cozy fall flavors without the trip to the apple orchard.
Get into the fall spirit with all the apple recipes! You can’t miss sourdough discard apple crisp for the ultimate fall dessert. And make breakfast (or snack time) better with homemade sourdough apple fritters. Sourdough fried apples are another great treat that is perfect for fall, or anytime!
How to make these baked donuts with discard
Below is a brief overview of this recipe so you know what to expect. For the full set of written directions, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.
Step One: Prep the apple cider
In a medium sized saucepan, simmer the apple cider until it has reduced to about 1/2 cup. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
Allow to cool back to room temperature, another 15-20 minutes
Step Two: Make the batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients for the batter. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flour mixture into the cider mixture, being careful to not over-mix.
Step Three: Bake
Spray donut pans liberally with cooking spray, making sure to get the tops as well as the holes. Spoon the batter into the greased donut pans, filling each well only 2/3 full. If you over-fill the pans, you will loose the center hole part of the donut and will end up with a muffin instead.
Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and set. Allow the baked donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
Step Four: Coat
While the donuts are baking, mix together the cinnamon sugar coating.
When the donuts are cool enough to handle but still quite warm, gently remove them from the pan with a rubber spatula. Immediately dip into cinnamon sugar mixture, turning and tossing to coat.
Storage Info:
These donuts are best the day they are baked. You can store them for up to 3 days, but the cinnamon sugar coating will soften during storage. Cover loosely to reduce the coating from getting too gooey.
Sourdough is better when shared
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rating below.
Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this recipe, please link to the post directly for the recipe, please do not copy and paste or screenshot. Thank you so much for supporting me. XOXO – Jenni
Baked Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium saucepan, simmer the apple cider over medium heat until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 15-20 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes, until mostly room temperature
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease donut pans with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, sourdough discard, cooled reduced cider, milk, eggs, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
- Carefully spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each well 2/3 full.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and the tops are set.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon sugar topping.
- When the donuts are done, allow them to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before using a rubber spatula to gently remove. You want them cool enough to handle, but still warm.
- While warm, dunk the donuts in the cinnamon sugar coating, turning and tossing to coat.
- Enjoy!
