Apple Cider Donuts 5.02 A Messenger, Nothing More

“Cider Mill's opening Saturday. Big parade and free cider for one and all.”

Ingredients: 

For the apple cider: 

• 6-7 red apples (gala, pink lady, macintosh would all be good varieties), sliced

• 1 navel orange, sliced

• 4 cinnamon sticks (you could also use 2 tsp of ground cinnamon)

• ½ tsp whole cloves (you could also use 1 tsp of ground cloves)

• 3 star anise

• 2 in fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

• ¼ cup maple syrup

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 8 cups of water

For the donuts: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp nutmeg

• ½ tsp allspice

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter

• ½ cup apple cider

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla

For the donut topping: 

• 4 tbsp butter, melted

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

• ½ tsp allspice

• ½ tsp ground cloves

Directions: 

For the cider: 

Instant Pot Method

1. Add all of the ingredients to your instant pot. Then pour the water over the ingredients.

2. Place the lid on the instant pot and set to manual pressure cook for 15 minutes.

3. Once the instant pot beeps, do a quick release for the steam.

4. Remove the solid pieces (apple slices, cinnamon sticks, etc.) from the pot and place a mesh sieve over a bowl or pitcher. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, press the solids to extract all the juices.

5. Discard the solid pieces and pour the rest of the cider into the bowl or pitcher.

Stovetop method:

1. Follow step 1 above to a large stockpot and place over high heat.

2. Allow the cider to reach a boil then reduce to medium heat. Cover and simmer for 2 ½ hours.

3. Follow steps 4 and 5 above.

For the donuts: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Add the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk together until combined. 

3. Stir in the brown and granulated sugars, ½ cup of the apple cider, the melted butter, and the cream and whisk until combined. 

4. Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated

5. Spray nonstick cooking spray into the wells of a donut mold. Add about 1 ½- 2 tbsp of the batter to the well, filling about halfway. 

6. Bake the donuts at 350 F for 17-20 minutes. To test if done, an inserted toothpick should come out clean.  

7. Allow the donuts to cool a few minutes before removing from the mold. 

8. Prepare the topping by combining both sugars and the spices into a shallow dish. 

9. Submerge the top of a donut into the melted butter, then dip into the sugar and spices, rotating the donut some to fully coat the top of the donut. 

Note: I only wanted the top of my donut to have the sugar and spice topping, but you can coat the bottom of your donut by flipping the donut over, dipping in the butter then the sugar and spice mixture again for the bottom. 

Whenever you decide to start your fall Gilmore Girls rewatch, these delicious apple cider donuts are the perfect pairing! While donuts aren’t specifically mentioned in this episode, the cider mill parade is in town, and I’d like to think Luke would begrudgingly make apple cider donuts for the occasion (after a lot of pleading from Lorelai).

I was inspired to make these when Joy launched her fall collection this year and made cider mill sweatshirts. Apple cider isn’t in stores yet where I live, but I have a homemade recipe from when I made Sookie’s apple cider ice cream a few years ago in February and couldn’t find cider anywhere.

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

Catch up on my most recent encore dish here!