Baked Apple Cinnamon Donuts combine real apple juice, dried apple pieces, and aromatic cinnamon in every perfectly spiced bite. These baked apple donuts are healthier than traditional fried donuts and incredibly satisfying!
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🍩 The secret to these donuts’ incredible taste lies in the combination of apple juice, dried apples, and applesauce!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Apple Cinnamon Donuts
Proper Simmering: When reducing the apple juice with dried apples, maintain a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil to prevent the mixture from becoming too thick or burning. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking and watch for the liquid to be completely absorbed, which typically takes 15-20 minutes. The mixture should look jammy and the apple pieces should be plump and tender. Allow this mixture to cool completely before adding it to the batter to prevent the eggs from cooking.
Topping Timing: Dip the donuts in the cinnamon sugar mixture while they’re still slightly warm but not hot, which helps the coating stick better. If the donuts are too hot, the sugar will melt; if they are too cool, it won’t stick well. Work quickly but carefully to coat all surfaces evenly. Allow the coated donuts to cool on a wire rack to set the topping and prevent them from becoming soggy on the bottom.
I reduce the apple juice by half before adding the dried apples for an incredibly intense apple flavor. This double-concentration technique creates an almost candy-like apple essence that makes the donuts taste like fresh orchard cider.
The mix of regular and whole wheat flour makes these donuts soft but sturdy enough to actually hold together. The applesauce keeps them moist, and they have that perfect cake-like texture – not too heavy, not too light. The cinnamon sugar on top gives them a nice little crunch.
You can totally play around with the spices here. I sometimes throw in some nutmeg or a tiny bit of cardamom to switch things up. Make them as mild or as spicy as your family likes – the recipe handles whatever you throw at it!
🩷 Melissa
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Baked Apple Cinnamon Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 1 cup apple juice or apple cider
- ¾ cup dried apples cut in to bite size pieces (2 ounces)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Topping:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, simmer the apple juice and dried apples over medium heat until all of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Lightly grease two 6-count donut pans with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until well combined. Whisk in vegetable oil, applesauce and vanilla extract. Stir in cooled apple mixture. Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Divide batter evenly into 12 donut cups, filling each about ¾ full. (Use a pastry bag or plastic bag with corner cut out to make filling the cups easier.)
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While donuts are baking, in a small bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon for topping.
- When donuts are done, cool for a few minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and dip donut top in cinnamon sugar mixture. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- Store the donuts at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
How To Make Apple Cinnamon Donuts
Step 1: Simmer apple juice and dried apple pieces in a small saucepan over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 325°F and lightly grease two 6-count donut pans with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
Step 3: In a small bowl, whisk together both flours, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Step 4: In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and egg until well combined. Whisk in vegetable oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and the cooled apple mixture.
Step 5: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Fill each donut cavity ¾ full with batter and bake for 10-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 6: While donuts bake, mix sugar and cinnamon for topping. Cool donuts briefly in the pan, remove, and dip tops in cinnamon sugar mixture. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Recipe FAQs
While a donut pan gives the classic shape, you can bake these as muffins in a standard muffin tin. The baking time will be similar, but check for doneness with a toothpick. You could also use a mini bundt pan for a similar ring shape, though the donuts will be larger.
Fresh apples won’t work the same way in the simmering step since they contain too much water and won’t concentrate the flavor properly. Stick with dried apples for the best results, or you could use freeze-dried apples chopped into small pieces.
Apple cider works beautifully and actually provides even more complex flavor than regular apple juice. You could also use pear juice for a slightly different fruit flavor, though the apple taste will be less pronounced.
More Delicious Donut Recipes to Consider
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram.
Irenaeus
Wonderful recipe. Donuts were good, glaze was also good… a must try. I think you can halve the glaze recipe. Thank you for posting.
FS
I’m afraid these were a disappointment! They had an off, oil flavor that overwhelmed. Next time I’d definitely replace with butter, although I don’t think these are worth giving another try when so many other recipes are out there.
Barbara Schieving
Sorry you didn’t like them. They are a better for your version but if you prefer a butter version, you might want to try my blueberry muffin recipe. https://www.barbarabakes.com/2011/05/best-blueberry-streusel-muffins/
You could sub the blueberries with apples and cinnamon. Let me know if you try them. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like them.
megan
Is it possible to use just cut up pieces of apples instead of dried apples? I don’t have any on hand and I really want to make these!!!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Megan – yes you can substitute fresh apples, they just won’t absorb as much of the apple juice, so use less to begin with (I’d try 1/3 cup) and once the apples are tender, I would drain off any excess liquid before adding the apples to the batter. Or you could try grating the fresh apple and adding it without cooking. The short cook time is just not long enough to cook chunks of apple. Let me know how it goes 🙂 Thanks!
Dee
I’m in the middle of making these right now. I wish we could talk! 😀 I noticed there is baking soda, but no buttermilk and the flour is all purpose. This makes me nervous!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Dee – I wish we could talk too. I don’t think you have any reason to be nervous. It’s adapted from an America’s Test Kitchen recipe and they’re well test.