Shana Archibald
Apple Cider Donuts
1½ cups apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cardamon powder (or nutmeg)
1 large egg, room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar (or replace with ¼C of honey)
½ cup milk, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Donuts:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine cider and cinnamon stick and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Let simmer until you have ½ cup of reduced cider. Set aside and allow to cool.
Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cardamom. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg with whisk. Add melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, (or honey) milk, vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add reduced apple cider and whisk until well-combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together until combined and smooth, but don’t overmix! The batter will be a light caramel color.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, filling each about ⅔ full. The easiest way to fill them is to use a pastry bag (or a plastic bag with a hole cut into the corner). But honestly, you’d have great luck just using a spoon to fill the pan. Make sure to wipe the pan of any excess batter. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on wire racks.
Top with: Honey, sugar, cinnamon or a combination of both. Or enjoy them plain.
