Apple Cider Donuts

The weather outside is dreary and I have two little girls that want to bake so we made up a new donut recipe!  These are apple donuts with a cider glaze or sugar and cider topping.  They were a huge hit today and will be added to our must-make-for-fall list.  Next weekend I'm thinking pumpkin, I absolutely love pumpkin baked goods.  One benefit of eating milk and soy free right now is that it's forcing me to create my own recipes.  Almond milk bakes very well but does impart a bit of almond flavor.  Rice Milk doesn't bake as well but doesn't add a flavor.  Good thing we love almonds ;-)

Ingredients for 6 donuts

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

dash or two  ground nutmeg (optional)

dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)

* can substitute buttermilk or make your own with skim/1% and vinegar) 

1 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoons real maple syrup (costco has a good deal on the real stuff!)

Sugar Coating 

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider

Glaze

1/8 cup apple cider

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt 

Donut Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt with a whisk. 
3. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, apple sauce, maple syrup and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.
4. Pour dough into a ziplock bag.  You can place bag in a large mug to make purring easier.
5. Snip of one corner of ziplock bag and fill each doughnut cup almost but not quit full.  These are more dense donuts and will not rise as high as some recipes. 
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. They will not be brown, should appear still pale.  Allow to cool for two minutes before removing from pan.  These took two minutes longer in my oven then less dense donuts.
7. Cool completely before adding toppings.

Sugar Coating

1. Combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
2. Pour enough cider into small bowl to cover bottom.
3. Dunk donuts on both sides in cider quickly, shake off excess, and then roll to cover completely in sugar.

Apple Cider Glaze

1. Microwave cider in small bowl for 40 seconds.
2. Add powdered sugar and salt to bowl and whisk until smooth.  
3. Dunk top of donuts in mixture.  Let cool and glaze will harden.