Gluten Free Baked Apple Cider Donuts

These gluten free baked apple cider donuts are soft, delicious and simple to make. The perfect fall donut that can easily be made any time of the year! Optionally coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture and completely dairy free and gluten free.

Three words. APPLE CIDER DONUTS! These are truly a fall favorite that I think everyone should try. They’re soft, moist and full of that delicious apple cider flavor that so many of us love this time of year. So take out your donut pan because we are going to get baking!

Ingredients For Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts

If you regularly bake gluten free treats, you’ll probably have all of these ingredients already in your pantry. I love the simplicity of making baked donuts like these because it really is easy! Here are the ingredients you’ll need for these apple cider donuts:

• Gluten Free Flour (1:1 flour)
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom
• Egg
• Brown Sugar
• Unsweetened Plain Almond Milk
• Coconut Oil
• Unsweetened Applesauce
• Apple Cider (Reduced)
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt
• Dairy Free Butter
• Coconut Sugar

How To Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease the donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, almond milk, coconut oil, applesauce, reduced apple cider, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix together until smooth batter forms.

Step 4: Divide the batter up between 9 donut molds. You can use a spoon to fill or a piping bag. To make a DIY piping bag, pour the donut batter into a ziploc bag and then cut the corner off. 

Step 5: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Step 6: Optional: To make the cinnamon sugar coating, melt the butter in a small dish. Then mix together the cinnamon and coconut sugar in a separate small dish. Set aside.

Step 7: Once the donuts are baked, let them rest in the donut pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and then let cool completely before coating.

Step 8: Once the donuts are cooled, lightly coat them with butter and then dip them in the cinnamon sugar. These donuts are best served fresh, especially once coated. Store any leftover donuts loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze uncoated donuts for up to 1 month.

Substitutions

• Flour: I have only tested this recipe using King Arthur's 1:1 Gluten Free Flour or Bob’s Redmill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour. If you prefer, you should be able to use regular flour in substitution if staying gluten free isn't an issue to you.
• Milk: I recommend using plain unsweetened almond milk in this recipe to keep it dairy free. You can try substituting it with regular milk if you prefer, as it should turn out the same.
• Apple Cider: You can use store bought or homemade apple cider. Do not try to use apple cider vinegar. I have also not tested the recipe using apple juice.
• Spices: The spices that are in this recipe are ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. If you don’t have all three of those spices, you can substitute apple pie spice instead if you prefer.

Tips For The Best Apple Cider Donuts

• Reduce the apple cider. I recommend reducing the apple cider whether it’s homemade or store bought. It’s not completely necessary but it results in a more flavorful donut and doesn’t take that much extra time. To reduce the apple cider, you’ll start by simmering 1-½ cups of apple cider on the stove. Let it simmer until you’re left with ½ cup. This will take about 20 minutes. What this does is eliminates the extra water in the cider and leaves you with a more concentrated and flavorful cider to add to the donut recipe.
• Use room temperature ingredients. We use melted coconut oil in this recipe instead of regular butter so temperature of ingredients matter if you want a smooth batter. Let your egg and almond milk come to room temperature before adding them so the coconut oil doesn’t clump.
• Use a ziploc bag for the batter. If you’ve made baked donuts before, you probably know that it’s a little tricky to pour the batter into the round donut molds. To help transfer the donut evenly and more precisely, I like to use a piping bag or ziploc bag with one end cut off. I find it easier to fill evenly with this method instead of just using a spoon or scoop.

How To Store Apple Cider Donuts

I think these donuts are best when made fresh but if you have leftovers there are a few options. You can store them lightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. I prefer to store them uncoated and then dip them in the cinnamon sugar right before serving.

Additionally, you can freeze the uncoated donuts for up to 1 month.

More Fall Recipes

• Gluten Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Baked Gluten Free Apple Crisp
• Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apple
• Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

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