Baked Apple Cider Doughnut Holes

Seeing the color of the leaves begin to change makes me think that fall is just around the corner. Fall, apples, pears, cider, crisp cool mornings and beautiful colors on trees.

Wishing for fall and in a baking mood we went searching for apple recipes and found this recipe for Baked Apple Cider Doughnut Holes from featsie gave it a try and couldn’t help but share the recipe.

Give it a try as you will really enjoy this wonderful treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt)
2 Tbsp canola oil
canola cooking spray
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, apple butter, vanilla extract, honey, apple cider, yogurt, and canola oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient mixture and whisk until just incorporated. Don’t over-mix – a few lumps are okay.
Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, fill a 24-hole mini muffin pan with the batter; fill each hole only 3/4 of the way, or you’ll end up with huge mini muffins (maxi muffins?). Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
While donut holes are still warm, melt butter in a microwave safe dish. Combine cinnamon and sugar in another dish. Using a pastry brush, very lightly brush a tiny bit of melted butter onto the top of each donut hole, then dip the top of the muffin in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the donut hole in the cinnamon sugar to coat the sides and top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Alternatively, you can dust the cooled donut holes with powdered sugar; I prefer the texture of the cinnamon sugar, so I went in that direction. You can also omit the butter – the cinnamon sugar sticks nicely to the donut holes.