These gluten free apple cider doughnuts are fluffy and soft with fresh hints of cinnamon and apple flavor in every bite! They're baked, not fried, and beyond easy to whip up for the perfect fall treat.
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Say hello to fall with these apple cider doughnuts! Picking up apple cider doughnuts from the orchard is one of my favorite things to do this time of year and now you can make them right at home.
These doughnuts are still just as flavorful and soft and are made gluten free. They're also baked in the oven which makes them a healthier option and much easier to make at home.
For more fall apple treats, check out my apple pop tarts, mini dairy free apple pies, and my salted caramel apple butter!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Brown sugar - Used in the doughnuts to add a caramel like flavor. I have also used coconut sugar in this recipe which works well too.
- Butter - Melted and slightly cooled butter is used to make sure the doughnuts remain soft and moist. You can also use melted coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Eggs - This is what helps bind the batter together and allows the doughnuts to rise in the oven. I haven't tried this with chia eggs or flax eggs so I can't recommend one but please let me know if you do try something else!
- Gluten free 1:1 flour - I prefer King Arthur gluten free flour or Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour. You can also use all purpose flour if needed.
- Apple cider - This is the juice, not apple cider vinegar, and provides the delicious apple cider flavor. The only ingredients in real apple cider should be apples and spices.
- Spices - If you have apple pie spice on hand you're welcome to use that! If not, you can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
How to Make Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts
You will need a large mixing bowl or stand mixer to make the batter, a doughnut pan, and a separate shallow bowl for the cinnamon sugar coating.
Step 1 : Prepare the doughnut batter. In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients with the sugar until well combined. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter until no flour clumps remain. The batter will be thick.
Step 2 : Fill doughnut pan. Use a spoon or a piping bag to transfer the donut batter into the greased doughnut pan. Fill each cavity up about ¾ of the way full. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to level out the batter and remove any air bubbles then bake in the oven until the doughnuts have risen.
Step 3 : Coat in cinnamon sugar. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a shallow small bowl and mix well.
You can coat the doughnuts two different ways. First, you can take the warm doughnuts and toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. The heat from the doughnuts will allows the coating to stick.
You can also wait until the doughnuts have cooled down and then dip each one in melted butter followed by the cinnamon sugar mixture. This will give you more of a coating. Let the doughnuts dry on a cooling rack.
How to Store
These apple cider doughnuts are best enjoyed fresh but you can store them once they have cooled down completely at room temperature for a couple of days. I prefer them stored uncovered or with a light covering over top for best results. I have found that storing them in container with a lid makes them a little too moist the next day.
If you want to store them in an airtight container, I recommend storing them in the fridge where they will keep for up to 3 days.
Expert Tips
- Don't over mix the batter. This goes for most all baking recipes. Only mix to incorporate the flour into the batter and then stop. Even though these are gluten free doughnuts, you can still over mix which will create heavy and dense doughnuts which we don't want!
- Grease your doughnut pan well. I like the Wilton doughnut pans. Use a towel or your hands to rub oil or butter into each cavity, especially around the center piece to ensure the doughnuts can be removed easily once baked.
- Coat well in the cinnamon sugar mixture. If you want a light dusting, I recommend taking the doughnuts out of the pan right as they are warm enough to touch and tossing them in the coating. For a more thorough coating, brush some melted butter on the doughnuts, or dip the entire thing in the melted butter and let access run off, and then toss the doughnut in the coating. Let it set on a wire rack so the melted butter or oil has time to dry with the coating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most apple cider is gluten free but always check the ingredients! This recipe is best with apple cider that only has a few ingredients - apples and spices.
Yes, apple juice will work in this recipe in place of the apple cider.
Yes, use coconut oil or vegan butter in place of the regular butter in this recipe to make these doughnuts dairy free.
More Recipes Using Apple Cider
Odds are you won't use up the entire carton of apple cider with this recipe. The good news is apple cider will keep for up to 10 days after it's opened in the fridge! Here are a few other ways to use it up:
Check out these recipes for more fall favorites
PS : If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star review and comment below! Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on all tasty recipes here at The Fit Peach!
Recipe
Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup brown sugar - or coconut sugar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 3 Tbsp butter - melted, or coconut oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten free 1:1 flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cloves
For the coating
- 2 Tbsp butter - melted, or coconut oil
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and brown sugar until well combined.
- Add the apple cider, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk well.
- Fold in the gluten free 1:1 flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until no flour clumps remain.
- Grease a doughnut pan well with oil and spoon the doughnut batter into each cavity about ¾ of the way full. Bake the pan in the oven for 10 -12 minutes until the sides of the doughnuts are golden brown and pulling away from the sides. Let the doughnuts cool down before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Grease the pan again with oil and repeat the baking process with the remaining batter.
- Once all the doughnuts have cooled down, melt the butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Dip each doughnut into the melted butter and coat both sides with the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated. Place the doughnuts back on the wire rack to set and enjoy!
The first time I tried this recipe it did not come out too well. I followed the recipe exactly. The batter was thick runny. Not what I expected. So I re-read the ingredients and noticed a key ingredient is not listed. SALT!!!
You need salt to activate the baking powder.
So I attempted this a second time using 1tsp of salt and 1/4cup more of flour. This made a world of difference.
So if your donuts come out flat and didn’t rise to the occasion, add a dash of salt to activate that baking powder.
Can regular flour be used? And what is 1:1 flour 🤦🏼♀️?
So good! Made them today and my husband loves them! Guilt free donuts in very little time! Will definitely make again.
The flavor within these little tasty treats is just mouthwatering!! I didn't even tell my kids these were gluten free, and they gobbled them right up! I was short on 1:1 flour so i used 1 cup bobs redmill 1:1 and 1 cup bobs redmill Paleo flour. They were delicate, but i baked them about 5 minutes longer and they turned out amazing!!! Also, tip- Don't overfill the donut cavities! I always do that and then there's no hole 🙂 They probably needed extra baking because of that reason as well! Seriously, make these, you will NOT be disappointed! I see a lot of apple cider donuts in our future over the next few months!
Yay! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!