Get your pumpkins at the pumpkin patch but make your Apple Cider Donut Muffins at home! They're just as good as at the pumpkin patch. Maybe even better!!
These easy to make apple cider donut muffins are coated with cinnamon sugar which gives them a slight crunch on the outside while the inside is tender and moist! They're incredibly delicious!!
Be still my apple cider donut loving heart!!
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The ingredient list:
**Note - The following lists of ingredients plus kitchen tools and equipment contain affiliate links (highlighted in blue) for your consideration and shopping convenience.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Grated Nutmeg
- Ground Cinnamon
- Grapeseed Oil (or other neutral-tasting light oil)
- Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Apple Cider
- Apple, (finely diced) I used Gala
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar
Basic kitchen tools and equipment needed:
- Large Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Whisk
- Large Measuring Cup
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Muffin Tin
- Pastry Brush
- Nutmeg Grater
- Small Bowl
- Bakery Boxes optional (for sharing muffins with friends and coworkers)
Can these apple cider donut muffins be frozen?
Yes!
Cool them completely after baking and then wrap them well in a single layer in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Thaw completely before eating.
When is the best time to make and serve these donut muffins?
I love these muffins best when it's apple season but they're delicious year-round.
Why not make them for:
- PTA Meetings
- Book Club
- School Bake Sale
- Office coworkers
- Library Aids
- Teacher Appreciation
- Church Meetings
- Breakfast and Brunch
- Card Club
- Dinner Parties
- Thank You Gifts
- Nurses Thank You
- People you love.
Additional recipes using apple cider:
*Apple Pie Wedges (as seen in the featured video) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
*Apple Cider Braised Chicken Breasts (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
*Apple Cider Bread Machine Mix from Budget 101
*Roasted Apple Cider Chia Pudding from Spabettie
*Apple Cider Pancakes (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
*Caramel Apple Spice Cheesecake Dip from Dip Recipe Creations
*Apple Cider Margaritas from A Nerd Cooks
*Sunflower Crunch Salad (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
*Apple Cider Donut Muffins (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen. This is the place! 🙂
The easy instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
- Peel and small dice one apple (approximately 1½ cups)
- Mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
- Brush the inside of the muffin tin with melted butter and generously add cinnamon sugar to each well.
- Shake the tin around until the cinnamon sugar evenly covers each well.
- Set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, grated nutmeg, and ground cinnamon.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, apple cider, and oil.
- Pour the apple cider/oil mixture into the flour mixture and add the diced apples.
- Stir the muffin batter until fully incorporated.
- Fill the prepared muffin tin with the batter to ⅔'s full.
- Bake the muffins in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops of the muffins liberally with a mixture of melted butter and apple cider.
- Liberally sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Twice. 🙂
- Cool for 10-15 minutes and then run a knife around each muffin and carefully remove them from the tin.
- Cool the muffins on a baking rack until completely cooled.
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Printable Recipe Card
Apple Cider Donut Muffins
Equipment
- kitchen scale optional
Ingredients
To make the muffins:
- 1 medium apple peeled, cored and finely diced.
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar loosely packed
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon divided
- ⅓ cup grapeseed oil or other light, neutral-tasting oil
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup apple cider (or juice) plus 1 tablespoon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees (F) or 175 degrees (C)
- Peel and dice 1 medium apple.
- In a small bowl stir together the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of the ground cinnamon.
- Brush each muffin well liberally with melted butter, reserving the remaining melted butter. Set aside.
- Add approximately 1½ teaspoons of the cinnamon sugar to each buttered muffin well and gently shake and turn the tin to distribute the cinnamon sugar evenly around each well.
- Set the muffin tin aside.
- Reserve the remaining cinnamon sugar for later.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and remaining 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, and apple cider.
- Add the apple cider mixture to the flour mixture, along with the diced apples, and stir well to combine.
- Add the muffin batter to the prepared muffin tin filling to ¾'s full.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider to the reserved melted butter. Stir well.
- Brush the tops of the baked muffins liberally with the remaining butter/apple cider mixture.
- Liberally sprinkle each of the buttered muffins with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Allow the muffins to cool 10 minutes and then run a knife around each tin to loosen the muffins and carefully move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's recipe for apple cider donut muffins as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
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Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!!
Sandy says
Can you make them nite before and how do you store them (refrigerate or Counter) Want to make them for work
Renée says
Hi, Sandy!
These are perfectly fine to make the night before, or even two days before.
You can store them either on the counter or in the fridge. I've done both but I like them best served at room temp.
I hope this helps.
Enjoy the muffins and take good care,
Renee
wilhelmina says
These are absolute perfection! I will be making these donuts all season long!
Renée says
I will too, Wilhelmina! Good call!