Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

We have lost the D and R of our DARK meals, so I'm afraid we're down to AK meals! KA Meals? We're working on the new name...

But what better way to bring back our blog than the mouth-watering homey goodness of apple cider doughnuts? 

K and I have moved cross country to the beautiful San Francisco: home of the 49ers, Golden Gate Bridge, hippies, foodies, and multicultural beauty. We may now have access to all the cheap avocados one can consume! But oh! the heart-wrenching sadness of a Midwesterner and East Coaster when we discovered that the closest apple cider mill was three hours away. Well if we can't get to the apple orchard, we're going to being the cider mill to us!

When we got the idea in our head, we tried to find a way to make a healthier version than the delicious deep-fried variety. Searching online, we found we could BAKE doughnuts, but couldn't figure out how to do it! Then we discovered the most exciting kitchen bakeware ever: doughnut baking pans. Just like the cupcake pan. The most exciting purchase of my adult life thus far. Pumped to hit the kitchen, we searched for the best recipe.

We adapted this recipe from Spoonful of Flavor to only make half a dozen and use whole wheat flour and soy milk. 

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 doughnuts

Doughnut Batter:
1 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
3/8 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup apple cider
1/8 cup soy milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted (for coating)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add the wet stuff. If your mix seems a little dry, add a splash more of the cider.

The next step was a little tricky since we don't have a pastry bag. After greasing the baking sheet, I was able to use spoons to drop the dough into the doughnut cups and carefully spread them around. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the doughnut is springy when poked.

While the doughnuts cool, mix together the dry parts for the cinnamon-sugar topping into a ziplock bag and melt the butter for dipping. We dipped each of the doughnuts [lightly] into the melted butter and then dropped into the ziplock bag. Shake the bag around for an even coating.

Place on the cooling wrack to cool, or om nom while still warm. We chose to wait for dessert and consume with warm cider while watching some collegiate football. Nothing screams autumn in America quite like warm apple anything with football. These actually came out much denser than we had hoped. Next time, we're going to try using apple sauce and a little less flour.

Enjoy!