I am in love with this time of the year! The crisp, cold air and the leaves turning all shades of golden. Apples and pumpkins are at their peak and ready to pick. Since we are here in Florida …. the majority of the time, it is bright, sunny, and at least 85 degrees. Palm trees and warm skies don’t make for the typical Autumn. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about the beautiful weather. After a long time in Illinois, I don’t miss the minus-degrees, grey-skied winters. However, I do miss the long boots and sweaters… and the scent of burning leaves in the distance, and the tingle of Autumn.
This fall, we made the most of our northern setting and went to the local orchard for a bit of apple picking. We returned home with a bag of fresh-from-the-tree apples as well as a pack of freshly-fried apple donuts. Oh my! I’m not sure what happened first. Truthfully, …. we were able to enjoy apples for a few several weeks, but the donuts quickly went to waste! This year, we aren’t able to walk to the closest apple orchard. Therefore, I was ecstatic to see the huge displays of Honeycrisp Apples on the market. In my cart were many huge, beautiful apple varieties with the goal to recreate these delicious apple donuts at home. That’s exactly what I’m offering you today! It’s baked and delicious. Soft and soft on the inside, with an intense cinnamon crunch on the exterior. It is filled with apple pieces as well as cinnamon and the spice of nutmeg. The recipe I use for Fresh Apple Donuts!
After many variations of less apple, more apple applesauce, apple juice pieces of apple… baking vs. frying baking… I eventually narrowed it down to this. A batter stuffed with delicious apple chunks with a strong cinnamon kick. It’s like this to me. If you’re making donuts from scratch, the result must differ from what you can buy at Dunkin.
My original concept for these donuts was to use the salty caramel drizzle. This, I believe, is absolutely amazing. But at some point, I concluded that less was more. I wanted to create something that could be easily prepared for breakfast. It doesn’t require waking up at 5 am in order to begin. The result is a recipe easy enough for kids to assist. My 2-year-old daughter was with me from the beginning until nearly the very end. When the first batch came out from the oven, She took more interest in savoring the first batch rather than baking the rest of the collections. But, really, how can you blame her?
The funny thing about these apple donuts. They’re not what I would call these donuts healthy because donuts and healthy don’t seem meant to be in the same sentence. However, they’re packed with about a cup and one-half of fresh apples (fiber as well) and a natural, unsweetened apple sauce. They’re also baked, not fried. So, if you take it a step further… it may be able to say that they’re better than what you can buy at the grocery store. Do I consider them healthy? Perhaps not. Do I have to say they’re delicious? Absolutely!!
BAKED APPLE DONUTS
Apple donuts made from scratch, packed with fresh apples as well as apple sauce. Sprinkled with crunchy cinnamon sugar. Perfectly delicious and baked!
- Author: Carrie Sellman
- Yield: 22 – 24 donuts
- Category:
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- Four tablespoons of baking powder
- One teaspoon salt
- One teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nuts
- 1 cup butter that is not salted melts and then cooled
- Two eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce Jar
- 1 1/2 cups fresh apple peeled and grated
For the Coating:
- Unsweetened applesauce or melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- One teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A dash of ground nutmeg, an optional
INSTRUCTIONS
-
Heat oven to 375.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix baking powder, flour, and baking soda. Add salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a different bowl, mix eggs, butter, sugar, buttermilk, and applesauce. Add fresh apples.
- Mix 1/3 cup of flour mix in the mixture of eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add 1/3 more flour to the cross, and mix. Mix in the rest of the flour, stirring until the mixture is well mixed.
- Scoop the batter into a big ziplock bag. Close the bag and cut off the other end. Put batter in the cavities of the donut dish that has been coated with non-stick baking spray. Fill each hole between 2/3 and 3/4 of the way. To keep donuts in their beautiful shape while baking, use a clean, dry finger to level the batter inside each cavity gently. Clean the knob in the middle of the baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12-14 minutes or till the tops of the donuts pop back when placed on. Allow to cool for 5 minutes prior to taking them off of the pan.
- For the coating on the outside, make a mixture of the ingredients of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Utilizing the pastry brush, apply a layer to the donuts with a thin coat of applesauce or dip it in the melted butter. Then, dip them in cinnamon sugar and roll for a coat. Allow to cool completely before eating, if you can. Another dip into the cinnamon sugar makes an additional crunchy coating. Best consumed the same day!
Pack donuts in individual brown bags to be the perfect treat for your next tailgate picnic or football game. Donuts are equally good served with a hot cup of beverage or cold beer. Bring the kids apple donuts on Halloween! You can also enjoy an ordinary autumn day at home with this delicious taste of Autumn. Maybe I’ll make a salted caramel variation later on. For now, I hope that you take pleasure in these absolutely delicious fresh Apple Donuts!