Cider Doughnut Muffins
This super easy recipe packs all the flavor of apple cider doughnuts into tasty muffin form.
By Yankee Magazine|May 24 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThese fantastic cider doughnut muffins pack all the flavor of apple cider doughnuts without the fuss and the frying. Yum!
Want more? See how to make these tasty cider doughnut muffins in our Cider Doughnut Muffins Video, get our recipe for Vermont Apple Cider Doughnuts, and find out where to get the Best Cider Donuts in New England.
Yield:
12 muffinsIngredients
2 cups sweet apple cider
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375° and set a rack to the middle position. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan and set aside.
Put the apple cider in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Set aside to cool.
Using a standing or handheld mixer, cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each. Add the vanilla extract and blend.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add a third of this mixture to the butter mixture and beat just to combine. Add half the reduced cider and beat to combine. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the cider, then the remaining flour mixture. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups and transfer to the oven. Bake until tops are firm and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
These muffins are the best. Started using this recipe 30 years ago and still going strong. rave reviews always!!!
Just baked these muffins – fantastic! They really do taste like the apple cider donuts we get every year at the apple orchard, but with less mess and no frying. They were very simple to make, and took very little time to prepare. They’re just about foolproof! Highly recommend!
These muffins are so good, hubby loved them
Followed the recipe exactly but the butter should have been left out a little longer. Next time I make these I will do the apple cider the night before and leave the butter out. I had to put hot cider reduction in the freezer to cool it down. When in the muffin pan the muffin did not look like picture but once buttered/cinnamon looked just like pictured. Also prefer the muffins hot. This recipe is a keeper.
Wow! these may be the best tasting muffins I have ever made. Easy to follow directions. Highly recommend!
These were delicious!! I added a chopped granny smith apple and made 6 large muffins instead of 12. I’ll make these over and over.
Did you modify baking time or temperature?
Great idea! I made them as mini muffins and they were reminiscent of doughnut holes. My friends and family devoured them (and, they photographed beautifully!). Thanks for the lovely recipe!
These were really good, even though I had to make a bunch of substitutions based on what I had on hand (whole wheat flour, brown sugar, half the butter + half cup applesauce and a tablespoon of coconut oil, butter-flavored spray on the top before the sugar/cinnamon mix). It just seems like one of those great “base” recipes that can stand up to some tinkering.
The recipe was delicious. I would complete the cider step the night before. My family loved them.
Made these yesterday morning for guests – there are three left! Delicious!
Wonderful recipe.
Hi, how long did u bake them? I made these too but next time I want to use my mini muffin pan. Thanks!
These muffins are yummy! They were ok fresh from the oven but seem to get better the next day. I have been baking them the day before I eat them & they are so much moister.
Yum
Made these but added some chopped apple . Everyone loved them.
I thought the recipe called for the butter to be melted for the topping.
Would I be able to use the boiled cider in place of the apple cider? Any adjustments for the the high altitude bakers?
Three tablespoons of cinnamon in the topping? Is that a typo?
Hi Lindie. 3 tablespoons of cinnamon is the correct amount. Thanks!
Wow! Thanks Aimee.
Does this recipe freeze well?
Hi Shirley. We haven’t tried freezing these cider donut muffins (there’s never any left!), but you should be able to follow the same method for freezing them as you would other baked goods — wrap the cooled muffins tightly in foil or freezer wrap, then place in freezer-safe plastic bags.
Can you substitute apple juice for the apple cider.i can’t find cider this time of year. Thanks
I used unfiltered apple juice that I reduced and it turned out great. I too had a hard time finding cider.
I made these in a donut baking pan and WOW! Amazing as leftovers for breakfast with coffee the next day 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
wanted to try these in a donut pan! Did you modify anything about the ingredient amounts or the baking time/temp or did you just make them as written in a donut pan? Thanks!
I followed the recipe exactly, and used a donut pan at the same temperature. They came out beautifully!
I’d love to try making these but I live at about 6,800 ft … can you share high altitude recipe adjustments?
I gave these away as Christmas gifts and EVERYONE loved them! I even had one recipient ask me to bake her a batch so SHE could give them out as gifts too! She’s not a ‘baker’ so I was happy to oblige.
I was wondering if it’s possible to make the batter for these muffins the day before and then bake them the next morning. Would the batter hold up?
No, you can’t mix the batter ahead. But you can mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and and have that ready for you. Leave the eggs and measured butter on the counter overnight.
In response to some of the questions, one tip for freezing muffins is to prepare the better, scoop it into papered muffin tins, and then pop the tray in the freezer. Once frozen you can take the raw muffins out of the tray and put them in a freezer bag. Then when you want a muffin, bake as many or few as you want per the recipe’s baking directions, checking ford oneness because you may need to add a couple more minutes of cooking time. Fresh hot muffins! Regarding the boiled cider, yes you can use that, just use the amount called for after reducing the regular cider (in this recipe one cup). I find sometimes the purchase boiled cider is a little too intense for a straight substitution, so for this recipe I’d probably fill the cup measure most of the way and finish with a couple tablespoons of water.
So delish!! Mine did not yield 12 muffins.. but my goodness, they taste just like the donuts at the apple orchard !
They are delicious.
Can’t wait to tryy these!
Can you use boiled cider in place of the apple cider? If so, how much boiled cider should be used?
These came out really dense… like everytime you bite into you, you need water… it’s missing something, however if you still make these, id recommend eating them warm, cutting in half, and spread butter on it cuz it’s more like a breakfast muffin
To Lena, the reason your muffins were dense is because of over mixing the batter.I found that after creaming and adding the eggs you should mix in the dry ingredients by hand and mix just until combined.
I have the same question about using boiled cider. Can you use it, and how much? A cup of bottled boiled cider seems like a lot.
I saw this recipe and I wanted to make it but I needed to “HEALTH” it up a bit. I used White Whole Wheat Flour, Honey, Reduced my apple cider to a syrup (flavors much better), 1 banana (ripe), Diced Granny Smith Apple. For Topping- toasted pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, rice flour and unsalted butter. Delish. Not feeling guilty at breakfast…
Wow, I love them, can’t wait for grand kids to get here so they can have a real treat.
These sound really good. I didn’t see the nutrient values, “calories” did I miss it?
Can you bake this recipe in a loaf pan?
Can you bake recipe in loaf pan – if so – what size pan, oven temp and cooking time. Thanks!!
I followed the directions, but used a Texas sized muffin tin for bigger muffins. The flavor is good, but they came out very dry.
These were wonderful! I totally screwed up the ingredients order instructions but they were very forgiving and turned out great- light and delicious! I did add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients and one Tablespoon of corn starch to give it that cider donut mouth-feel and texture. Fabulous!
A new favorite. So delicious. It helped to read the comments first before diving in. Starting with excellent local cider probably didn’t hurt. Thank you Yankee
These can easily be made vegan. Substitute flaxseed for eggs. Mix 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons water. Let sit 15 minutes in fridge to thicken. Use Miyoko’s vegan butter instead of dairy butter. Make all the ingredients organic and you almost have a health food! And the animals thank you.
THANKS so much for the vegan conversion! Sounds great! I appreciate your efforts!
Do yourself a favor and make these as mini muffins. Then you got “munchkin” size “donuts” instead of big muffins. More cinnamon sugar per bite!
making them for breakfast on Saturday!!
Just made these muffins and delighted that I did.
Do you know how long to bake them in a mini muffin pan? Thanks! Making them for brunch this weekend!
10-13 min. Makes 36 mini muffins.
Okay which is it 2 or 3 tablespoons of cinnamon? Recipe says 2 but REPLY to Lindie in 2015 says 3.
Made your recipe today as made pumpkin doughnut muffins last week (this was a long hot summer, so am catching up on my long-lost oven!!!) I am not one-of-those tweekers and made as written and turned out WonderFul!!! I used cider from our local orchard which is made fresh each day (we are fortunate to have apple season here!), Chilling cider was the only long part of this recipe so simmer, reduce ahead of time, rest comes together in a snap 🙂 Also, Lightly brush with butter when done, very first ones coated liked to absorb more butter even though cooled. YUM, and YUM 🙂 Taking next batch I make to son and his roommate at college…if they make it that far!!
OMG, these muffins are amazing and taste EXACTLY like cider doughnuts!! I don’t know exactly how you did it. I make muffins frequently and figured this would be a muffin VERSION of the doughnuts which are made locally in the Hudson Valley region in which I live. But no! This truly tastes exactly like the DOUGHNUT. I reduced the sugar in the cake to 1 cup and the batter tasted pretty much like butter so I was worried. But after adding the cinnamon sugar at the end (crucial) you have yourself the apple cider doughnut muffin! (I will go back to being healthy another day.) Idea: I think these would be fun with small pieces of apple added if that’s your thing. 🙂 YUM MAKE THESE!
So good! All the store had was salted caramel apple cider, but it worked great. I only had 3/4 cup sugar total to work with, so put 1/2 cup to cream with the butter and 1/4 cup to mix with cinnamon and just dusted the tops of the muffins. Turned out delicious!
They came out great! I bought new spices and the nutmeg flavor was too strong for my taste (I used the correct amount). It over powered the cinnamon flavor. What are some options for the future? Less nutmeg and add a bit of cinnamon to the batter?
This recipe was so good & easy I just plan ahead for cider prep.
I wasn’t sure when I read recipes omg I will not by orchard doughnuts anymore!????????????❤❤❤
These are absolutely delish! Made them a couple times now!