If there are two flavours which say fall/autumn to me, they are apple and cinnamon. So what better way of creating a gorgeous seasonal snack than combining the two ingredients and making these easy apple donuts? Okay, so we're not technically into fall/autumn yet, but this is the last full week of August. So I figure you don't mind if I slip a little apple and cinnamon in.
This baked apple donuts recipe really is one of the best donut recipes I've ever come across. I think it's got something to do with how full the donut pans are before they go in the oven. If you're wondering, you can buy the exact same Wilton donut pan that I use here on Amazon.com or here on Amazon.co.uk. Since there's so much batter, it practically fills the entire donut moulds. This means that when they're in the oven, the donuts puff up as they bake, creating huge, rounded dome-like donuts. Yum!
If you're not a fan of super-sweet sugary stuff, you might want to skip the cinnamon-sugar coating on these applesauce donuts. But if you love things to be as sweet as possible and think the feel of granules of sugar brushing against your teeth is heaven - millions of sugared donuts are sold every single day, so I'm guessing this is a popular sensation - then definitely go ahead and make it!
But if you do go ahead and skip the cinnamon sugar, then these donuts are pretty healthy - only 1 tablespoon of butter and ¼ cup of sugar for the whole batch of six donuts? That definitely sounds healthy enough to eat them for breakfast to me!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
for the donuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- ½ medium-sized apple grated
for the cinnamon-sugar coating
- extra apple sauce
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C and stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium-size bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg, sugar, buttermilk, apple sauce and grated apple.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir until the mixture just comes together - don't over-mix!
- Scoop the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into the six moulds of a greased donut pan.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for around 10 minutes, until a toothpick, when inserted into the centre, comes out clean. Leave the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes before tipping them out.
- Whilst the donuts are cooling, stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl.
- Brush each of the warm donuts with the extra apple sauce and dip each one in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve straight away or store in the fridge inside an air-tight container for up to five days.
Notes
Krissy @ Pretty Wee Things
I almost didn't look at this recipe because I thought they would be deep fried, but they are actually not too bad health-wise! They look super delicious! xx
Nicola Quinn
That's exactly what I think when I see donut recipes, Krissy! These ones are really low in fat, but there is a bit of sugar in them - which I'm sure you can scale down if you'd like 🙂
helen gandy
Oh yum these look scrummy!!
#magicmoments
Nicola Quinn
Thanks, Helen!
Carlee
Yum! I love donuts and have been thinking about getting a pan. I am pinning this recipe for when I do!
Nicola Quinn
Thanks, Carlee! I love my donut pan so much and definitely recommend them.
Miz Helen
Your Baked Apple Cinnamon Donuts look awesome! Hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Nicola Quinn
Thank you so much for your kind words, Helen!