Since it's officially fall and part of fall is apple picking - the family loaded into the Jeep and went to the mountains and to go apple picking. It was a beautiful day in the mountains and the perfect day to go picking. We went with some family friends which was super helpful since they have four kids (who are super cute and fun) that LOVE to climb trees. I swear they were all trying to climb and throw apples down to us ... easiest apple picking ever! Macie was a little disappointed that she was stuck in her ergo carrier until one of the kids gave her an apple to eat. She suddenly became the happiest kid in the world and chowed down. I think by the end of the afternoon we had at least two bushels of apples and it was time to get in line for the most important part of the day --- the hot cider doughnuts. I need to tell you that I take cider doughnuts extremely seriously. I love them. When I tell you I love them, I mean we waited in a line for about 45 minutes to get them (the kids played on the playground waiting for the deliciousness to be delivered) and I don't regret one minute of the wait. Yes I know I may have a problem, and yes, I'm okay with it.
After getting home and canning a LOT of applesauce and apple butter, I decided it was time to pull out the big guns and try a cider doughnut holes recipe I had seen on Pinterest before we left from Feastie. I was a tad skeptical on the doughnuts because I had just had the best cider doughnuts in the mountains and these are baked and not fried. Something about frying always makes things better, right? After making sure that I had everything and thinking about tweaking some things, I got to work.
I made these on a Saturday morning and it was a little cooler and sort of drizzly and these doughnut holes were a.maz.ing. They were the perfect breakfast with a cup of coffee. Allen considered them bite size snacks and could have easily eaten the entire batch. Macie wouldn't have let him though, she was instantly in love. I had to hide them! Miranda came over that morning because we were attempting to yard sale and she even gave them her seal of approval. Considering out of the two of us, she is the master baker, I was pleased. The whole batch took about five minutes to whip up and they only take about nine minutes to bake so they are pretty quick to make. The recipe calls for apple butter but if you haven't just canned a whole mess of it, I think you could substitute apple sauce and add some extra cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice into the batter for the apple butter flavor. The other thing that I really think can be changed (though I need to state Allen disagrees STRONGLY), the recipe calls for brushing butter on the entire doughnut hole and then rolling it in the cinnamon/sugar. I tried it that way but then I also brushed only the top and dipped it into the cinnamon/sugar. I liked it better and it cut out a lot of the butter and the sugar, but if you are a purist like my husband - brush the whole thing!
Apple Cider Doughnut Holes
from Feastie -- printable version
makes 24-36 mini muffins (or doughnut holes)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
2 Tbsp canola oil
canola cooking spray
Topping:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a mini muffin pan lightly
with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder,
baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar,
apple butter, vanilla extract, honey, apple cider, yogurt, and canola oil. Pour
the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient mixture and whisk until just
incorporated. This doesn’t have to be perfect, don’t over mix or they will be
tough.
Fill the mini muffin pan with the batter; fill each hole
only 3/4 of the way, otherwise they will overflow slightly and not be as round
as a doughnut hole. Bake for approximately 9-11 minutes and cool on a wire
rack.
While the doughnut holes are still warm, melt butter in a
microwave safe dish. Combine cinnamon and sugar in another dish. Using a pastry
brush, very lightly brush a tiny bit of melted butter onto each doughnut hole,
then roll the doughnut in the cinnamon sugar to coat the sides and top. You can
try to roll the doughnut in the cinnamon sugar without the butter and as long
as they are still hot, the sugar should still stick fairly well. Serve warm or
at room temperature.
I swear to you, these are like little bites of fall in your mouth. Mmmmmm.
