Apple Cider Glazed Donuts

Have mercy! Would you just look at all of these scrumptious Apple Cider Glazed Donuts. There is nothing quite like a warm, fresh, melt in your mouth glazed donut!  You know what I’m talking about . I’m sure you’ve been lusting after them  if you’ve stopped by any Farmer’s Markets recently. Those Apple Cider Donut stands seem to always somehow pop up there magically this time of year.

Somehow I hadn’t fallen victim to their charms this Fall. In fact, I just told you all about that delicious Apple Cider Donut Cake and how it was so tasty and so much easier to whip up than actual Apple Cider Donuts. Yup I was sure I’d bested them this year. That was until I made the mistake of watching the movie Chef, which is a great by the way. If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely get it in your movie queue. No, there is no mention of donuts in it, but beignets get quite a lot of screen time. So you’re probably wondering what a beignet has to do with a donut huh? Well, my husband had never experienced a beignet. He has heard me “oooh” and “ahhh” over them and listened to all my heretofore empty promises that I would soon fry him up a batch. So when they showed up it the movie, he gently reminded me that he had yet to ever see any materialize from our kitchen. I resolved right then and there that I would set things right and make good on my promise. The very next morning I broke out the deep fryer, filled it up with some oil and launched into all out beignet production. They did not disappoint, I must say. Hang on…I’m getting to the donut bit of the story. So anyway, after we gobbled up every last beignet in sight, I found myself wondering what else I could fry up. I always seem to go a bit deep-frying crazy once I get started. I mean it isn’t often that the deep fryer makes an appearance around here. And there it was all full of oil and ready to go. Certainly there had to be an endless supply of things that were just begging to be deep-fried…what was that thing I heard about some State Fair and deep-fried butter? And that’s when the idea of Apple Cider Glazed Donuts settled firmly into my consciousness. (Thank God…I don’t know if I could stand myself if I actually set about deep-frying butter….)I couldn’t resist. I mean who knows when I’ll get that fryer out again. I just had to make up a batch of those quintessential Fall donuts. Now I have made a lot of cake style, baked donuts, but I had never tried to do the yeast dough, deep-fried variety and was excited to give it a whirl. So I got busy, much to the delight of the husband and the neighbours (who were the unsuspecting recipients of a batch of excess “hot donuts now” – #Krispy Kreme’s got nothing on me – straight from my kitchen).

I’m telling you, these Apple Cider Glazed Donuts are nothing short of amazing. So tender, so moist and just bursting with Fall Apple-y, cinnamon-y goodness. I should take a moment to tell you about my secret (well…I guess “secret” up til now) ingredient that I love to use in all of my Fall apple recipes. Boiled Cider.

This amazing syrup, which is made by boiling down apple cider, serves to intensify that apple taste that everyone craves. It is like a bushel of apples in one little old tablespoon of that liquid gold. You can of course make up a batch yourself, but you can also find it all done and bottled for you at King Arthur Flour or on Amazon. I love this stuff! It is so versatile, great as a flavour accent, but equally good simply drizzled over a stack of pancakes. And even though I did reduce 1 cup of fresh cider to make the glaze for these donuts, I still added some of that bottled Boiled Cider to take that apple taste way up over the top. And it worked! We reached some sort of Apple Nirvana with the first bite of these Apple Cider Glazed Donuts.

So if you are pressed for time, there is no doubt that you should go with that Apple Cider Donut Cake. However, if you’ve got a bit of time on your hands and don’t mind a bit of clean up, make these Apple Cider Glazed Donuts as a special treat this Fall.

• Servings: 15 donuts
• Difficulty: easy, but involves dough rising time and deep frying mess
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recipe slightly adapted from: Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Ingredients:

For the Donuts:

• 3-1/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2  teaspoons (about 2 envelopes) Instant Yeast
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 large egg yolks
• Corn Oil or Peanut oil for frying

For the Apple Cider Glaze:

• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons boiled cider (optional – but it will really kick up that apple flavour if you have it!)

Directions:

For the donuts:

Combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixer bowl. In a small bowl combine the milk and butter and warm in the microwave to very warm (120° to 130°F).

Beat in the egg yolks to the flour mixture and then add in the milk + butter mixture. Beat for 2 minutes at low speed. Continue adding the remaining 1 and 1/2-2 cups of flour, until a soft dough forms.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (about 4 to 6 minutes). Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured counter into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Using a donut cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible, separating the donut holes from the rounds. If you don’t have a donut cutter, you can use a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out the rounds. Then use a 1-inch cutter to punch out the donut holes in the center.

Place doughnuts and holes about 2 to 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Re-roll and cut remaining dough. Cover doughnuts and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To fry: Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a deep fryer or deep pan to 350°F. Fry 2 to 3 doughnuts at a time, turning occasionally until well browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. If you simply can not fry these donuts, you can bake them. I will mention that frying is more delicious, but to each his own. To bake: Preheat your oven to 375°F, and bake the risen doughnuts for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool and then transfer to wire rack. Using tongs, dunk the doughnuts in the Apple Cider Glaze. Serve warm.

For the Apple Cider Glaze:

Boil the apple cider in a small saucepan until reduced in half, about 7 to 10 minutes. Place powdered sugar in medium bowl. Whisk in hot reduced cider, vanilla, corn syrup and boiled cider until smooth.

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Glazed Donuts brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)