Apple Cider Donut Muffins
These Apple Cider Donut Muffins deliver the fresh orchard stand taste in a soft, tender muffin with a bakery style cinnamon sugar crust in under an hour, no fryer needed. Moist crumb, cozy spice, and warm apple aroma make the whole kitchen feel like a cider mill.
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin pan
- small saucepan,
- - Whisk
- - Mixing bowls
- - Spatula
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
Apple cider
- 2 cups Apple cider reduced to about 1 cup
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon Baking soda one half teaspoon
- 0.5 teaspoon Fine salt one half teaspoon
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground cinnamon 1 and one half teaspoons
- 0.25 teaspoon Ground nutmeg one quarter teaspoon
Wet ingredients
- 0.5 cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 Large eggs at room temperature
- 0.5 cup Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 teaspoons Pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted butter melted
- 0.5 cup Granulated sugar one half cup
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- pinch Salt to sharpen flavor
Instructions
- Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook until reduced to about 1 cup and the aroma is bold, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to just warm. This intensifies apple flavor and supports browning.
- Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper cups. Lightly mist liners so the sugar topping adheres later.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined and free of lumps.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and the cooled reduced cider until smooth. If the butter begins to firm, the cider was too cool. Whisk until no streaks remain.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry bowl. Stir with a spatula just until the flour disappears. The batter will be thick and silky. Do not overmix to keep the crumb tender.
- Divide batter evenly among the 12 cups, about three quarters full. A large cookie scoop makes this quick and tidy.
- Bake on the center rack until the tops spring back lightly and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 14 to 17 minutes. Rotate the pan once for even color if your oven has hot spots.
- While muffins bake, stir the sugar, cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter in a separate bowl.
- Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift to a rack. While still warm, brush or dip each top in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar. For a full donut effect, lightly brush the sides with butter and roll to coat.
- Let coated muffins stand 10 minutes to set the crust. Serve warm.
Notes
Reduce the cider the day before to save time on bake day. Store it covered in the fridge and bring to room temperature before mixing. Measure flour with care by fluffing, spooning, and leveling to avoid a dense crumb. Coat while warm for best cinnamon sugar cling. Substitute and spice variations allow customization. These muffins freeze well and reheat beautifully to keep the crust crisp and tender crumb moist.