The taste of a good apple cider doughnut will always transport me back to apple picking with my family as a kid at Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck, New Jersey. And this, my friends, is one very good apple cider doughnut. I started out with a Collucci family recipe, and spruced up and altered it here and there over the years to bring it to perfection. The secret to this doughnut’s light crumb and deep flavor is in reducing the cider down to a syrup: you get all the powerful flavor without the stodgy, dense dough that results from excess moisture. These doughnuts are great right out of the fryer, and maybe even better the next day along with a cup of hot cider or coffee.
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Butterscotch
How to Make It
- Boil the cider in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes, letting it bubble away until reduced to a syrupy 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. Drop in the egg and mix well, and then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every so often. Drizzle in the reduced cider and the buttermilk, and mix until just combined. The dough should hold together, but still be on the sticky side.
- Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and put another sheet of paper on top. Using a rolling pin, flatten and roll the dough until it’s ⅛ to ½ inch thick. Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until it no longer clings when you try to peel off the parchment paper.
- Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer until the oil reaches 350°F. Prepare two baking sheets: one lined with paper towels, and the other dusted with flour.
- Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper and flip the dough onto a floured work surface. Remove the second sheet of parchment paper and dust the dough with flour. Using a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter, cut the dough into 2½- to 3-inch tubular rounds (or another shape of your choice) and put them on the flour-dusted baking sheet.
- Fry the doughnuts in batches, taking care not to crowd the pot, until golden brown all over, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on the paper-towel-lined baking sheet.
- Toss them in the cinnamon sugar and serve alongside a dish of warm butterscotch for dipping.
