Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

Scrumptious treats blended with fresh chopped apple and warm fragrant spices.

Doughnuts-- the tasty sweet pastry that one can try to live without and have no real success.
Thankfully, Dottie's Donuts is an eleven minute trek from home.
On grey days, where the sun decides to hide splendid beauty showcased just warmly yesterday, one takes matters into their own grubby hands to save a little time and money. My first attempt at vegan doughnuts, two years ago, were Sour Cream Doughnut Holes in fact. They were crisp on the outside due to the generous sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar and pliantly moist on the inside.
Weeks ago, I purchased a doughnut pan at Michael's (they were having a 30% off baking supplies sale) and put off ideas, knowing that my favorite place would be opening soon. Now that I have tried and fallen deeper in love, was there room left to make one's own?
Of course.
Why not have the best of both worlds?
I wanted to try crafting a baked version and loved My Darling Vegan's Apple Cider Doughnuts. With her recipe as an inspirational guide, I added cloves, ginger, and chopped Gala apple and omitted the canola oil to add extra applesauce. 
These don't taste like authentic traditional style doughnuts of yore. Maybe due to my using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose-- which I will use next time. It has a muffin flavor profile, not exactly doughnut, but its delicious taste has autumn bells ringing early. Plus the sweetness might be too strong. I liked gaining the simple lessons learned from creating this introductory doughnut bath and plan to invent other recipes down the road.
And still go to Dottie's along journeying way. 

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts Ingredients and Preparation

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking poweder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Gala apple, chopped

Glaze

1/4 cup apple cider

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Counter full of pleasing ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease doughnut pan. 
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice together.
Mix apple cider, apple sauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Combine wet and dry ingredients together.

Add chopped apple. Stir evenly well.

Spoon batter into the doughnut pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let doughnuts cool.

Brush each doughnut in apple cider and coat with cinnamon-sugar.

Serve and eat.