Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts

Tender gluten free apple cider donuts smell like the best donuts at the apple orchard, with plenty of cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg and rich, flavorful apple cider baked right into the batter.

Ingredient Substitutions

I haven’t tried making these donuts with anything other than the ingredients specified in the recipe, which I recommend you also follow faithfully. However, in case you have additional dietary restrictions, here are my suggestions for making these donuts without other common allergens:

How to make dairy free gluten free apple cider donuts

The only dairy in these gluten free apple cider donuts is from the unsalted butter. It can most likely be easily replaced with Earth Balance buttery sticks, although I haven’t tried that. Earth Balance tends to be rather salty, though, so I’d eliminate the salt as an ingredient in the donuts, though.

How to make gluten free egg free apple cider donuts

There are two eggs in this recipe, and they are responsible for a lot of the structure and texture of these soft, tender donuts. You can try replacing them each with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).

How to make sugar-free gluten free apple cider donuts

If you’d like to try to make these donuts with a sugar alternative, you can try replacing the granulated sugar with Swerve brand granulated sugar replacement or Lankato monkfruit granulated sweetener.

Pay attention to the texture and viscosity of the batter, though, as those alternative sweeteners tend to absorb a lot of moisture. You may need to add some more cider.

Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Course:Dessert, Donuts

Cuisine:American

Prep Time:15minutes minutes

Cook Time:12minutes minutes

Yield:  donuts

Ingredients

For the donuts

• 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
• ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) apple cider

For the topping

• ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease 2 standard-size 6 well donut pans and set them aside.
• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
• Create a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add the butter, eggs, and cider, and mix to combine. The batter will be very soft.
• Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip or to a squeeze bottle.
• Squeeze the batter into the prepared doughnut wells until they are each about 3/4 of the way full. Shake the pan back and forth horizontally until the batter is in an even layer in each well.
• Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the donuts spring back when pressed gently (about 12 minutes). The underside will be browned, but the tops will still be relatively pale.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow the donuts to cool for about 3 minutes, or until they are no longer hot to the touch.
• While the donuts cool slightly, place the cinnamon sugar topping ingredients into a small bowl.
• Gently remove the slightly cooled (but still warm) donuts from the doughnut pan with your fingertips and turn them around in the cinnamon sugar until they are well-coated on all sides.
• Place the finished donuts on a clean sheet of parchment paper. Serve immediately, or at least within a day or two stored uncovered at room temperature.
• Freeze any remaining leftovers in a sealed, freezer-safe container.