Recipe: Baked Apple Pie Donuts

April 8, 2019 Rachel Roades

While I love a fresh, sugary, fried donut once in a while, it's not a very friendly snack or breakfast food. These baked donuts are a fun treat. If you don't have a donut pan, I did test the batter out freeform on a cookie sheet. They turned out a tad flatter than those in the donut pan but just as tasty.

Apple Pie is such a warm, comfortable flavor that can be enjoyed year round. The notes of cinnamon can easily be expanded and the spread is naturally sweet enough where you don't need much added sugar to the recipe.

Ready to gather your ingredients?
For the donuts:
2 cups flour
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar, depending on your sweetness preferences
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup Small Batch Kitchen Apple Pie Spread
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cold butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the donut batter. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, apple pie spread, and lemon juice. Add wet to dry and stir just until combined.

Here's a helpful little trick I used:pour the batter into a cake decorator or icing dispenser. It makes it so much easier to get into the donut pan without making a mess. You can also do this to freehand donuts on a cookie sheet.

If you're using a donut pan, only fill each ring about halfway before adding the crumb topping. They'll rise perfectly with this amount. Push the crumb topping into the batter a bit so that it doesn't all fall off once the donuts are done.

Bake the donuts for about 12 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. These are particularly excellent eaten while still warm.

For reference, these are the freehand donuts I experimented with for anyone who doesn't have a donut pan.