Fall is officially here, and this egg and dairy free Apple Cider Donuts recipe is ready for you! This simple recipe comes together in about 10 minutes, with the donuts baking up in just 8-9 minutes in a donut pan.
Lightly sweetened and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, these allergy-friendly donuts will fill your house with scents of fall.
Check out my other allergy-friendly fall recipes:
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts (Egg, Dairy, & Nut Free)
- Egg Free Apple Cinnamon Waffles
- Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Cookies (Egg, Dairy, Nut Free)
- Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake (Egg Free, Dairy Free)
- Eggless Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies
- Baked Vanilla Donuts (Egg, Dairy, & Nut Free)
For these allergy-friendly apple cider donuts, you’ll need some applesauce, apple cider (you could even use juice, but they may be a little sweeter), and a few basic pantry staples. That’s it, and you can be enjoying these donuts in no time.
This recipe is super simple, and fun for kids to help out with. My four year old daughter loves helping me measure and mix up donuts. They’re so fast that she doesn’t lose interest, and takes pride in helping.
We’ve been making these as a fun afternoon snack or a weekend breakfast lately (paired with fruit and a protein). Since these egg free dairy free donuts are made from scratch, you know exactly what ingredients are being used. This is important to food allergy families like ours, and my homemade baked goods often have less sugar the store-bought ones.
What You’ll Need for These Allergy-Friendly Apple Cider Donuts:
- Apple Cider
- Brown Sugar
- Applesauce
- Neutral Oil (such as vegetable or canola) adds fat and moisture
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour
- Baking Powder acts as a leavening agent
- Baking Soda (along with the powder) helps these egg / dairy free apple cider donuts rise
- Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Salt
How to Make Egg and Dairy Free Apple Cider Donuts:
This recipe is super simple, and comes together quickly.
- First, preheat the oven to 375F, and grease two 6-cavity 3.75-inch diameter donut pans.
- In a medium bowl, measure out all of your wet ingredients (apple cider, brown sugar, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract), and stir to combine.
- In a second smaller bowl, measure out your dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry, and whisk together just until combined. Be sure not to over-mix, or the donuts may not be as light and fluffy.
- Gently spoon batter into greased donut pan, evening out the top with a spatula (this doesn’t need to be perfect).
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. After removing from oven, allow donuts to cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes before gently inverting onto a cooling rack.
- Melt butter (or dairy-free margarine) in a small bowl, and mix cinnamon and sugar in a second bowl. Gently dip one side of donut into butter, and then into cinnamon-sugar mix. Enjoy warm, or cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
These donuts are best enjoyed the same day. If you make a day ahead, I recommend doing the last step just before serving.
Apple Cider Donuts (Egg, Dairy, & Nut Free)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1/4 cup applesauce, level (I used unsweetened, but any will do)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup apple cider
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup, and leveled across top
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Topping
- 3 Tbsp melted butter (if dairy free, use DF margarine)
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and spray donut pans (for 3.75" diameter donuts) with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Stir in apple cider.
- In a smaller bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add dry mix to wet, and whisk or stir together just until combined. Work quickly after this, because batter will start to thicken.
- Spoon batter (or use a spatula) evenly into donut pans, smoothing out the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Donut cavities will be filled about 2/3-3/4 full.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. After removing from oven, allow donuts to cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before gently inverting onto a cooling rack.
- Top the donuts – melt butter (or dairy-free margarine, if DF) in one bowl, and stir together cinnamon and sugar in second one. Gently dip one side of each donut into melted butter, then dip into cinnamon-sugar blend.
- These donuts are best served the same day. If making ahead, I recommend waiting to dip/top the donuts until just before serving.
Notes
- This recipe makes just six 3.75″ donuts, but can easily be doubled to make more, or to accommodate for a larger pan. Adjust bake time accordingly if using a larger then 3.75″ donut pan.
- If baking dairy-free, be sure to use dairy-free margarine for the topping.
- Nutmeg may be omitted, if desired.
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