Baked Apple Donuts Recipe

apple pie donuts piled up on a wire rack.

4.93 from 41 votes

These homemade baked apple donuts are soft and moist on the inside and coated in a sweet cinnamon sugar mixture. These donuts feature an easy homemade apple pie filling mixed right into the cake-like batter and fall favorite spices like the apple pie spice. It takes less than an hour to make and even faster using several donut baking pans.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Makes about 14 donuts

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

For Apple Pie Filling:

1 1/4 cup diced gala apples about 2-3 medium apples
1 ½ tbsp salted butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tbsp all purpose flour

For Donuts:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup low fat buttermilk
3 tbsp salted butter melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple pie spice

For Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

¼ cup white granulated sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp salted butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Apple Pie Filling:

Peel, core and dice apples.
Heat up a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and sugar, mix well. Add diced apples and mix. Sprinkle in flour and apple pie spice. Mix well, cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook until apples are softened.
Make sure to stir every few minutes. Take off heat and let it cool down so it's not scalding hot when you mix it into the batter.

Donuts:

Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a donut pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla together until smooth.
Sift in all dry ingredients and whisk until all incorporated.
Add apple pie filling mixture and mix well using a spatula. (The mixture should not get much thinner.)
Transfer the batter into a piping bag. (You may have to use a large piping bag or do it in two batches.)
PRO TIP: To transfer the batter from the mixing bowl into the piping bag easier, place the piping bag into a pint glass and fold it over the rim to open it up!
Cut the tip off both piping bags, leaving only about 3/4 inch opening.
Squeeze batter into the donut cups of the pan, in the circle motion, filling each cup almost all the way full. Make sure there is an even amount of batter all around.
Bake for 11-12 minutes and let donuts cool on the wire rack, just until the donuts cooled enough to be handled.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

Melt butter in one little cup and mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Brush the top of the donut with a some butter and then dip it into the cinnamon sugar mixture, cover it evenly. Place back on the wire rack and repeat with all donuts.

Video

Notes

Apple pie spice: a combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Storing: on the counter, place them inside an air-tight container and store them only for 1-2 days. In the refrigerator, store in an air-tight container, for 5-7 days.

Freezing: freeze without the sugar coating. Place them onto a parchment paper covered cutting board side by side and freeze for about 2 hours. Stack frozen donuts with a square of parchment paper in between each donut, place them into a large freezer zip-top bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.

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