Easy Air Fryer Apple Cider Donuts

INGREDIENTS

For the Cider Donuts:

• 2½ cups (600ml) apple cider
• ⅓ cup (73g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 egg white, room temperature
• ¼ cup (½ stick/ 56g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
• 1¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Avocado or olive oil spray, for air frying

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

• ⅔ cup (133g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick/ 80g) unsalted butter, melted and warm

DIRECTIONS

Make the Dough:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the cider to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until it is reduced to ⅔ cup (160ml), about 35 minutes. Transfer to a medium, heat-proof mixing bowl and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. (To speed this up, you can place this bowl over an ice bath and stir the cider periodically.)
2. To the cooled cider, whisk in both sugars, the egg, egg white, melted butter, and vanilla until well combined.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Pour the cider mixture into the flour mixture, and stir them together by hand with a silicone spatula until fully combined.
4. Cover the dough and refrigerate it until firm to the touch, about 4 hours or up to 12 hours.

Shape the Donuts:

1. Once the dough is chilled and firm, line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour.
2. Scrape the chilled dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour the top of the dough and pat or roll it to ½-inch thickness. Cut out the donuts using a floured 3-inch donut cutter, or use a 3-inch round cookie cutter along with a 1-inch cutter to cut holes in the center of each round. (The dough will be very sticky. Continue to flour the surface and cutter as needed!)
3. Place the cut donuts and donut holes on the lined baking sheet. Gently knead together any scraps of dough and cut more donuts. Loosely cover the tray of cut donuts and hold it in the refrigerator. (The dough needs to stay cold to be firm enough to hold its shape well for air frying. The cut donuts can even be refrigerated for up to 16 hours before air frying!)

Cook the Donuts:

1. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the air fryer to 375°F for 5 minutes. Set out a wire cooling rack. (If you have a toaster oven-style air fryer, preheat it to 400°F. See Recipe Notes for why!)
2. Spray the air fryer basket with avocado or olive oil spray. Place 3 to 4 donuts in the basket, spacing them about ½ inch apart. (Save the donut holes to cook separately.)
3. Spray the tops of the donuts with oil, then air fry for 6 minutes. Flip each donut, then spray once again, and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until golden all over and an instant-read thermometer reaches at least 190°F in the center of one of the sides of the donuts. For the donut holes, spray and air fry for 6 minutes without flipping them.

Coat the Donuts:

1. While the donuts are air frying, whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
2. Immediately and carefully remove the donuts from the air fryer and place them on a wire rack. Working one at a time while they are still hot, brush the donuts with the melted butter, then dredge them in the cinnamon sugar coating, and place them back on the wire rack or a serving platter. The donuts are most delicious when served hot out of the air fryer, but are best within a few hours of being cooked.

NOTES

• Toaster oven-style air fryers: In testing this recipe, I found the air fryers that are basket style heated a bit hotter than the toaster oven style. For this reason, I suggest increasing the temperature on your oven-style air fryer to ensure your donuts cook properly. You can also place an oven thermometer in your air fryer and let it run at temperature for 5 minutes, then check it. Adjust the heat up or down accordingly to get it to roughly 375°F.

• Brushing the hot donuts with melted butter before dredging in the cinnamon-sugar gives the donut more flavor and helps the sugar coating stick to the outside. You can also spray them with avocado or olive oil before dredging if desired.

• Storage: Keep the donuts in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. The sugar coating may become sticky and the donuts will loose some of their crisp exterior and fluffy texture with time. You can reheat them in the air fryer at 250°F for 3 to 5 minutes.