Soft, flavorful Apple Donuts that come with a whole lot of fall happiness in every bite. These delicious baked donuts are made with apple pie filling throughout and dipped in a cinnamon sugar mixture.
If you love baked donuts, don’t miss my pumpkin donuts and eggnog donuts.
Table of Contents
If you have a beautiful haul of freshly picked apples, this is the first recipe you should make with them! These apple donuts are so easy and SO delicious, you’ll be making them over and over.
These donuts are soft, moist, and packed with the sweet apples and fall spices in every bite. The texture of baked donuts is cake-like and balances so nicely with juicy apples.
I’m not lying about how easy they are to make too, especially if you have the apple pie filling made ahead of time. If not, not to worry, it only takes 15 minutes.
Baked donuts are always so quick and easy, together with making apple filling, it will take you about 40 minutes to make.
Ingredients Tips and Notes
Apples – I like to use Gala or Honeycrisp apples are great meaty apples that are also bright and sweet. Honeycrisp apples are actually my favorite ones to use. You can also choose Pink Lady, Braeburn, Fuji, or McIntosh apples.
Flour – All purpose flour works great. Make sure you spoon the flour into the measuring cup instead of dunking the cup into the bag! Then, cut the excess at the top with the back of the knife to level. When you dunk the cup, you really pack the flour into the cup.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder – Make sure that both of these are not expired! In order for your baking soda and powder to be potent, you need to use them within 6 months of opening the containers.
Brown Sugar – you can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. The difference between the two is in the amount of molasses added, dark brown sugar containing more, of course.
Low Fat Buttermilk – low fat buttermilk is the best option to create soft and moist texture. Note, substitutes never work as well!
Eggs – for best results, let them warm up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Apple Pie Spice – This is used in the dough itself and in apple pie topping. Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Apple Baked Donuts
First, make the apple pie filling because it will need time to cool down a bit.
Peel, core and dice apples. Make sure to dice apples into small pieces! Heat up a sauce pot and melt butter. Mix in sugar, diced apples, flour, and apple pie spice. Mix well, cover and cook over medium-low heat until apples are softened (1).
Remember to stir every few minutes. Once done, take off heat and let it cool while you prepare the batter.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract together until smooth (2). Sift in all dry ingredients and whisk until all incorporated (3). Add apple pie filling mixture and mix well using a spatula (4). (The mixture should not get much thinner.)
Pour the batter into a piping bag, cut the tip off both piping bags, leaving only about 3/4 inch opening, and squeeze batter into the donut cups of the greased donut pan, in the circle motion (5). Make sure there is an even amount of batter all around (6).
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!
Bake for 11-12 minutes (7) and let donuts cool on the wire rack, just until the donuts cooled enough to be handled.
Melt butter in a small cup and mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate shallow bowl. Brush the top of the donut with a little butter (8) and then dip it into the cinnamon sugar mixture (9, 10), cover it evenly. Place back on the wire rack and repeat with all donuts.
PRO TIP: It’s best to wait until your donuts are cooled to room temperature to sugar coat them.
Storing Baked Donuts
No matter where you store these donuts, make sure to store inside an air-tight container with a paper towel under them. Choose a cool area that is out of sunlight!
Room temperature: Homemade donuts don’t have a very long shelf life at room temperature. If you plant to store them on the counter, make sure to place them inside an air-tight container and store them only for 1-2 days.
Refrigerator: To extend the shelf life, store donuts in the refrigerator, still in an air-tight container. (If you live in a hot or humid environment, or if your donuts have cream filling or dairy toppings, it is always best to refrigerate them.) In the refrigerator, baked donuts should last 5-7 days.
Heat them up: To freshen up cold donuts, you can easily heating them up for a few seconds in a microwave! Just a few seconds to warm them up though, you don’t need any more.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, technically you can freeze them for 2-3 months but note that it will change the texture of the donuts.
It’s best to freeze these donuts without the sugar coating. Make sure to cool baked donuts first. Place them onto a parchment paper covered cutting board side by side and freeze for about 2 hours. Set the timer!
Once frozen, you can stack them with a square of parchment paper in between each donut and place them into a large freezer zip-top bag. Get as much air out as you can, label, and back in the freezer.
To thaw, you can simply that individual or all donuts on the counter for about 30-40 minutes. Coat them in cinnamon sugar after thawing.
Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You can buy this seasoning mixed at the store or make your own.
To make your own, simply combine 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with 2 teaspoons or ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Mix it all together and store in a small glass jar with a lid
This is a very common question with my apple pie type recipes. I do not usually recommend using canned apple pie filling because it is a completely different texture and size of apple pieces. The amount of liquids, thickness, and consistency often varies brand to brand. The apple texture in the canned filling is also very different than if you work with fresh, homemade apple filling. It’s also often much sweeter.
Some More Easy Donut Recipes To Try
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Apple Pie Baked Donuts
Ingredients
For Apple Pie Filling:
- 1 1/4 cup diced gala apples about 2 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
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
- Room temperature: Homemade donuts don’t have a very long shelf life at room temperature. If you plant to store them on the counter, make sure to place them inside an air-tight container and store them only for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerator: To extend the shelf life, store donuts in the refrigerator, still in an air-tight container. (If you live in a hot or humid environment, or if your donuts have cream filling or dairy toppings, it is always best to refrigerate them.) In the refrigerator, baked donuts should last 5-7 days.
- Freezing: It’s best to freeze these donuts without the sugar coating. Make sure to cool baked donuts first. Place them onto a parchment paper covered cutting board side by side and freeze for about 2 hours. Set the timer!
Once frozen, you can stack them with a square of parchment paper in between each donut and place them into a large freezer zip-top bag. Get as much air out as you can, label, and back in the freezer. (See more in FAQ section.)
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in September 2017.
Jess says
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!
LyubaB says
Thank you, Jess!
Carrie says
Tried these and they were so good!
LyubaB says
Thanks, Carrie!
steve smith says
These were so easy! Thanks so much
veradnt says
Thank you so much for this site.
LyubaB says
Awe, Thanks! 🙂
Linda says
Delicious recipes!
jenny says
This is good
LyubaB says
Thank you Jenny!
bonk.io says
This dish is delicious, thank you for sharing!
LyubaB says
Thank you!
Cheryl says
Hi Lyuba,
I was wondering if the dough could be made, put into a pastry bag, refrigerated and baked inthe morning? I would love to bring some warm doughnuts into work my co- workers.
lyuba says
Hi Cheryl! I’ve never actually made this batter ahead of time but I have tried making pancake batter ahead of time and it never rose properly when cooked. I’m pretty sure that the reason is that baking powder reacts differently with cold ingredients. This batter only takes a few minutes to make because it’s just mixing of ingredients. You can definitely prepare the apple pie filling ahead of time though. Refrigerate the apple filling and warm it up for a few second in a microwave before mixing into the batter 🙂
I really hope this helps!
Andy Reed says
thanks for the perfect recipe!
LyubaB says
Your very welcome Andy, thanks for your feedback!
Margie says
What is “Apple Pie Spice”?
lyuba says
Hi Margie!
Apple pie spice is a spice mix much like pumpkin pie spice. You can find it in the spice isle. It has cinnamon nutmeg and allspice 🙂
Carmel says
Can you use canned apple pie filling?
lyuba says
Hi Carmel!
It depends on the filling, you would just have to watch how thin it is. If it’s pretty juicy or thin, try to strain off any syrup or juices. You don’t want to add any liquid to the batter or it will be too runny.
If you can see, I add flour when making the apple filling to make it nice and thick so that there is no additional liquid to the batter.
Let me know how it works out!
Pamela-jayne Mills says
Love this recipe. Tried to sign up for email but says no longer available.
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Pamela!
Can you tell me where you clicked on the link that was no longer available? I want to fix it but the links I’ve tried are working. Which one did you click?
Pamela-jayne mills says
Hi, it was 1 of the bits at bottom on this page but I tried there and was able to sign up.
lyuba says
Oh yes! Found it and fixed it 🙂 Thank you!