These apple cider "donut" muffins are a tasty treat that never lasts long. Packed with warm spices and apple flavors, these muffins are a great breakfast or snack that the whole family will enjoy.
We loved these donut muffins so much that a new batch never lasted more than a day or two. I found adults and kids alike reaching in to grab another from the plate. Proving that this donut muffin recipe was a large success.
Another successful muffin recipe is my Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins, but the apple cider flavor in these donut muffins makes them more seasonal and festive.
If you love apple cider flavor, make sure to check out my Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting and Caramel Apple Cider Cookies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients. We use very simple and basic pantry staple ingredients to make this recipe, and it's also very easy to find the apple cider drink mix in stock at your local grocery stores and Dollar Tree if you don't already have a box on hand.
- They were cheap! Because we use simple ingredients to make this recipe, the costs are very minimal. This is a great budget-friendly recipe.
- Minimal effort. This is a recipe that you can have the kids help you to make (I employ the help of my 4-year-old). Whisk, stir, scoop, bake and roll. These are all fairly simple steps that are great for novice chefs.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the muffins, you will need:
Vegetable oil- This gives the muffins the necessary fats so that they stay moist and don't feel dry.
Granulated sugar- For added sweetness and to help with the overall texture of the muffins.
Egg- Eggs as a binding agent are used to keep the muffins from crumbling apart.
All-purpose flour- this is the glutinous structure used as the base of the recipe.
Apple cider drink mix- I find mine at Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc. It's a premade packet of dry apple cider drink mix. This will give us a nice spiced apple flavor.
Baking powder- A necessary leavening agent to help the muffins puff up as they bake.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer meant to make the flavors in this recipe taste even more incredible.
Nutmeg- This will add a nice warmth of spice to every bite.
Milk- Use milk to moisten the batter and bring the ingredients together.
For the spiced coating, you will need:
Butter- This will moisten the baked muffins so that the spiced sugar mixture can coat them well.
Granulated sugar- Use granulated sugar for added sweetness.
Apple pie spice-This will give us a stronger flavor profile so that these muffins do taste more like warm apple cider.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make apple cider donut muffins with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Add the vegetable oil and sugar to a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together to combine.
Add in the remaining ingredients.
Whisk until it's mixed so that no flour streaks remain.
Scoop the batter and pour into a muffin pan so that each one is filled ⅔s of the way full.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing. If they stick, you may need a butterknife or rubber spatula to remove the muffins from the pan. Removing them when warm is easier than if you let them cool too much.
Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
Add the spiced sugar ingredients to a separate bowl.
Whisk together to combine.
Roll each muffin in the melted butter until fully coated.
Immediately roll them in the spiced sugar coating until covered.
Place on a plate to the side and repeat until all muffins have been coated.
Serve and enjoy.
📖 Variations
Don't want apple cider flavor? Omit the apple cider drink packet in the muffin batter and swap out the apple pie spice for ground cinnamon instead. Now you'll have cinnamon sugar flavored donut muffins, and they'll still taste great!
🍴 Recipe Tips
Due to the sugar in the apple cider drink mix, the muffins will try to stick to the inside of your muffin pan. It's best to remove them from the pan while they are still warm but not too hot to handle.
I found that running a butterknife along the edges of the muffins was ideal for getting them to pop out with minimal damage to the donut muffin.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Room Temp
You can keep these donut muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 or 4 days.
Freezer
Yes, these muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 or 4 months. To thaw, place them on the counter for several minutes (about 15-30min) before eating.
💭 FAQs
Donut muffins are tasty little muffins coated in cinnamon sugar (or similar). They taste like little donut holes, but in a slightly larger non-fried form.
Yes! If you have a mini muffin pan on hand feel free to use it! Mini muffins take about 10-12 minutes to bake fully, but make sure to do the toothpick test before removing them from the oven just to be sure.
Yes, go ahead and place a muffin (or up to 3) on a microwave safe plate and heat for about 15-30 seconds. Then they'll be as warm as when they were freshly pulled from the oven.
More great muffin recipes to check out soon
- Red White and Blue Muffins
- Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
- Bakery Style Strawberry Muffins
- Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins
📖 Recipe
Apple Cider Donut Muffins
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Vegetable oil ($0.16)
- 1 cup Granulated sugar ($0.22)
- 1 large Egg, beaten ($0.08)
- 1 ½ cups All purpose flour ($0.12)
- 1 packet Apple cider drink mix ($0.20)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder ($0.03)
- ½ teaspoon Salt ($0.05)
- ½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg ($0.05)
- ½ cup Milk ($0.08)
Spiced Coating
- ½ cup Butter, melted ($0.75)
- ½ cup Granulated sugar ($0.11)
- 2 teaspoons Apple pie spice ($0.20)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar until combined.
- Add in the remaining ingredients. Whisk until it's mixed so that no flour streaks remain.
- Scoop the batter and pour into a muffin pan so that each one is filled ⅔s of the way full.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing. You may need a butterknife or rubber spatula to remove the muffins from the pan if they stick. Removing them when warm is easier than if you let them cool too much.
- Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
- Mix the apple spice/sugar mixture together in another bowl.
- Roll each muffin in the melted butter until fully coated and then immediately roll them in the spiced sugar coating until covered.
- Place on a plate to the side and repeat until all muffins have been coated.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Variations
- Don't want apple cider flavor? Omit the apple cider drink packet in the muffin batter and swap out the apple pie spice for ground cinnamon instead. Now you'll have cinnamon sugar flavored donut muffins, and they'll still taste great!
Recipe Tips
- Due to the sugar in the apple cider drink mix, the muffins will try to stick to the inside of your muffin pan. It's best to remove them from the pan while they are still warm but not too hot to handle. I found that running a butterknife along the edges of the muffins was ideal at getting them to pop out with minimal damage to the donut muffin.
- If you have a mini muffin pan on hand feel free to use it! Mini muffins take about 10-12 minutes to bake fully, but make sure to do the toothpick test before removing them from the oven just to be sure.
Storage
- You can keep these donut muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 or 4 days.
- These muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 or 4 months. To thaw, place them on the counter for several minutes (about 15-30min) before eating.
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