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.
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.