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Apple Spice Baked Doughnut Holes

‘Tis the season.  Apple season.  Our local markets will be teeming with bushels of various varieties of apples.  Since moving to the midwest, it’s become tradition for our family to head out to the apple orchards where we pick too much fruit, drink too much cider, and jump in too much hay.  Sometimes there are little petting zoos, big tractor rides, and silly corn mazes. It’s a welcome break from the rush of everyday life.  A cherished opportunity to enjoy the pure simplicity of outdoor family fun.

Baked Apple Spice Donuts

I’ve always loved the warmly spiced doughnuts of apple season.  Though I don’t often make fried foods, I’m not against eating them 🙂  In fact, I once made some fried doughnut holes that tasted fabulous but looked like little aliens.  The boys thought it was cool.  They didn’t resemble pretty round doughnuts, yet we devoured every last one.  Don’t judge a book by its cover, or something like that.

apple spice donuts

This time, I opted for the healthier baked approach to my apple doughnut holes.  They indeed turned out nice and hole-y. Perfectly cute little balls of lightly sweetened apple dough, baked to tender perfection.  The ample cinnamon sugar coating is what makes these apple spice doughnut holes so yummy.

Baked Apple Spice Donuts

I used mini muffin pans for baking up these apple doughnut holes.  A thin coating of melted butter, followed by cinnamon sugar gives these apple doughnut holes a nice crisp bite on the outside.  You can bake the doughnuts ahead of time, but be sure to coat with cinnamon sugar right before serving, so it is nice and crisp, rather than soggy.

baked apple donut holes

These baked apple doughnut holes can even be made with whole wheat flour mixed in, which makes us feel pretty good about them. Baked, not fried.  Whole wheat.  Real bits of apples.  Cinnamon-sugar goodness.  You can’t go wrong with all that.  Make these while apple season abounds.

Enjoy!

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Baked Apple Spice Donuts

Baked Apple Spice Donut Holes

5 from 1 vote
These Baked Apple Spice Donut Holes are little bites of moist, tender donuts coated in crisp cinnamon sugar. Made with whole wheat and real apples so you feel great about ’em!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Servings: 35 donut holes
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400F and set rack on middle or lower middle position. Grease mini muffin pan. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, 2 TB melted butter, vanilla extract, and grated apple (squeeze out as much juice as you can, before using the grated apples.)
  • Fold wet ingredients with dry ingredients, continuing to fold until combined.
  • Level about 1 TB scoops of batter into greased mini muffin pan.
  • Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool in pan a few minutes or until they are able to be easily removed.
  • Whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with 1 TB cinnamon in a bowl.
  • When ready to serve, dip donut holes in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • You can also use 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.
  • Do not dip in butter/roll in cinnamon sugar until just before serving. Otherwise, the coating tends to get soggy.
  • Batter is not very sweet, since cinnamon sugar coating is quite sweet. If you want a sweeter batter, just add more sugar into dry ingredients.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Course: Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake

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18 comments

    • chantal

    Hi

    What are the sticks you used for display? Doing a cooking competition at work and these look perfect! Thanks

    • Londa

    Hi What flour can I substitute for all purpose flour. I want to try these but cutting white flour out. Thanks

      • chewoutloud

      You could try wheat flour. I often do half white and half wheat in my baking. I’ve never tried this with all wheat yet. Would be curious to see how that turns out 🙂

    • Toni

    I am thinking about making these tonight for breakfast tomorrow morning. Do they taste just as good after being baked and sitting overnight or are results better when baked right before eating? Thank You! 🙂

      • chewoutloud

      They are great warm, but you can keep them in airtight container and reheat before serving. They are almost like a donut muffin, so it should be fine the next morning 🙂

    • Grace

    These look so good! Do you think I can substitute almond milk with whole milk? (We don’t drink regular milk at our house.)

      • chewoutloud

      Sure, you could give it a try! I’d be interested to find out how it works. Thanks for stopping over, Grace! 🙂

    • Julie

    I was going to make these in the morning. Do you think the texture would be ruined if before rolling in cinnamon-sugar mixture to fill the donut holes with caramel for a take on caramel apples and add chopped nuts to the coating as well?

      • chewoutloud

      I think if you did a filling, it would be fantastic! I would finely chop nuts so it adheres well. Your idea sounds fall-perfect 🙂

        • Julie

        Truly inspiring recipe….. they were a big hit. thank you so much!

          • chewoutloud

          Yay, way to go, Julie!! So glad to hear it 🙂

          • Alex
          • 5 stars

          Hi, Thanks for the yummy recipe. Can these be done gluten free?

    • Bobbi

    Can I use 2 cups of All Purpose Flour instead of 1 cup each of Whole Wheat Flour & All Purpose Flour? I’m not a fan of wheat?

      • chewoutloud

      Yes, absolutely! Enjoy 🙂

    • Catherine

    I want to try these! www.frenchtoastandwine.com

    • Lydia Lane

    Hello! We are currently hosting a recipe contest in search of the best apple recipe. This recipe would be a great contender! The contest ends 10/10/2013. If you are interested in competing, visit our site to share your favorite apple recipe for a chance to win a Kindle Fire HD!

    • huntfortheverybest

    they look yummy!

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