Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts

Happy National Donut Day! It’s my favorite holiday and I’ve got a super special recipe to share with you: Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts.

But wait…it’s not only National Donut Day, it’s also World Cider Day. So I’ve got a donut to celebrate both holidays. I’ve made these gorgeous baked donuts with hard cider, however you can make them with regular apple cider as well.  Hard cider gives these a nice boozy kick and an even richer apple flavor than any apple cider donut I’ve ever had.

To make these donuts, you’ll need this donut pan. You could also order this mini donut pan if you like tiny nibbles. Not me, I want the whole donut, especially on this high holiday for donut fiends.

I used Angry Orchard’s Apple Ginger cider in testing this recipe. This is a staple in our fridge, however you can choose from the plethora of hard ciders now available. Just be certain it is a true hard cider, truly gluten-free and not one of the apple ales that are a malt beverage (not gluten-free) that seem to sneak onto the same shelf at the store.

Apple cider donuts not your thing? I’ve rounded up 52 of the best gluten-free donut recipes from trusted food writers and gathered them all into one spot, right here. Enjoy!

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Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts

Author Johnna

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup Johnna's favorite gluten-free flour blend
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 12 ounces hard cider (or apple cider if you prefer)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I use my hemp milk)
• 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil or neutral oil of your choice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Glaze ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 2 to 5 teaspoons hard cider

Instructions

1. Place 12 ounces of hard apple cider into a small saucepan over medium/medium-high. Cook for 10-15 minutes to reduce cider to 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour blend, coconut sugar, cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and sea salt.
4. In a separate bowl, combine hemp milk and egg. Whisk together. Add grapeseed oil and vanilla bean paste, whisking again. Last, incorporate the cooled, reduced hard apple cider.
5. Incorporate wet ingredients into dry.
6. Lightly oil your donut pan (even if it says it is non-stick, you should oil it.) Pipe batter into each of the six cavities of the pan. I place the batter in a gallon size ziploc bag and snip one corner off to make a quick piping bag. You could also carefully spoon the batter in, but piping is much faster.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. A toothpick inserted into a donut will come out clean when they are done.
8. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently run around the edge of the donut with a paring knife to make sure the donuts are loose in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
9. While cooling, mix the glaze in a small bowl. Combine powdered sugar and maple syrup, then add hard cider in one teaspoon at a time until the glaze is thin enough to dip the donuts.
10. Dip each donut into the glaze then return to the cooling rack to set up.
11. Enjoy!