Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

Photo courtesy of LeeAndreas

   LeeAndrea's Sweet Treats, opened last September, is a specialty shop that has already found a niche right in the heart of Princeton. It offers a selection of sweets and coffees.
   The decor is simple yet classy with a display case full of confections such as cakes, cookies, candies, cupcakes and muffins. Except for the specialty cakes, like for birthdays and weddings, the fare is grab-and-go food, sweet little items that you can eat on the go.

Photo courtesy of LeeAndrea's

  All items are handmade with fresh local produce. That means real blueberries and apples in the muffins, not reconstituted dried fruit. Handmade means a lot of work and time, especially when it comes to the candies. Every piece is melted, shaped and decorated by hand. 
  Most of the items you see when you enter the quaint little shop are hand-held sweets and coffees. The other part of the carryout business is the most intricate and creative - customized birthday or wedding cakes, gift baskets and cookie trays.
  Owner, Andrea Martin shared this recipe so we all can practice baking at home over the cold winter months.

Doughnuts made with apple cider, spiced with cinnamon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

For the doughnuts:
1-1/2 cups apple cider
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tbs. butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
4 tbs. melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more, if desired)
Instructions -  
For the doughnuts:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan, boil the apple cider until it is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15-20 minutes).

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add in eggs and mix well. Stir in buttermilk and reduced cider.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and  nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients, mixing just enough to combine.

Spray a doughnut or cupcake pan with cooking spray. Either pipe or spoon the batter into the each mold until they are about 3/4 full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow doughnuts to cool before coating.

For the cinnamon sugar coating:
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter on both sides and in the middle of each doughnut. Dip and roll the doughnut in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.

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