apple cider spice donuts

Man, I started writing this over a week ago.  Not sure why I didn't finish.  Good think I saw it when I was blogging like crazy yesterday.  I knew to come back and finish it up today.

Here is another recipe I've had marked in my evernote app for a while.  It is from Our Best Bites.
I had actually started on these the other day because you are supposed to simmer down some apple cider for use in the dough.  Got that done, but then didn't want to have to make the dough, roll it out, cool it....  So today I got really lazy with the whole process and I loved the process.  I have a cute little donut maker (similar to this but made by babycakes.)  So I ended up just scooping out a scoop of dough right onto my little donut maker.  I didn't even try to shape them.  The machine pressed them down and they turned out perfectly cute.  Sure their whole didn't go all the way through, but for the ease, it was totally worth it.  They still look like a cute donut.
I of course tried to help this recipe be healthy.  It was all good except for the fact that I found them to be a bit dry.  I preferred them with a bit of glaze just because they seemed dry when plain or with just cinnamon sugar.  I'm sure I could fiddle with the dough a bit and make it more moist.  The flavor was good, but I didn't think the apple was quite strong enough.  Next time I'd probably add some apple sauce or diced apple or something - it would both add moisture and flavor.

Here is how I made them today -

Ingredients

• 1 cup high quality apple cider (or 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (original had 4 Tablespoons butter flavored Crisco but I didn't have any)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup splenda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup white bean flour (or another 1/4 cup white flour)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• glaze or cinnamon/sugar if desired.

Directions

Had to add a picture of how easy these were to make in the
doughnut maker.  

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring apple cider to a boil.  Continue to cook over high heat for 7-10 minutes or until it's reduced to 1/4 cup (I actually did 3 cups and reduced it to 3/4 cup and it took probably closer to 20.  I had to come back and finish later because I was going to make the dough the day before and refrigerate like the original.  I didn't.  I just  made the reduced apple cider and stored it in the fridge.)  If not making this the day before, remove from heat and allow to cool. \
2. While the cider is reducing (or cooling for that matter - or the next day like I did.) Combine oil, butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on high for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy (using coconut oil, I did have to scrape down the sides a bit -original had 1/4 cup butter flavor crisco but I didn't have any)  Add eggs one at a time, beating completely after each addition.
3. Add reduced cider and buttermilk and beat until combined
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Add flour mixture to the liquid and mix just until blended.  This dough turns out about the consistency of cookie dough.  Super nice for scooping onto my doughnut maker.
5. If you are baking them, scoop dough onto the doughnut maker and let it do it's job.  So simple.  If you want to dip them in cinnamon and sugar you will have to give them a spritz of spray butter or dunk them in melted butter or something to get the sugar to stick.  Or you can make a simple glaze.  My favorite was a simple powdered sugar, cinnamon and milk glaze that I had made.  OBB had you make a pumpkin pie spice sugar, but that was actually my least favorite of the ways I ate these.  I liked glaze, cinnamon sugar, and plain better.  :)

To fry these, go check out the instructions on our best bites.  You have to refrigerate the dough, then roll it out and cut it out, and fry it.