September 1, 2021 Dell Cove Spices & More

Apple Cider Popcorn Doughnuts

Name: Apple Cider Popcorn Doughnuts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; ½ cup granulated sugar; ¼ cup light brown sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp salt; 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; ½ cup apple cider; ½ cup milk, at room temperature; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 egg; 4 tsp unsalted butter, melted; ½ cup granulated sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp Dell Cove® Salted Caramel Popcorn Seasoning.; 1 Cup popped Dell Cove Movie Night popcorn kernels; 1 tbsp Dell Cove® Salted Caramel Popcorn Seasoning.

Is it even autumn if you don’t have apple cider doughnuts? Not really, if you ask us. Apple picking is an annual ritual and it’s hard to find an orchard or farm stand in the fall that’s not frying up batches of fresh hot apple cider doughnuts. You can smell them as you pull up to park or grab your bag for picking. And that aroma pulls you in, whether you intended to eat any or not. And really, why wouldn’t you? They’re one of the joys of the fall season.

Can you use apple juice instead of apple cider in this recipe and what the heck is the difference between the two, anyway? Apple cider is basically the unfiltered version of apple juice. The cider uses apples that are ground into a mash, almost like applesauce. All that pulp matter is removed during the filtration process that turns it into juice. Because juice is then pasteurized, it also tends to have a longer shelf life. Cider contains more fiber and also has a “stronger” flavor. So, that was the long answer and the short answer is that, yes, you can use juice but it will have a slightly milder flavor. Some apple cider doughnut recipes call for taking a couple of cups of cider, bringing them to a boil and reducing them down to the half cup needed for an even more concentrated flavor. We’ve left that step out but feel free to do it if you want more of a flavor punch.

You can also find pre-packaged cider doughnuts in farmer’s markets and supermarkets during the autumn months. But nothing beats fresh and hot. So, if there’s no apple picking weekend planned, we’ll just have to make them ourselves. Oh, you’re not so big on frying doughnuts at home? We’ve got you. Our recipe is for baked doughnuts but you won’t miss the frying because we finish them with melted butter and cinnamon sugar and our very own Dell Cove® Salted Caramel Seasoning.

Probably the only thing missing from ordinary doughnuts is a bit of crunch but we’ve taken care of that as well because we top ours with popcorn. So we’ve got the aroma of apple cider and buttery popcorn. Can you smell them?