Apple Cider Donuts Filled With Apple Filling and Apple Glaze

As fall approaches apple cider donuts (or is it doughnut) seem to be all the rage (and I personally believe apple always beats pumpkin spice) and they make a great Rosh Hashana dessert. One of the major complaints I have about your average apple cider donut is they don’t really taste like apples. I wanted to find a way to infuse as much apple flavor into the recipe.  I decided to go with an apple glazed apple filled yeast donut made with apple cider instead of the more traditional cake donut usually used for apple cider donuts.

Don’t forget to check out some of our  other Rosh Hashanah recipes:

Spaghetti Squash Apple Date Kugel

Slow Braised Brisket With Apples For Rosh Hashanah

Braised Short Ribs with Apples and Pomegranate Honey Glaze

0 from 0 votes
Apple Cider Doughnuts
Apple Glazed and Apple Filled Apple Cider Donuts
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Rise Times
4 hrs
 

A fall classic that is perfect for Rosh Hashanah

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Fall, Holiday, Jewish, Kosher, Rosh Hashanah
Keyword: Apple, Apple Cider, Apple Cider Donut, Apple Cider Doughnut, Donut, Doughnut, Fall, Holiday, kosher, rosh hashanah
Servings: 12 Donuts
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Apple Filling
  • 2.5 Cups Apple Cider Divided
  • 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
  • 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 6 Large Apples Peeled, cored, and diced small
  • 2 Cups Apple Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Apple Butter
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Pinch Kosher Salt
Apple Glaze
  • 8 Cups Apple Cider
  • 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/4 Cup Apple Butter
Apple Cider Donuts
  • 1-1/2 Cups Apple Cider Divided
  • 1 Envelope Instant Yeast
  • 1/4 Cup Shortening Melted and cooled
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 Pinch Kosher Salt
  • 24 Ounces All Purpose Flour About 5 cups
  • Vegetable or Canola Oil for Frying
  • Apple Glaze See recipe above
  • Apple Filling See recipe above
Instructions
Apple Cider Donuts
  1. Pour 1/2 a cup of apple cider into a microwave bowl and heat in the microwave to about 100°F. Alternatively you could do this in a small pot on the stove. Add in the packet of yeast, stir to combine, and set aside.

  2. In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

  3. In the bowl of your mixer, add the 2 eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, the remaining 1 cup of apple cider and melted shortening and beat with the whisk attachment until lighter in color and volume doubles. Then slowly add the yeast and apple cider mixture.

  4. Switch to the paddle attachment on your mixer and add a ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated, then slowly add in the remaining dry ingredients until a dough forms. If the there are still dry pockets of flour add a little bit more apple cider.

  5. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size.

  6. Roll the dough into pieces slightly larger than a golf ball. You should get about 12 pieces. Place on parchment lined baking sheet dusted with flour and allow to rise until doubled in size.

  7. Place 3 inches of oil in your Dutch oven or pot, place over medium heat, and bring up to 350°F

  8. Fry your donuts until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Allow to cool.

  9. Using a large piping bag with a wide filling nozzle fill with the apple filling (see recipe below). Sometime it help to use the handle of a large wooden mixing spoon to create a pocket first.

  10. Dip the top of each donut in to the apple glaze (see recipe below) and top with a little more of the apple filling.

Apple Filling/Topping
  1. Pour two cups of the apple cider in a large sauce pot, reserving a 1/2 cup for later use.

  2. Add the apples, apple sauce, apple butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the pot and place on the stove over medium heat. Stir to combine.

  3. Continue stirring the apple mixture and once it begins to thicken, in a bowl combine the remaining 1/2 cup of apple cider and corn starch and stir to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the apple mixture to and continue to cook until until the filling starts to gel.

  4. Allow the filling to cool and and use to fill and top your donuts.

Apple Glaze
  1. Combine 8 cups apple cider, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in a medium sauce pan. Place over medium heat and reduce by ¾.

  2. Set the glaze aside to cool to room temperature and stir in the the apple butter. Alternatively make this in advance and store in the fridge and bring back to room temperature before using.

Blueberry Lemon Beignets and a Hanukkah Giveaway

beignetsI love donuts! Lately I have been trying to watch what what I eat, but I love donuts.  And what is Hanukkah (or is it Chanukah) without sufganiyot, the delicious filled donut treats? Jews traditionally eat lots of foods fried in oil on Hanukkah, to commemorate the small flask of oil that was found in the temple and lasted for eight days rather than just one. So I figured everything in moderation and settled on filled and iced beignets (pronounced Ben-yays).

Beignets are New Orleans’s answer to the donut hole (or for Dunkin Donuts fans, the Munchkin).  Beignets are usually just coated in powdered sugar but to make me feel a little better about myself I wanted to incorporate some fruit, so I could at least pretend it had some nutritional value.  The most common fruit flavor for filling Hanukkah sufganiyot is raspberry jam, but it I am not a huge fan and the seeds get stuck in my teeth. I really like the combination of lemon and blueberry (especially when you add some sugar). I find the tartness and sweetness balance each other out nicely. The blue and yellow also provide nice visual contrast, so your eyes and your stomach get a nice treat.

Beignets are great with your morning coffee or as midnight snack. Is there ever a wrong time for a donut? And because they are small, you can eat a handful and not feel too guilty.

Don’t forget to check out our Covid Kitchen Survival Kit giveaway at the end of the post. There are some fun tools and gadgets, and a tumbler autographed by a celebrity (scroll down to see who)!

Beignet Recipe

0 from 0 votes
beignets
Blueberry and Lemon Beignets
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Dough Chilling
2 hrs
 

A tasty New Orleans treat perfect for your Chanukah party

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Creole, French, Kosher, New Orleans
Keyword: Beignets, Chanuka , Chanukah, Chanukkah , Donut, Doughnut, Hannukah, Hanukah, kosher
Servings: 24 Beignets
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Beignets
  • 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup (Soy) Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast About 2 1/4 tsp
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 Cup Shortening Softened
  • 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
Blueberry Filling
  • 4 Cups Frozen Blueberries
  • 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 Cup Corn Starch
  • 1/4 Cup Cold Water
Lemon Icing
  • 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1.5 Cups Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Make the Beignet Dough
  1. Warm your (soy) milk in a pot or the microwave to about 110°F. It should be warm but not hot. Ideally use a thermometer. Pour the (soy) milk in to a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and add the yeast. Stir to combine. Allow the yeast to bloom until it stars to foam.

  2. Add the flour, salt, and the sugar to the bowl with the (soy) milk and yeast. Stir to combine.

  3. Ad the eggs and shortening. Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix until a smooth ball is formed. It will take a little while for the dough to come together, especially if you mix by hand. If the dough looks a little dry you can add a little more (soy) milk, but I would do this as a last resort. If you do add more (soy) milk, I would do it one teaspoon at a time.

  4. Once kneaded, allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to 24 hours.

Make Blueberry Filling
  1. In a small bowl combine the corn starch and water. Stir until there are no more dry pockets of corn starch. Set aside.

  2. Add the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a medium sized pot. Place over medium heat, stirring regularly until the sugar is dissolved and the blueberries burst.

  3. Add the cornstarch and water mixture to the blueberries and stir until the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.

Fry the Beignets
  1. Add enough oil to fill your pot or Dutch oven about halfway and place it oven medium heat.

  2. While the oil is heating, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 2 inch squares. A pizza cutter is a great tool for this.

  3. Once the oil reaches 350°F (use your thermometer), fry the beignets in small batches until golden brown, flipping them half way through to make sure they cook evenly on each side. This could be about 3 minutes on each side but be sure to stay next to them and monitor the cooking. Keep an eye on the beignets and the oil temperature as they can overcook easily. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Make Lemon Icing
  1. Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and slowly add the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, one at a time. Stir until the icing comes together as a thick, glossy liquid. Do not add all of the lemon juice at once as you may not need it all to achieve the desired consistency.

Fill and Ice the Beignets
  1. Load your piping bag with the blueberry filling. Push the piping bag ¾ the way in to the beignet. and carefully move the tip side to side to create a pocket. Slowly squeeze the piping bag to fill the beignet, retracting it as you go. Drizzle the beignets with the lemon icing and enjoy.

Giveaway

Giveaway

Don’t forget to enter our Covid kitchen survival kit giveaway below for all your cooking and cleaning needs to keep you sane and safe, including a tumbler autographed by Food Network Chef Robert Irvine. Just follow the instructions below to enter.

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Checkout some more of our Hanukkah recipes:

Boozy Eggnog Custard Filled Doughnuts

Potato Latke Waffles

Pulled Beef Filled Mini Doughnuts With a Trio of BBQ Dipping Sauces

Jalapeno Cheddar Cauliflower Latkes With Salsa Verde Sour Cream