I have such fond memories of picking apples in Maine in the fall. The crunch of dry multi-colored leaves that shed like snowflakes. People from all over Maine gather at apple orchards to pack fresh fruits into bags to make apple pies and crumbles. Hay barrels and pumpkin patches, warming your hands with a hot cup of apple cider. The best part for me is the hot apple cider donuts that come out of the farm kitchens. They’re crispy on the outside with a crunchy sugar coating. The inside is a tender, spiced, apple-scented cake that melts in your mouth. I decided this week to make my favorite apple cider donuts into apple cider donut muffins. An easy and quick alternative to deep-frying. 

Apple Cider Donuts

I love summer in Maine, but after surviving the most humid, hot, and busy summers of bussing tables and selling shoes as a teenager, I always craved autumn. The ability to wear heavier clothes and comfortable sweaters and hoodies. Tea and hot curries for dinner. I’m in the minority that enjoys it getting dark earlier. Something about it comforts me, like at night we all have to stop working so hard and relax. Last year I went to Italy in early September until mid November. So, I’m so happy to experience fall in Maine this year. There are pumpkins everywhere. People have decorated their lawns with kitschy skeletons and blow-up ghosts. And my favorite produce stand is loaded with pumpkins, squash, and apples. 

This week I was deep in ideating fall recipes. I wanted something that reminded me of apple cider donuts. The most buttery, warm, fresh, and spiced donut recipe that pairs beautifully with hot apple cider. I made my way to the farm stand and perused pumpkins. I picked out honey crisp apples and bought a half gallon of fresh, local apple cider. The gold-amber colored liquid sat on my passenger seat as I drove home. Then, I unpacked my loot and popped the cap off the bottle. I smelled the familiar scent of apples, with a twinge of earthiness. It felt like I was standing in an orchard. 

Reducing Apple Cider

I started my recipe by doing a little bit of research into apple cider donuts. Most are made by reducing down apple cider into an almost-syrup. Not thick and gloopy like caramel, but cooked down until it reduces by half to concentrate the apple flavor. So, I spent the morning eating a chocolate croissant and cooking apple cider on my stove, stirring occasionally. The house filled with the most amazing apple scent, and I sprinkled in a little cinnamon for flavor. After nearly 30 minutes and dancing my liquid back and forth from the pot to a pyrex dish, it reduced by half. 

I let it cool while I measured my other ingredients. I wanted the recipe to take on that flavor and texture of traditional apple cider donuts. But I decided to make apple cider donut muffins so I didn’t have to fry anything. I greased my muffin tin with butter to crisp and flavor the edges. And I prepared brown butter and cinnamon sugar for the outer coating. When my apple cider donut muffins batter was ready, I spooned it sloppily into my muffin tins. I generously filled each compartment, hoping my muffins would form dramatic high peaks. The batter is filled with apple cider, butter, spices, and sugar, so I tasted plenty of it raw off the spatula after they went into the oven. 

Preparing to Travel

While they baked, I did a little cleaning and sat outside. In front of the rusty orange leaves on trees far older than me. I’m getting ready this week to go to Portugal. Which I’m so excited about. It’s a place that I’ve felt very called to for a while. Probably because it’s on the ocean, like Maine, and features plenty of seafood in the cuisine. We’re staying in Porto for over a month, and I’m planning to soak up as much culture and food as I possibly can.

Last year going to Italy was incredible, and I really fell in love with the way of life in Europe. Sleeping in or grabbing a cappuccino early. Not rushing through the day. Taking a long lunch break (siesta) of pasta or pizza or panini after walking nearly 20,000 steps. We walked until exhaustion most days, taking in the most amazing architecture and art, exploring local shops and cafes, and trying new foods.

We cooked dinner or ate at a trattoria with wine and bread. Then, we would walk all night with a bottle of wine through cobblestone streets. It felt endless. Filled with pure wonder, magic, freedom, and exploration. We would hang out at a bar and talk about life, or traverse back alleys where drunk people peed on sidewalks at 2 am. We ate pizza at 3 in the morning and listened to drunk caroling from our windows as we fell asleep. 

A New Adventure

I’ve missed that way of life a lot, caught back up in the monotony of American hustle culture. It feels like no one ever has enough money, or time, or relaxation here. It’s normal to just resent your lifestyle, or your job, and that’s what I’ve witnessed from most of the people around me. Most people have chosen complacency or security. Many of them had no choice, and did it to protect themselves and others. I respect it. And I am extremely privileged and grateful to have the opportunity to make a better, freer life for myself. I’m still full of self-doubt. But I know that if my life is filled with good food and good people, new places and foods, I’ll be happy.

So we’re scouting in Portugal for future art and food retreats. But it’s going to be mostly a fun, adventurous, and new experience. I can’t wait to find that magic and freedom again, which my body and mind seem to love. Walking around all night with nowhere to be. Trying new foods and meeting locals who don’t speak your language. Taking photos of breathtaking bridges and buildings. Drinking wine and talking for hours and relaxing. Really relaxing. 

Brown Butter Apple Cider Donut Muffins

But I’m packing and preparing and overthinking as I prepare to leave. I’m not a fan of flying. Long travel days. So I am feeling a little stressed. Scared of change. Felling guilty about leaving my family. But I know that all of my joy and happiness is on the other side of fear and uncomfortable change. I recently spoke to someone who told me turtles have to stick their necks out of their shells in order to move. So, there’s no way to achieve the things you want in life without sticking your neck out. 

All of these thoughts wrapped up in a bow when the timer dinged. The cinnamon smell fully slithered into each corner of the house. The apple cider donut muffins peeked out of the pan with glorious, tall crowns of golden brown. I waited for them to cool for a few minutes, then clawed each of them carefully and hot-potatoed them onto my cutting board. I brushed each of my apple cider donut muffins in brown butter. Then, I tossed them in a bowl of cinnamon sugar. Placing each onto my favorite blue speckled display tray. I sat proudly in front of the TV while catching up on my favorite cooking competitions white enjoying my apple cider donut muffins. 

Fall in Europe

The cinnamon sugar coated my fingertips as I chewed bites of tender, warm, spiced cake. I could taste the apple in the background. The reduced apple cider provides a unique, acidic undertone to the rich, buttery and spiced crumb. The cinnamon sugar gives a delightful crunch. It reminded me so much of a warm bag of apple cider donuts after apple picking in Maine. Except these are easy to prepare and pack just as much flavor and texture. I ate a couple within the first day of making them, and love splitting them in half and grilling them for breakfast. Add a pat of butter for extra gluttony. 

I’ve got to go enjoy my last Sunday before heading to Portugal tomorrow. I have a nervous-excited potion brewing in my stomach that is uncomfortable and exhilarating. As I get older I’m learning to have less fear. Care less about the little things. And to pursue my heart’s desires. Right now I need to reunite with that version of me that is free. Adventurous. Confident. Spontaneous. In love with life and new places. The student and explorer inside of me. I want to nourish my creativity and independence and see who I can become when I remove all that is familiar. There is something so intoxicating about packing your favorite things into a box and hopping on a plane to a new world. Not having a plan, but coming home with plenty of stories.

I plan to post plenty of stories, foods, and experiences from Portugal and can’t wait to settle in. For now I can’t wait to finish packing. Thanks as always for reading! If you like my recipes and paintings, be sure to check out Etsy for 100+ art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. 

Print Pin

Apple Cider Donut Muffins

An apple cider donut batter baked in a muffin pan, coated in cinnamon sugar and brown butter

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple cider, apple cider donuts, chocolate donuts, donut muffins

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 2 cups apple cider reduced to 1 cup
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 3/4 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp clove
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp brown butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease two muffin tins with butter.
• Start by reducing apple cider down. Cook 2 cups over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to 1 cup. Reserve 1/4 cup of reduced liquid for muffin coating.
• Once reduced, take apple cider off heat and add butter and vanilla. Mix as it melts.
• In a stand mixer, whip eggs with sugars for 5-10 minutes on high until light and fluffy. Slowly stream in oil, being careful not to deflate eggs.
• Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove into a large bowl.
• Alternate adding your dry ingredients and your apple cider / butter mixture to your whipped egg mixture, incorporating with a spatula to avoid over-mixing. Stop once your batter comes together and has no streaks of flour.
• Scoop batter evenly into your muffin tins, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 of each cup. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops spring back.
• Let muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan. Then, carefully remove and let cool slightly.
• In a saucepan, heat 4 tbsp butter until browned and remove from heat. Add your reserved 1/4 cup of apple cider.
• In a large bowl, combine your 3/4 cup white sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon.
• One at a time, brush your donut muffins with browned butter and apple cider mixture. Then, roll in your cinnamon sugar mixture, coating evenly.
• Serve warm, with hot apple cider.

Notes

• You can also make this batter in a donut pan. Reduce cook time by 5-10 minutes total.
• Feel free to adjust level of fall spices to meet your preferences! Don’t be afraid to go heavy on the cinnamon. 
• When reducing apple cider, measure into a pyrex cup to test how much it’s reduced. The cider will also leave a mark on your pan at the top level.