Sarah E. Daniels, a wine buyer and former pastry chef who lives in New York’s Hudson Valley, loves apple cider donuts. Not only are they “dang delicious,” but they also “offer quintessential fall flavor in a convenient, warm, comforting little package,” she says.
Daniels isn’t alone. Apple cider donuts are an autumnal institution, especially in the northeastern and northwestern United States, where annual apple harvests signify the start of fall.
How sought after are these donuts? Searches for “apple cider donuts” peak every September-October, according to Google Trends data, with the highest concentration of searchers in Vermont and New Hampshire. In 2020, Mainer Alex Schwartz launched an interactive map to find the region’s best iterations; his Instagram account, @ciderdonuteur, currently has more than 10,000 followers. That same year, New Hampshire residents voted humble apple cider their favorite donut, beating out chocolate-frosted, glazed, and Cronuts.
There’s a vast array of options available at specialty bakeries, donut shops, and farmstands nationwide. Apple cider donuts, with their earthy palette and craggy exteriors, are unassuming allstars. Why, then, are they so enduringly popular?
Derek Grout, who manages his family’s Golden Harvest Farms in upstate New York farm, thinks the simplicity of apple cider donuts is part of their appeal. “Let’s face it, there’s only a few ingredients,” he says. Without swoops of decorative frosting or cream filling to mask any missteps, an apple cider donut’s success relies on its baker’s fastidiousness. “It can’t be greasy, it can’t be cakey, it can’t be dry. It can’t be overcooked, it can’t be undercooked. There are so many details.”
At their most essential, apple cider donuts are cake donuts with some form of cider in their batter for moisture and flavor. Specifics vary. There are fried or baked apple cider donut recipes, and they can be dusted with cinnamon sugar or unadorned. You can make vegan apple cider donuts, or enrich yours with buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, or eggs. The common denominator is, of course, the sweet tang of apple cider.
