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Best Easy Honeycrisp Apple Cider Donut Muffins

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These Honeycrisp Apple Cider Donut Muffins recreate the magic of farm stand apple cider donuts with a crackly cinnamon-sugar coating, moist cake-like crumb, and intense apple flavor—all made in under 30 minutes without deep frying.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ cups fresh apple cider
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely diced Honeycrisp apple (about 1 medium apple, peeled and cored)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar (for coating)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon (for coating)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (for coating)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Position the rack in the center. Line your muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well.
  2. Reduce the apple cider: Pour the 1½ cups of apple cider into a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until reduced to about ⅓ cup, roughly 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
  4. Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and the cooled reduced cider.
  5. Combine wet and dry: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
  6. Fold in the diced apples: Gently fold the diced Honeycrisp apple into the batter until evenly distributed.
  7. Fill the muffin cups: Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
  8. Bake: Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  9. Prepare the coating: While the muffins bake, mix the ½ cup sugar and 1½ teaspoons cinnamon together in a small shallow bowl. Melt the ¼ cup butter in another small bowl.
  10. Coat the muffins: Let the muffins cool in the pan for exactly 2 minutes. Remove them from the pan. Working one at a time, brush each muffin all over with melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated. Place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Don’t skip reducing the apple cider—it concentrates the flavor and prevents soggy muffins. For best results, use room temperature eggs and measure flour by spooning and leveling. Let muffins cool exactly 2 minutes before coating for optimal butter absorption and sugar adhesion.

Nutrition

Keywords: apple cider donut muffins, honeycrisp apple muffins, fall muffins, cinnamon sugar muffins, easy muffin recipe

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