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    Home / Breakfast and Brunch Recipes / Giant Apple Cider Donut Holes - aka Donut Balls

    Oct 29, 2015 · Last Updated: Oct 31, 2021

    Giant Apple Cider Donut Holes - aka Donut Balls

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

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    It's like a donut hole, but giant! Meet the Apple Cider Donut Ball. These cake-like donuts are incredibly soft and tender, and much easier and quicker to make than regular donuts. The secret? Use a cookie scoop to quickly form the donut balls.

    Apple Cider Donut Balls for a festive fall treat - like a giant donut hole! | The Worktop

    Apple Cider Donut Balls! What are donut balls, you might ask? Donut balls are the giant cousins of donut holes, and just as amazing. You get 360° of the crispy fried bits, and an incredibly soft center. These Apple Cider Donut Balls are cake-like donuts, and since they are bigger than donut holes, you get much more of the fluffy cake-like inside with each donut ball.

    Apple Cider Donut Balls for a festive fall treat - like a giant donut hole! | The Worktop

    You wouldn't be able to eat these in one bite (unless you're my husband), so I wouldn't recommend trying. These apple cider donut balls are so tender that they might even break when you bite into it, leaving cinnamon sugar all over your face and fingers. Enjoy every moment of it, and don't be shy to smack your lips and lick your fingers after each bite.

    Apple Cider Donut Balls for a festive fall treat - like a giant donut hole! | The Worktop

    These apple cider donut balls came as a bit of a surprise to me. I was about to roll out the dough to cut out actual donuts, when I like to think a stroke of genius hit me (or to be perfectly honest, laziness). I picked up my cookie scoop, and *tada*! Initially, my plan was for donut holes, but my cookie-scoop (which holds 2 tablespoons) ended up forming giant donut holes. The dough puffed up so much once I dropped it in the oil to fry, so here we are with the newly invented donut balls.

    Apple Cider Donut Balls for a festive fall treat - like a giant donut hole! | The Worktop

    Using a cookie scoop means that the dough doesn't need to be rolled out, which is a good thing for keeping these donut balls soft and tender. To keep a light cake-like texture, you need weak gluten strands. Gluten strands are developed by stirring, mixing, kneading and otherwise handling the dough, such as rolling it out. By eliminating the need to roll out the dough, we're making sure that the dough isn't over handled, and the gluten strands won't be overdeveloped. You end up with a melt-in-your-mouth donut. So not only are they quicker and easier to make than actual donuts, but they're also incredibly moist, soft and tender. Yum.

    Apple Cider Donut Balls for a festive fall treat - like a giant donut hole! | The Worktop

    Apple Cider Donut Balls

    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Serves: 16 donut balls
    Prep: 30 mins
    Cook: 30 mins
    Total: 1 hr

    Ingredients

    Apple cider syrup

    • 1 ¾ cups apple cider

    Cinnamon sugar

    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
    • 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

    Apple cider donut balls

    • 3 ½-4 cups all-purpose flour - plus extra as needed
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 5 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 2 large eggs - room temperature
    • ½ cup buttermilk
    • reduced apple cider syrup (see above)
    • 1 tablespoon quality vanilla extract
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    Make the apple cider syrup

    • In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, gently reduce the apple cider to about ¼ cup (4 tablespoons), about 30-40 minutes. Set aside to cool.

    Make the cinnamon sugar

    • Combine the sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

    Make the apple cider donut balls

    • In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
    • Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed, about 2 minute. Add in the buttermilk, apple cider syrup and vanilla and beat on low speed until well mixed, about 2 minutes.
    • Continue beating on low speed, and add in the flour mixture in 3 additions. Beat until the dough comes together. If you lightly poke the dough, the dough should hold an indent, but it will be sticky. If it is too sticky to handle, add more flour about 2 tablespoons at a time.
    • Place the bowl in the freezer until the dough stiffens, about 20 minutes.
    • In a deep fryer, heat the oil to 350°F/180°C. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, make as many donut balls as you can fit in your deep fryer (I made 4 at a time), and set them on a small piece of parchment paper. Using your fingers, smooth out any rough edges of the dough.
    • Carefully add the donut balls to the oil, and fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Turn the donut balls over and fry until the other side is golden, about 1 minute. You may need to use a spatula to hold down the donut balls in the oil to get an even browning since they tend to bounce around and rotate on their own. Once the donuts are fried, transfer them to a paper towel and drain. Allow to cool slightly.
    • In the meantime, prepare and put the next batch of donuts into the fryer.
    • As the next batch is in the deep fryer, toss the fried donuts in the bowl of cinnamon sugar and serve immediately.
    • Repeat with remaining dough.

    Notes

    Recipe adapted from Yankee Magazine.
    Course: Breads and Muffins, Donuts
    Author: The Worktop
    Cal : 284kcal
    Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
    Love this?I would appreciate a star review! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using #theworktop and tagging me @theworktop.
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    By Tina Jui
    Filed Under: Breads and Muffins, Breakfast and Brunch Recipes, Fall Breakfast Recipes, Kid Friendly, VegetarianTags: Apple Breakfast Recipes, cinnamon, deep fried, donuts

    About Tina Jui

    A breakfast lover and food blogger. Tina develops everyday breakfast recipes on The Worktop, and writes about all things related to breakfast and brunch. Read more about Tina Jui or drop an email to say hi.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jen says

      September 20, 2020 at 7:07 pm

      5 stars
      These are fantastic! I made them with a few allergy adjustments.

      I increased the baking powder by 1/2tsp, melt brand butter sticks, 1/2c applesauce, namaste gluten free flour, full fat oat milk with 1tbs vinegar for buttermilk. I also let the batter rest for an hour then refrigerated overnight.

      Reply
    2. Marian says

      June 03, 2016 at 9:57 pm

      Hmm, since I'm from 'The Other Side of the Pond' originally, I'm curious about the type of apple cider you used for this recipe. I can only find the 'hard' stuff here, which is disappointing as I loved the 'soft cider' from back home. It does make me laugh though...we live in the middle of a farm that grows cider apples for a major maker of strong cider. And, we have 2 cider apple trees in our garden!

      Reply
      • Tina Jui says

        June 26, 2016 at 10:32 pm

        Hi Marian - How beautiful to have 2 apple trees in your garden! In the US, apple cider is generally apple juice that hasn't been filtered to remove all the apple sediments and hasn't been pasteurized. You can find pressed apple juice here in the UK to use.

        Reply
    3. Alyssa @ My Sequined Life says

      October 31, 2015 at 3:38 am

      Tina this is such a great idea!! I'm powerless against apple cider donuts but I haven't yet made them at home. Now's my opportunity I think! What a smart move to use a cookie scoop!

      Reply
    4. Catherine says

      October 30, 2015 at 10:33 am

      Dear Tina, these apple cider donut holes look wonderful. I would love a couple with my coffee this morning. A perfect fall treat. xo, Catherine

      Reply
    5. Sofie says

      October 30, 2015 at 10:23 am

      Sounds super delicious!
      xx, Sofie

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Tina and a lover of breakfast! The Worktop is where I share my everyday breakfast recipes. You can find lots of breakfasts and brunch ideas on my site. Many of the recipes are easy to make and healthy, but of course, you'll also find big brunch indulgences.

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