These mini apple cider donut muffins are so simple, yet crazy delicious. They're everything you love about apple cider donuts, but instead are baked in a muffin pan for simplicity and ease.
These muffins still have that baked donut texture full of apple cider flavor and fall spices! Put your favorite fall sweater on and enjoy them with a warm cup of apple cider or coffee for the quintessential fall breakfast!
If you're on an apple cider kick, try my Old Fashioned Apple Cider Donuts and Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake.
For more muffin recipes, try Lemon Raspberry Muffins, Double Chocolate Tahini Muffins, Pistachio Muffins with Oat Streusel, and Small Batch Banana Carrot Muffins.
Jump to Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Use a high quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Fall Spices: I used a combination of ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
- Apple Cider: Get pre-reduced apple cider concentrate or make your own at home with fresh apple cider!
- Butter: I highly recommend using a European-style butter for best flavor and overall results.
- Oil: A touch of neutral oil adds a softness to these muffins that is unmatched.
- Brown Sugar: You can use light or brown sugar, whichever you have on hand will work.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll need granulated sugar for both the batter and the topping.
- Milk: I like to use whole milk for the best flavor and texture.
- Vanilla: Always use a high quality vanilla extract!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make these apple cider muffins! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
STEP 2: Cream sugars & butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugars and butter and cream together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
STEP 3: Finish the batter. Scrape down the bowl, then add in the oil, large eggs, and vanilla, and mix until fully combined. Add in half of the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Then, mix in the apple cider concentrate and milk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients.
STEP 4: Bake & coat. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, divide the batter between the cups in the prepared mini muffin tin. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan. Brush the cooled mini muffins with the butter, cider mixture then coat in cinnamon sugar.
Expert Baking Tips
- Bake at a high temperature for the first 5 minutes. This first initial blast of heat will force the muffins to rise up rapidly. After 5 minutes, turn the oven down and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
No one likes a flat muffin top. To get that high dome muffin top, bake the muffins at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes, then lower heat and bake until done. That 5 minutes blast of high heat will force the muffins to bake upward more rapidly, creating a domed top. Then, the temperature is lowered for the remaining time to bake the muffins all the way through. Additionally, baking them in every other muffin cavity allows for more even heat distribution, which results in more rise!
Store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other fall recipes you'll love
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📖 Recipe
Mini Apple Cider Donut Muffins
Ingredients
For the donut muffins:
- 270 g (2 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- 106 g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 86 g (6 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 50 g (¼ cup) neutral oil
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 g (½ cup) apple cider concentrate
- 75 g (⅓ cup) whole milk
For the coating:
- 28 g (2 tablespoon) unsalted butter, melted
- 35 g (1 ½ tablespoon) apple cider concentrate
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Brush softened butter in the cups of a mini muffin pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugars and butter and cream together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl, then add in the oil, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.
- Add in half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Then, mix in the apple cider concentrate and milk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, divide the batter between the cups in the prepared mini muffin pan.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan.
- While the muffins are baking, make the coatings. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and apple cider concentrate. In a separate bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon.
- Brush the cooled mini muffins with the butter, cider mixture then coat in cinnamon sugar.
Notes
- Bake at a high temperature for the first 5 minutes. This first initial blast of heat will force the muffins to rise up rapidly. After 5 minutes, turn the oven down and bake for another 15-18 minutes.
Erin says
LOL I made so many mistakes and it still turned out delicious. Was overall easy as well. Mistakes: Used baking soda instead of powder (typical!), forgot I didn't have vanilla, didn't have allspice or ginger so doubled the nutmeg instead cuz why not, added cardamom, I used apple juice concentrate instead of apple cider concentrate, was impatient with my butter temperature, forgot the cream (in my defense I don't see it in the ingredients list, just in the instructions), and made it in a cake pan instead of muffin tin. Sometimes you just gotta work with what you have when you're in the mood for fall baking! But overall this was a fun and fairly simple recipe and I will be making these yearly!
Sloane says
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Regarding "cream" in the instructions, it was meant as a verb not an ingredient but I totally see how that can be confusing!
Georgia says
These turned out great and the first to go on my muffin platter at church. I made some mini and some regular size.