These homemade cranberry apple cider donuts are the perfect breakfast to wake up to during the Holidays!! It’s sweet, slightly tart, and tastes like what I would imagine sugar plum fairies eat! There are many uses for the jam, but I’ll save that for another post.

Doughnuts can seem like a lot of work, but in all honesty, it’s mostly waiting. Which between you and I, can be torture! Who likes waiting?! But believe me, it’s worth it and makes sinking your teeth into the doughnuts that much more satisfying. There is a little secret though, you can make the dough the night before and get a little more shut eye in the morning. All you have to do is: the night before make the dough, let the dough rise the first time, roll out the dough & cut the doughnut shapes, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet and store in the fridge covered with plastic wrap. The next morning take the baking sheet out of the refrigerator and let the dough rise, covered with a slightly damp tea towel. Once they come to room temperature and puff up, about an hour or so depending on how warm your house is, they are ready to fry!

I keep putting these doughnuts in the breakfast food category, but they are also great for dessert, snacks, etc. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Yeast Doughnut Dough:

1/3 cup warm water at 105 – 110 degrees F
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
1/3 cup warm whole milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tbsp sugar
1 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for flouring surface
Oil for frying, I like to use sunflower oil, but any neutral flavored oil is fine

Cranberry apple cider jam:

2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar (add more to taste, depending on how tart the cranberries are)
Dash of salt
5 tbsp apple cider spread (I used one from Trader Joe’s)

Instructions

Yeast Doughnuts:

In a sauce pan warm up milk and place butter in the milk. Once butter is melted, remove from heat and let sit until luke warm
Warm water to 110 degrees F * and add in yeast. Set aside and allow yeast to bloom until slightly bubbly, around 5 to 10 minutes
In a stand mixer bowl add the yeast and luke warm milk mixture. Gently stir to ensure the ingredients are mixed together
Add the sugar, egg, salt and half of the flour to the mixture. With a paddle attachment on your stand mixer, slowly mix the flour in, increasing the speed to medium and continuing until all the flour is incorporated
Turn the stand mixer off and switch out the paddle attachment to the dough hook, turn back on to low speed, and slowly add in the remaining flour
When the flour is incorporated, continue to knead the dough in your stand mixer for another 3-5 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the bowl and has a smooth texture
Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl, cover with a slightly damp tea towel and let rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. This time could be longer or shorter depending on the temperature inside your home
Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick on a well floured surface. Cut out the dough with a biscuit cutter, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, and cover with your slightly damp tea towel. Let rest for another 30 minutes until your dough is slightly puffed up
Preheat the oil in a heavy bottom Dutch oven to 350 degrees F. You do not need a ton of oil, about 3 inches from the bottom of the pan is plenty
Slowly place the doughnuts into the oil, only placing 2 to 3 at a time, 4 if its a larger dutch oven. You do not want to overcrowd the pot, as it will make your oil temperature drop too much
Cook for 1 minute per side, or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack that is over a parchment paper lined baking pan, so that you don’t have a lot of oil on your pan. The parchment paper makes for an easier clean up
Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes
In a piping bag, fill your cranberry apple cider jam (recipe below)
Create a small hole in one side, I like to use a straw or butter knife to cut a little slit
Gently pipe the cranberry apple cider jam into the slit until full, you will see the middle of the doughnut extend and jam will start to come out slightly from the slit
Roll them in fine sugar or a simple powdered sugar glaze

Cranberry Apple cider jam:

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil
Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and thickened
Strain the jam to remove skin and seeds
Let cool and place into a piping bag
Take a knife and cut a small slit in side of donuts and pipe jam into the donut *It is import to have the water at the right temperature. Yeast is a living organism and if you have the water to hot (higher than 115 degrees F) it can kill the yeast. However, on the flip side, if the water is below 95 degrees F, the yeast may not bloom! Make sure to get an instant read on your temperature to ensure a successful rise.