Super easy and the perfect breakfast, these Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts have applesauce, spices and are covered in a cinnamon sugar topping.

Finished Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts on wire rack topped with cinnamon sugar.

I love a good breakfast, especially now that apple season is here. I really cannot resist anything apple flavored.

These Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts are super easy and quick to whip up. Not only making them great for breakfast, but dessert or a snack as well.

The good thing about these Apple Donuts is that they contain applesauce to give them the apple flavor, so you can enjoy them anytime that you’d like.

These really do have the perfect balance of flavors with the spices in the batter and the cinnamon sugar topping, everything just works so well with one another.

When it comes to mornings, you really cannot go wrong with these Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts, there will be none left at your table!

Some of my other favorite breakfast recipes that we have on our site include: Pancake Muffins, Chocolate Chip Scones and Baked Donut Holes.

Overhead of finished Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts on wire rack with the cinnamon sugar topping.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

Readily available ingredients help these come together in no time.
You can easily double this recipe to serve more people or have on hand for later.
The cinnamon sugar topping really adds the best touch to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):

Brown sugar
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Applesauce
Butter or coconut oil, melted
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Egg
Heavy cream

Ingredients needed to make Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts.

HOW TO MAKE BAKED CINNAMON APPLE DONUTS, STEP BY STEP:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray donut pans or silicone molds with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
Place the brown sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg in a deep bowl. Add applesauce and pour in melted butter (or coconut oil). Mix thoroughly.
Mix together the flour and baking powder, add to the bowl with the brown sugar, unsalted butter, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
Next, add the egg and the heavy cream.
Mix everything with a whisk or electric hand mixer until you get a thick batter.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag and cut the tip off.
Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pans/molds, place in the oven and bake at for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the donuts cool slightly then transfer them to a wire rack.
For the coating, melt the butter in a small bowl and dip the top of the donuts one at a time until it is all covered.
In another small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Gently dip and roll the top of the donut in cinnamon sugar, shake off excess sugar.
Serve warm or cooled.

Step by step photos on how to make Baking Cinnamon Apple Donuts.

WHAT KIND OF APPLESAUCE SHOULD I USE?

This is a personal preference that I like to leave up to people, you can use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce for this recipe.

It really all comes down to how much of the apple punch and sweetness that you want in these.

We usually use unsweetened for our donuts, but ultimately you can decide on the flavor that you love the most.

CAN I DO ANOTHER TOPPING?

Of course, if you do not like the cinnamon sugar topping you can also do a powdered sugar glaze, a cinnamon powdered sugar glaze, a caramel topping, plain powdered sugar and more.

Just do what you think would taste amazing with these, we really think that the cinnamon sugar topping works wonderful with this recipe.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE BATTER INTO THE PANS?

I have ALWAYS used a piping bag to get my batter into the donut pans. It makes it so simple and you get the right amount.

If you do not have a piping bag you can easily just spoon some into your pans and it will work the same.

DO I HAVE TO USE HEAVY CREAM?

I feel like the heavy cream makes these a little richer, but milk will also work for this recipe if you do not have heavy cream or if you do not want to use it.

Close up stacked donuts with cinnamon sugar topping with top one split in half showing the fluffy inside.

HOW TO STORE:

These can be stored in an airtight container on the countertop where they will keep for up to 2-3 days.

To freeze, wrap each donut individually in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag or container where they will keep for up to 3 months.

To defrost, remove to countertop until thawed. You can warm them up in the microwave if you’d like.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

You can use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce for this recipe, we used unsweetened.
You can use donut pans or donut molds for these, whatever you got on hand.
Other toppings can be used, see above for ideas – but I highly recommend the cinnamon sugar topping.
You can coat the whole donut, you will just want to double the coating and butter ingredients.
Easily double this recipe to serve more people.
These are great served warm or cooled.
These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.

Overhead of finished donuts on a wire rack stacked with top one broken in half with a cinnamon sugar topping.

Looking for that perfect fall breakfast pick me up? Then you have to make these Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts.

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If you’ve tried these BAKED CINNAMON APPLE DONUTS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

Baked Cinnamon Apple Donuts