To prepare the doughnuts, start by adding cider, 1/4 cup of butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt to a sauce pan. Heat until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile in a small bowl or cup add your yeast and 2 tbs of water together. Mix together and allow to sit until foamy.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, using the dough hook, mix 1 cup of flour, apple pie spice, 1 egg, your cider mixture and your yeast together. Slowly pour in remaining flour until dough comes together and is only slightly sticky. I used between 2-3 cups total. Turn mixer on to high and "knead" for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Roll dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise. When the dough has doubled in size (about one hour) pour out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out using a rolling pin or use your hands to flatten the dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Using a floured biscuit cutter, cut circles out and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet to rise until doubled in size again.
Any scraps of dough left after you are done cutting can be fried up as is, rolled into balls. Also set aside to rise.
Heat cooking oil to 375°F degrees.
Drop doughnuts in the oil no more than 3 at a time. Fry for 3 minutes flipping half way through. Remove from oil when they are golden brown. Place onto paper towels to drain access grease.
Immediately toss in cinnamon and sugar.
Caramel sauce:
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan on medium/high heat add sugar and heat/ whisk until the sugar has melted and becomes an amber brown color. Remove from heat and slowly stir the butter until melted.
Return to heat and cook until it reaches about 325-350 degrees (I highly recommend using a candy thermometer!)
Once it reaches the desired temperature remove from heat and slowly stir in your cream, mix until smooth. Stir in cinnamon and allow to cool to room temperature.
To fill doughnuts using a sharp knife cut a small hole though the side of the doughnut, careful not to pierce it all the way through.
Add caramel to a piping bag with a medium sized tip (I use anything I have on hand) Pipe/fill each doughnut.
Serve immediately. Recipe yields about 12-15 large doughnuts.
Notes
Recipe yields roughly 12-15 large doughnuts.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most accurate data, use your preferred nutrition calculator with the actual ingredients you used to make this recipe.
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