Winter has me craving mulled wine most of the time, but hot apple cider usually does the trick for me when I’m back in the states and where mulled wine isn’t a usual winter drink, unfortunately.

These doughnuts are “healthy” in the sense that they’re not fried and have some sneaky wheat flour in them. They totally look like something that will potentially clog your arteries if you ate a whole one, but looks can be deceiving. You can go all out on apple cider and eat this with a cup of apple cider, or these would also go wonderfully with a basic Starbucks’ pumpkin spiced latte. Is that too many spices? Eh, it’s nearly Christmas, it’s reasonable.

ingredients:

– 3 TBSP butter
– 1/3 cup + 2 TBSP apple cider
– 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
– 1/2 cup regular flour
– 1 TSP baking powder
– pinch of salt
– 1/4 TSP ground cinnamon
– 1/8 TSP ground nutmeg
– 1/4 cup sugar
– 2TBSP honey
– 1 egg

– 3 TBSP butter
– 1/4 cup apple cider
– 1/3 cup fine sugar**
– 1 1/2 TSP ground cinnamon

** take your regular sugar and quickly pulse it in a food processor until it’s fine, but not powdery. **

the way:

– preheat the oven to 400 degrees
– in a saucepan, melt the butter. Then stir in the cider and set aside to cool.
– in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined. Set aside.
– whisk in sugar, honey, and egg into the cooled butter until combined.
– stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
– grab your doughnut pan and grease the holes.
– pour the batter into each doughnut hole. You want to fill about 1/3 way up.
– bake the doughnuts for 7 minutes, and then allow to cool before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
– for the topping, melt the butter and stir in the cider.
– in another bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar.
– once the doughnuts are cooled down, take each one and dip it into the butter mixture and then coat it in the cinnamon sugar.
– place back on the cooling rack and begin your consumption! They’re best when they’re slightly warmed.