These Baked Maple Glazed Apple Crisp Doughnuts are seriously the best doughnut ever! Soft, apple filled baked doughnuts topped with crunchy brown sugar streusel and a maple glaze drizzle. These are perfect for fall!
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I wish you could understand just how long I’ve been dreaming of making these doughnuts. Ever since I made my Baked Lemon Blueberry Doughnuts I’ve been dreaming up other flavors!
But I waited until fall, because I also had about 1,839 kinds of ice cream I wanted to make. Finally, I can share this incredible recipe.
You know how you feel when you bite into something and you’re not sure if you’ve ever had a more wonderful bite in your life? That was me during every single bite of these doughnuts.
Soft, fluffy doughnuts loaded with pieces of juicy apple, topped with crunchy brown sugar streusel, and a super sweet maple glaze? It doesn’t get better than that.
If you love everything apple crisp, you should check out these Maple-Glazed Apple Crisp Cookies, Maple Glazed Apple Crisp Cinnamon Buns, Apple Crisp Cheesecakes and Apple Crisp Blondies too!
Ingredients Needed:
- Granulated Sugar: doughnuts without sugar? I don’t think so!
- Unsalted Butter and Oil: a combination of oil and melted butter gives the doughnuts so much buttery flavor and a perfectly moist texture. Use canola or vegetable oil for the most neutral flavor.
- Eggs: helps the doughnuts hold their shape.
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor depth.
- Buttermilk: the acidity in buttermilk makes the doughnuts extra soft and tender.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: keeps the doughnuts light and fluffy.
- Cinnamon: adds a touch of sweet spice to the doughnuts.
- Salt: cuts the sweetness.
- All-Purpose Flour: gives the doughnuts their structure.
- Apple: any apple will work, but I love a firm, tart apple like Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp.
- Streusel Topping: our simple streusel topping is made with oats, cold butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Glaze: we’re finishing the donuts off with a simple glaze made up of melted butter, maple syrup, and icing sugar.
How to Make Apple Crisp Donuts
These delicious baked donuts are ready in a total of 33 minutes!
- Wet ingredients: In a bowl, mix together sugar, butter, and oil until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk again until smooth.
- Add the flour. Mix only until just combined, then finish by gently stirring in the apples.
- Put together the streusel: In a separate bowl, combine oats, butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Pipe the batter: Spoon them batter into a piping bag, then pipe it around each doughnut hole in a greased doughnut pan. Press crumbles of streusel into the top of the batter.
- Bake: Bake the donuts until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and cool them completely.
- Add the glaze: In a bowl, combine butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. Drizzle over the cooled donuts, let it set for a bit, then dig in.
Baked Apple Crisp Doughnuts FAQs
That depends on what you’re going for. In general, a deep-fried doughnut is going to have more of that airy “fried” texture. Baked doughnuts won’t have quite that same feel. But baked doughnuts are, overall, better for you. There aren’t a health food by any means, but there’s a lot less oil since they’re baked.
Finished Apple Crisp Doughnuts will last in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them, but I recommend doing so before you add the glaze. They can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, thaw overnight in the fridge, add the glaze, then serve.
Tips and Notes
- Peel the apple first. The peel can become chewy when cooked in the doughnuts. I recommend removing it.
- The batter will be thick! So don’t worry. If it seems too thick, you’re probably doing it right.
- Grease the pan with butter or non-stick spray to prevent the doughnuts from sticking.
- No piping bag? Spoon the batter into a freezer bag and cut the corner off to create a makeshift one. The opening should be about 1/2-3/4-inches wide.
- Check for doneness. How long the doughnuts take will depend on how full your pan is. To check, insert a toothpick into one of the doughnuts. If it comes out clean, they’re good to go.
- If the glaze is too thick, add small drops of milk until it’s thinned out enough to be drizzled over the doughnuts.
More apple recipes you’ll love!
Baked Maple Glazed Apple Crisp Doughnuts (Donuts)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk (see how to make buttermilk here)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ⅔ all-purpose flour
- ¾-1 cup peeled, shredded apples (1 apple)
Streusel
- ½ cup large oats
- 2 tablespoons butter cold
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 tbsp butter melted
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup powdered icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and grease your doughnut pans with butter or non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and oil and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and whisk until smooth.
- Add flour and whisk just until combined. Stir in apples. Batter will be thick.
Make the streusel
- Combine oats, butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until combined. It should hold together if you press it between your fingers.
- Spoon batter into a large disposable piping bag or freezer bag. Cut off the end of the bag so your opening is about ½-¾” wide (big enough for the apples to get through). Pipe batter once around each doughnut hole – the batter shouldn’t quite fill the hole as they’ll expand and rise.
- Press crumbles of streusel into the top of the batter (my tops were pretty much completely covered!).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (this will depend on how full your pans are). Let cool 10 minutes before removing from the doughnut pan to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- Combine butter, maple syrup and powdered sugar with a whisk until smooth (use milk to thin if necessary). Drizzle over cooled doughnuts and let set.
Notes
*If you’re making these ahead of time, I recommend baking them, letting them cool, and storing in an airtight container, then glazing up to a few hours before serving them. The glazed doughnuts become softer and stickier when stored in an airtight container. I baked and glazed them in the morning, and let them sit on the counter the whole day so the glaze would stay set.
- Peel the apple first. The peel can become chewy when cooked in the doughnuts. I recommend removing it.
- Grease the pan with butter or non-stick spray to prevent the doughnuts from sticking.
- No piping bag? Spoon the batter into a freezer bag and cut the corner off to create a makeshift one. The opening should be about 1/2-3/4-inches wide.
- Check for doneness. How long the doughnuts take will depend on how full your pan is. To check, insert a toothpick into one of the doughnuts. If it comes out clean, they’re good to go.
- If the glaze is too thick, add small drops of milk until it’s thinned out enough to be drizzled over the doughnuts.
Nutrition Information
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Mrs. Allen says
I am not always good at making donuts, but this recipe is terrific! Easy to make successfully, even if it looks daunting at first peek. Delicious!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Mrs. Allen! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Kim Myles says
These look amazing! Could I make the batter the night before, put into pastry bag, refrigerate and then bake the next morning?