Applesauce Doughnuts

These are so fun to make and eat! When you add the baking soda to the applesauce, you get to see chemistry in action. Then, when you cook the doughnuts they flip themselves over. According to King Arthur Flour, the reason for this is: “As the bottom of each sphere cooks and heats, the tops stay colder and more dense, and once the bottoms are cooked through, the doughnuts turn themselves over.” You can definitely taste the apple flavor in the finished doughnuts. I used my smallest cookie scoop (the #100—or a little tiny one that makes mini-cookies) for this. So I got a few more doughnuts than the recipe indicates, but we thought they were the perfect size.

2 ¾ cups (11 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (8 ounces) applesauce
2 large eggs
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar, plus more for dredging
½ cup (3 ¼ ounces) brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (2 ounces) boiled cider OR apple juice concentrate
¼ cup (2 ounces) milk

Stir the baking soda into the applesauce. Beat together the eggs, sugars, and oil. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the applesauce and vanilla to the egg mixture. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, mix together the boiled cider and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the boiled cider and milk.

In a deep skillet or electric frying pan, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Drop the dough by tablespoons into the oil and fry until golden brown all over. If you use a tablespoon scoop, the doughnuts will turn themselves over in the hot oil; all together the doughnuts will need about 3 minutes of cooking time. Start with 1 doughnut; start a timer after you put it in the oil. Remove the doughnut with a slotted spoon when it is golden brown all over and drain on absorbent paper. Use 2 forks to break the doughnut open and see if it’s cooked all the way through the center. If not, do another trial doughnut for 30 seconds longer. Once you have your time right, you can fry 6 to 8 doughnuts at a time in batches. After draining, roll in sugar while still warm. Yield: 40 doughnuts.