Cider doughnuts are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and what drink?

Cider doughnuts are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple cider. The cider is mixed into the batter, giving these cake-style doughnuts a fruity aroma and a warm autumn flavor that pairs naturally with the spices.

They are strongly associated with the apple harvest in the northeastern United States. Cider mills, orchards, farm stands, and autumn festivals commonly sell them from roughly September through late fall, often alongside cups of fresh apple cider. They may be rolled in cinnamon sugar, dusted with granulated sugar, or served plain.

The name can cause a small regional misunderstanding. In this context, “apple cider” generally means the cloudy, unfiltered or minimally filtered non-alcoholic juice sold in the United States—not hard cider, the fermented alcoholic beverage. The doughnut’s flavor comes from the apple juice itself, rather than from grape must, orange juice, or pear cider.

References to cider doughnuts reach back to the late 19th century. A 1901 newspaper account mentioned them at Halloween parties, and commercial production expanded in the 20th century as doughnut-making equipment became useful at farm stands and cider mills.