Cider Donuts/For the Love of Autumn
Autumn is my favorite season by far. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to experience fall in New England–particularly Vermont. I would describe this more as a longing than just a desire to go visit. I’ve always yearned for a little white farmhouse tucked away along a narrow, tree-lined road. It has pumpkins on the porch and smoke in the chimney. There’s a red barn with festoon lights strewn from the ceiling, and instead of animals, my barn has a huge, long table with enough place settings for every neighbor, friend and family member I have.
Nearby is an apple orchard where all the townsfolk meet up in the autumn for apple picking, cider donuts, and tractor rides. There would be maple festivals and pie-baking contests. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was very young. Sometimes, when I think about Vermont in the fall I experience a flutter of emotion that I can only describe as nostalgia for a particular time and place that I have never even been a part of.
Given the fact that I’m a teacher and can really only travel in the summer, I always promised myself that I would go to Vermont in the fall when I retire. This autumn, I decided to not wait around for a moment that might never come. A good friend mentioned that she was going for the weekend so I joined her. So. was it what I dreamed about? Cute white farmhouses with pumpkins on the porch? Check. Apple orchards and cider donuts? Of course. It was everything I thought it would be. The quaint little towns had a noticeable absence of strip malls, Mcdonald’s, and billboards. Instead, dotting the windy, beautiful country roads were pottery and glass-blowing studios, cute dairy cows, covered bridges, and cheese shops.
While I was there, I did my best to inhale every autumn scent: the musky sweet earth smells, the slight whiff of burning firewood, the cinnamon and maple and all the delicious and cozy scents of the approaching baking season. Camera in hand, I sought to capture this quintessential autumn utopia. I wanted to notice every sight, sound, and scent and take it back with me.
What I also noticed, however, was something entirely unexpected. Amidst all the adorable, old-fashioned charm that I’d always idealized, I realized, for the first time, what there is to love about where I am in this world– here and now. As I walked through the maple forests I had always wanted to walk through, I thought about the unmistakable sound of golden aspen leaves as they twinkle and shudder in the forests I know so well. I thought about the particular scent of those Colorado forests in the fall-the crispness of pine and the warm amber smell of the fallen leaves.
As I stood in line for cider donuts at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Vermont, I thought of the YaYa apple farm in Colorado that my family and I visit every year–the one where you can pick your own apples. The one tucked away on a pretty country road with the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The same one that has the adorable barn where fresh caramel apples and pressed cider are artfully displayed and plump, fresh, apple pies beckon behind an antique glass case. The one where we get together with family to take photos and eat cider donuts while on a tractor ride…
How very surprising that I had to travel thousands of miles away to notice and appreciate what my own home town offers. It was a lesson in taking a look around and appreciating what is right in front of me. I can certainly appreciate the beauty of other places and all this world has to offer, but I also understand that I should fully enjoy where I am in the present moment–no matter where that is taking place. I can be assured that someday, I’ll look back on today and feel that little twinge of nostalgia.
Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- Nonstick baking spray for the pans
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup apple cider concentrate for more depth of flavor or apple cider
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 stick 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- For dipping:
- 1 stick 4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray four 6-cavity donut pans with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. Whisk for 30 seconds to distribute the leavening.
- In a liquid measure cup, combine the cider, buttermilk and vanilla.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix on high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low, add one-third of the flour mixture and then half of the cider mixture. Continue alternating between the two until the batter is just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, fold the batter a few times to make sure the ingredients are well distributed.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a large zip-close bag with a corner snipped off, and pipe into two of the donut pans. Top each pan with a second, inverted pan and use clips to hold them in place. (Some pans come with clips; otherwise, use metal hardware or paper clips.) Bake until the cake just springs back when gently touched, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn the donuts out onto a cooling rack; immediately brush with melted butter, then dip in the cinnamon sugar.