It's fall: Time for cider doughnuts!
For people in the Northeast, fall means cider doughnuts. For the most part, those of us in the rest of the country can only watch and sigh wistfully as the Northeasterners in our Twitter and Facebook streams brag about picking up the perfect batch of cider doughnut.
Cider doughnuts are cake doughnuts which can be found at many cider mills and farmstands throughout the Northeast in fall, when apples are in season. The doughnuts are made with apple cider, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the batter. They are usually dusted with cinnamon sugar, to boot. These soft, delicious, fresh treats are usually made on the premises.
(In case you were wondering about the difference between cake and regular doughnuts, cake doughnuts are made with cake batter. They don't have to sit and rise like regular doughnuts, they fry up more quickly, and are much less fiddly to make.)
If you don't happen to live in New England, and there aren't any local options for cider doughnuts, at least one cider mill is willing to ship them to you. The current cost is about $25 plus shipping for two dozen doughnuts, which is pretty reasonable, all things considered.
You might also want to try your hand at making your own. The traditional (and probably best from a taste standpoint) way to make them is to fry them. But if you aren't confident deep frying food, or you don't want the added fat, you could try making baked cider doughnuts instead. I even found a paleo recipe variation, and while the recipe calls for you to buy a mini doughnut maker, you could probably adapt the ingredients to one of the other recipes if you prefer.
I have to admit I have never had a cider doughnut. Between those and cronuts, it's starting to sound like the Northeast is some kind of doughnut heaven! I'm so sad.
Image courtesy Flickr/awrose