The history of doughnuts is traced back to the Dutch settlers, who brought their tasty treats to New Amsterdam when they settled in the colony’s earliest days. Washington Irving is credited with the earliest literary reference to doughnuts in his 1809 book A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty:

“Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks: a delicious kind of cake…”

These “oly koeks” later appear in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Van Tassel party:

“Such heaped up platters of cakes of various and almost indescribable kinds, known only to experienced Dutch housewives! There was the doughty doughnut, the tender oly koek, and the crisp and crumbling cruller; sweet cakes, ginger cakes and honey cakes, and the whole family of cakes.”

Though Ichabod Crane was quite taken with Katrina Van Tassel, his heart truly belonged to the limitless feast at her father’s mansion. Apple cider doughnuts are a perfect marriage of the harvest’s bountiful apples with the love and care of a Dutch country wife. Careful, this is one recipe your guests just might lose their heads over…

 

Ingredients

Oil, for frying (I used a refined coconut oil, which worked beautifully)

1 ½ cups apple cider

2 cups granulated sugar

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, melted

3 large eggs

 

Directions

In a saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups apple cider to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let boil for about 20 minutes, until the cider has been reduced to about half a cup. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Whisk until well combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons melted butter, 2 eggs, plus the yolk of the third egg. You may dispose of the remaining egg whites. Add the cooled cider to this egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Then, add to the flour mixture and stir until smooth. Gradually add the remaining 2 ½ cups flour to this and mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. The oil should be hot enough that batter lightly sizzles when added. As you cook the doughnuts, adjust the oil as necessary to keep it at this temperature.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Line a large plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil when you remove doughnuts from oil – set aside. In a shallow bowl, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon cinnamon and mix until well combined. Set aside.

Flour a clean surface to shape your doughnuts. Make sure the surface is well floured because the dough is very sticky. Remove dough from refrigerator and shape into doughnuts. I did this by pressing the dough into a thin sheet, about ¾ inch thick.

Then, shape your doughnuts. I used the rim of a champagne coupe as the outer circle for the doughnut, then the 1 oz. side of a jigger to make the center. Reserve the center dough to make doughnut holes!

Transfer dough to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Slowly, add your doughnuts to the oil and let them fry until golden brown. Flip doughnut so that the other side browns, then remove and place on paper towel-lined plate. Pat doughnuts to remove excess oil, then transfer to cinnamon sugar mixture and coat the outside.

 

Serve with a piping hot cup of Van Tassel’s Apple Cider!