This past weekend was an enormous effort to pick up/clean the house to prepare for window installers to come next week, and to get a jump on having the house generally clean before Lily's birthday party two weeks from now.  Which sounds ridiculous, I know, because two weeks with a toddler is about a hundred lifetimes in house cleaning years.  But we will be in Boston this coming weekend and then Jake's family will be pulling into the driveway just a couple of work days after we get back.  So, there you go.  I'll let you know if it works or if the place is a disaster by tomorrow.  But I've known in the back of my mind that no matter how clean the kitchen got, I still had to make these donuts (doughnuts).  And, amazingly, they don't require much dishes or messiness at all!  Which made the local dishwasher happy, I'm sure.

I got this recipe from Table for Seven as part of the September version of Secret Recipe Club and I was originally torn about what to make.  There were a lot of great options (not surprisingly because someone who cooks for seven people every day probably knows her way around the kitchen), but this recipe jumped out and grabbed me by the imaginary lapels.  After a successful try at donuts a couple of months ago, and a belly full of love for all the flavors of fall, there was no letting this recipe go.  I literally kept the tab with the recipe open on my home computer for weeks and would yell, "Don't close that tab!" every time Jake dared to open the computer.  I just didn't have the time before this morning but I also couldn't let the page disappear (thankfully, Secret Recipe Club has deadlines, so I had to make time).  And, as it turns out, the recipe is delicious!  I reduced the cider as one of the comments on the original post suggested so that there would be no doubt about the flavor, and I would absolutely recommend it.  If I had more cider (I don't.  We drank all the leftovers.) I would be making another reduced cider recipe right now (and Jake would be yelling at me for continuing to dirty the kitchen!).

Mini Apple Cider Donuts

3 cups apple cider 1 egg 1/4  cup sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups biscuit mix (ex: Bisquick or Jiffy) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste) 2-3 Tbsp melted butter

In a saucepan, bring the apple cider to a simmer and let simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes.  If you over-reduce it, top it off with additional apple cider until it reaches 1 cup.  Set aside to cool.  You can do this part ahead of time and keep the reduction in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a doughnut pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, sugar, apple cider reduction, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla.  Add in biscuit mix and flour slowly and combine well.  Put the mixture into a large zipper bag and seal the top.  Cut off a corner of the bag and pipe the mixture into the mini donut pan.  Bake until light brown, about 5-7 minutes.

Put the melted butter in one bowl and the cinnamon sugar in another.  Dip one side of the finished donuts into the butter, immediately followed by the cinnamon sugar.  Then flip and do the other side.

This recipe makes about 24 mini donuts.

Source: Adapted slightly from Table for Seven