Apple Pie Recipe Roundup

If Pumpkin is the King of fall, that makes Apple Cider the Queen. Seriously, I love apple cider and other apple flavors just as much (if not more) as anything pumpkin spiced. These are some of my favorite recipes from around the web that felt like a cozy fall day.

If they aren’t already vegan and/or gluten free, I’ll give a few tips on how to make them better. If you have any questions or I missed anything, feel free to let me know in the comments.

1. Spiced Apple Cider Donuts from Sallys Baking Addiction

Please just admire for a second how delicious those donuts look. They’re covered in sugar and practically calling my name through the screen. The recipe calls for the use of a special donut pan, which I would highly recommend, because I can’t make donuts worth a darn without one.

Some of the usual suspects are found here: Butter, Eggs, and Flour. Replace the butter with your favorite substitute, the eggs with natural applesauce, the flour with a good mix like Bob’s Red Mill, and add in some (1/8 teaspoon) Xanthan Gum to keep the donuts nice and fluffy. The recipe also calls for Buttermilk. You can create your own buttermilk by substituting for 1/2 cup of soy or almond milk and mixing with 1/2 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit until it comes together (about 5 minutes) and then add to your recipe.

2. Apple Crisp from Minimalist Baker

I’m a sucker for anything that has a sugary, crumbly topping. This checks that box for sure. I bet this tastes like heaven when it’s warm. Dana has already done the hard work for you and put together a recipe that doesn’t need any work. I’m sure you could find some pre-cut and peeled apples to use if you’d rather not cut your own, but that’s part of the fun to me. Additionally, she does use almond flour, but you could substitute your favorite mix instead and avoid the nut allergies too!

3. Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting from Allyson Kramer

I posted Allyson’s pancakes last week, and if you haven’t checked those out yet, I highly recommend it. These cupcakes make use of two specialty sweeteners that most don’t have readily available – turbindo and sucanat – but she points out that you can just use brown sugar in place of those sweeteners if you’d rather. I’m sure you could add a little extra molasses if you wanted to punch up the caramely sweetness of these beautiful cupcakes.

4. Apple Beer Cupcakes from Brown Sugar

Nicoles’s website is a hilarious read, she’s just a funny person and you can see her personality coming through in her writing.

While the recipe was made with Angry Orchard, we’d recommend going with a brand like Woodchuck because they are both vegan and gluten free. You can stick with their original Amber flavor or use whichever is your favorite (because they’re all delicious). Using a hard cider will help keep these cupcakes fluffy and avoid drying them out. Typical substitutions here:

Milk – Soy or Almond Milk
Butter – Earth Balance
Eggs – Natural, Unsweetened Applesauce
Flour – A Gluten-Free mixture
Cream Cheese – Toffuti Cream Cheese
Heavy Cream – Soy or Almond Milk with Apple Cider Vinegar

5. Vegan Gluten Free Apple Hand Pies by Sarah Bakes

I want a whole dozen of these and I want them right now. Excuse me while I drool on my keyboard a little. These hand pies are adorable in addition to being delicious and make a great treat for a fall picnic or afternoon snack. Sarah does suggest using Turbinado for the topping, but you could easily substitute in regular cane sugar instead.

So, which ones look the best to you? Let us know in the comments and check out our Pinterest for more fun recipe collections.

See you again next week when we talk about some decorating tips!