Spider Donuts are spooky apple cider donuts that are coated in a chocolatey frosting and are bound to liven up your Halloween.
Halloween will be here before we know it, and what better way to spend the spookiest day of the year than with some scary delicious treats!
Halloween is a great excuse to bake tons of sweets, and nothing screams “Halloween” like apples and spiders. I’m not sure if it is the same for you but whenever I think of Halloween, I immediately think of apple flavored items. Apple cider, apple pie and caramel apples are all some of my favorite treats this time of year.
My love for anything apple inspired pushed me to create these delicious Spider Donuts! They’re basically an apple cider donut that is coated in a chocolate frosting and then topped with candy eyes.
These donuts are really easy to make! Not only do you bake them, but you also can’t mess up the decorating step. They’re perfect for if you need a quick treat to whip up in order to put out on your countertop or dessert table. Plus, how cute would these be at an Halloween themed party?!
Do your stomach and taste buds a favor, and make these delicious Spider Donuts.
What flavor are these black Halloween donuts
These donuts are apple cider flavored. With a chocolatey creamy frosting, it is decorated to look like spiders.
How do I store these Apple Cider donuts
You can store these donuts in the fridge for up to 5 days. I do strongly recommend that you store these donuts undecorated. Do not put the candy eyes onto your donuts until you are ready to serve them. Otherwise they would get soggy.
Can I make these Spider donuts in advance
Yes, you can make these black donuts in advance. However, I do not recommend making them more than 24 hours in advance. And, as I stated above don’t put the candy eyes on if you are making them ahead.
Can I freeze these Halloween donuts
Yes, you can freeze these donuts. I recommend freezing them as soon as they are cool. That way your frosting doesn’t melt and get weird.
Where can I buy a donut pan for apple cider donuts?
You can buy donut pans online like I did, or you can pick them up at your local craft or big box store. I grabbed my donut pan from Amazon.
Where can I buy the decorations for these Spider donuts
You can buy candy eyes at your local craft or big store, or you can be like me and refuse to put on pants and order your candy eyes and activated charcoal on Amazon. You can also buy food coloring online if you would prefer food coloring instead of activated charcoal.
What makes these Spider donuts black
I made these Spider donuts black by using activated charcoal. You could also use black food coloring, but I really prefer to use the activated charcoal.
What is activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is a special type of charcoal. It has been treated with oxygen to make it super porous and absorbent. You can find activated charcoal at your local health food store or online.
Is activated charcoal safe to eat
Yes, activated charcoal is safe to eat. You want a brand that has been treated with oxygen.
Ingredients for Spider Donuts
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick of butter
- cup of apple cider
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- 1-2 Tablespoons activated charcoal powder or 1-2 teaspoons black food coloring
ICING/DECORATIONS:
- 3 Tablespoons melted butter
- 3 Tablespoons cream
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ – 1 tablespoon activated charcoal powder or 1 teaspoon black food coloring
- 36-42 pretzel sticks
- Chocolate Jimmies or sprinkles
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Candy eyes
How to make Spider Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour one cup of apple juice or apple cider into a small saucepan, heat until boiling then turn the heat down just a bit and simmer until the juice has been reduced by half. Let cool to room temp.
- Pour the lemon juice into the milk and let sit for a couple minutes.
- Pour all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined.
- Add the milk/lemon mixture, the apple cider reduction, eggs, vanilla, and butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together until everything is fully combined
- Spoon your batter into a piping bag or into a 1 gallon zip top bag and snip one bottom corner.
- Prepare a donut pan by spraying with non-stick baking spray. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan.
- Bake the donuts in a preheated oven at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes until fully baked. The cake should be springy to the touch. Turn the donuts out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.
How to decorate Spider Donuts
- To make the icing, combine the melted butter, cream, food coloring (or charcoal powder) and powdered sugar. Mix until all of the sugar has dissolved. (If the icing is too thick, add a bit more cream, if it is too thin add a bit more powdered sugar.)
- Once the donuts have cooled completely, dip the top of the donut into the freshly made icing. Place dipped donuts onto a plate or tray, finish dipping the remainder of the donuts then place candy eyeballs onto each of the donuts, you can do as few as 2 or as many as 8 or more on each!
- Place the tray of donuts into the fridge for 15-30 minutes or until the icing has hardened a bit.
- While the donuts are in the fridge, melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave safe container.
- Dip each one of the pretzel sticks about 80% the way into the chocolate, spin the sticks against the side of the container to remove excess chocolate, as you only need a thin layer. Then dip the chocolate covered pretzel into the chocolate sprinkles. Set the pretzel onto a parchment lined tray. Repeat this for all of the pretzel sticks.
- Once all of the pretzel legs have been made, place the tray into the fridge to let the chocolate harden.
- When the donuts and the legs have hardened and you are ready to serve, remove the donuts from the fridge and gently stick 6-8 of the legs into each donut.
- Serve, and enjoy your black spooky treat!
Black Donuts
Spider donuts are a delicious Halloween treat, and these black donuts they’re easy to make at home. These black donuts are baked and not fried which makes them healthier than their deep fried counterparts. There is no reason to feel guilty when eating these apple cider donuts!
I hope you have a spooky and fun Halloween! Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know what you think about these Spooktaular donuts if you make them.
More Delicious Donut Recipes
Spider Donuts
Equipment
- Donut pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- 1-2 Tablespoons activated charcoal powder or 1-2 teaspoons black food coloring
ICING/DECORATIONS
- 3 Tablespoons melted butter
- 3 Tablespoons cream
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ - 1 tablespoon activated charcoal powder or 1 teaspoon black food coloring
- 36-42 pretzel sticks
- chocolate Jimmies or sprinkles
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Gather all of your ingredients and measure them.
- Pour one cup of apple juice or apple cider into a small saucepan, heat until boiling then turn the heat down just a bit and simmer until the juice has been reduced by half. Let cool to room temp.
- Pour the lemon juice into the milk and let sit for a couple minutes.
- Pour all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix until combined.
- Add the milk/lemon mixture, the apple cider reduction, eggs, vanilla, and butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Mix together until everything is fully combined. Add black food coloring or activated charcoal.
- Spoon your batter into a piping bag or into a 1 gallon zip top bag and snip one bottom corner.
- Prepare a donut pan by spraying with non-stick baking spray. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan.
- Bake the donuts in a preheated oven at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes until fully baked. The cake should be springy to the touch.
- Turn the donuts out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.
Decorating your Black Donuts
- To make the icing, combine the melted butter, cream, food coloring (or charcoal powder) and powdered sugar. Mix until all of the sugar has dissolved. (If the icing is too thick, add a bit more cream, if it is too thin add a bit more powdered sugar.)
- Once the donuts have cooled completely, dip the top of the donut into the freshly made icing. Place dipped donut onto a plate or tray.
- Finish dipping the remainder of the donuts then place candy eyeballs onto each of the donuts, you can do as few as 2 or as many as 8 or more on each!
- Place the tray of donuts into the fridge for 15-30 minutes or until the icing has hardened a bit.
- While the donuts are in the fridge, melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave safe container.
- Dip each one of the pretzel sticks about 80% the way into the chocolate, spin the sticks against the side of the container to remove excess chocolate, as you only need a thin layer. Then dip the chocolate covered pretzel into the chocolate sprinkles. Set the pretzel onto a parchment lined tray. Repeat this for all of the pretzel sticks.
- Once all of the pretzel legs have been made, place the tray into the fridge to let the chocolate harden.
- When the donuts and the legs have hardened and you are ready to serve, remove the donuts from the fridge and gently stick 6-8 of the legs into each donut.
- Serve, and enjoy your spooky treat! Enjoy every bite!
Notes
- Iced Donuts will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, however it is recommended that the decorating (legs and eyes) be done immediately before serving.
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