3 orchards to visit for apple cider doughnuts

Somewhere around the time that first vibrant yellow leaf falls underfoot, the apple cravings begin. This is Minnesota, home to the Honeycrisp. It’s our duty to make the most of the season and one of the best tastes of fall — other than plucking juicy fruit off the tree — is an apple cider doughnut. Freshly fried, tossed in cinnamon sugar, it’s the sweet flavor of sweater weather.

Here’s where we’re going to order them right now.

It feels like cheating to stop into the store first thing when you arrive at Pine Tree Apple Orchard, but the scent of cinnamon and sugar radiating from the red barn demands it. Inside, there’s a wonderland of baked goods packed up and ready to go; grab some of their famed apple cider doughnuts ($4.39 for a half-dozen, $7.79 for a dozen, plain or sugared) and head over to a picnic table in the gorgeous field to enjoy them. It’s all the sustenance needed to play on the antique tractor, watch for a train to go by and hike up the hill to select the perfect pumpkin from the patch. (Sharyn Jackson)

450 Apple Orchard Road, White Bear Lake, 651-429-7202, pinetreeappleorchard.com

How could an apple cider doughnut get any better? When it’s used to garnish this beast of an apple cider float, one of several new menu items at this sprawling orchard outside of Jordan. The float ($12) is a delightful mix of soft serve, Ferguson’s cider (regular or hard), whipped cream and caramel with a fluffy, apple-cinnamon-sugar doughnut halo. Stir it all up and dip the doughnut for a peak fall-flavor experience. Be sure to grab a half-dozen ($6) doughnuts to go to re-energize after your jam-packed day at the family-owned orchard: pedal tracks, corn pit, farm animals, playgrounds and, of course, apple picking. (Nicole Hvidsten)

8251 Old Hwy. 169 Blvd., Jordan, 952-492-2785 fergusonsorchard.com

This Stillwater orchard gives every reason to visit: an on-site vineyard, goats, hayrides, plenty of space for kids to play and grilled brats right outside. But our first stop is always into the barn for a half-dozen apple cider doughnuts ($9.90). Fluffy and coated with a pleasing cinnamon sugar crunch, the batter carries that autumnal tang of apple cider in dough. Heaven in hand and hard to eat only one. (Joy Summers)