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'Tis the Season for Maine's Ultimate Apple Cider Doughnuts

Enjoy these seasonal snacks while you can.

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The apple cider doughnut: fall's premier treat. Use this guide to find the farm stands frying up the most satisfying versions in Maine, as recommended by discerning Eater readers, and bring home a few varieties of fresh apples to stock the cellar while you're at it. The state of Maine is a bit of a show-off this time of year, so get out and breathe the country air before retreating indoors for the next six months. Note: map points are listed south to north.

Prefer a wider variety of year-round doughnuts? Check out the guide to delectable doughnut shops in Maine. You can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Holy Donut's popular fall seasonal, the Maine Apple Donut.

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Mcdougal Orchards

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Visit doughnut maker Cap'n Jack in his "Donut Shack" to fuel up on these hearty treats. Twice-daily wagon rides will give you a chance to digest before you head out to the trees for apple picking.

Libby and Son U-Picks

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Make a beeline for the farm stand where you can watch the magic happen: a donut machine here steadily pumps batter into a river of hot oil. Devour your snacks in a golf cart as friendly staff ferry you to the fields.

Brackett's Orchards

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This Western Maine orchard ups the ante by making both apple cider doughnuts and an apple-filled variety, along with other baked goods in the farm stand. In fact hungry apple pickers can enjoy an entire meal made on-site, courtesy of a brick oven turning out fresh pizza.

Apple Acres Farm

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Enjoy an apple feast of doughnuts, pies, and cider at picnic tables surrounding this orchard's farm stand. Spend the afternoon picking a variety of apples or strolling around the farm's 200 acres.

Orchard Hill Farm

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Play farmer for a day at Orchard Hill Farm, where you'll find hay rides on the weekends and a big, restored barn for poking around in. You'll need lots of energy for all those farm chores, so take advantage of the doughnuts and other baked goods made on-site.

Thompson's Apple Orchard

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Thompson's makes a variety of doughnuts on-site (again with that mesmerizing machine), including plain, chocolate, and pumpkin, and the apple cider flavor is a perennial favorite.

Rocky Ridge Orchard

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Cake doughnut lovers flock to Rocky Ridge's dense varieties: molasses, chocolate, and apple cider. Enjoy other Maine-made treats, too, like chocolate milk or cider, even baked beans and coleslaw on Saturdays.

Wallingford's Apple Orchard

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While the Wallingford's orchards and farm stands are certainly bucolic places to enjoy your hot, fresh cider doughnuts, nearby Lake Auburn offers a great picnic spot as well. Take your treats to go and work off those extra calories on the lake's nature trail.

Ricker Hill Orchard

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Whether you're stopping by Ricker Hill Orchards to pick up some apples, sample house-made hard cider, or throw a few baskets on the disc golf course, you won't want to miss the fresh-baked cider doughnuts. Pumpkin, chocolate, and blueberry flavors round out the offerings.

Lakeside Orchards

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Happy apple pickers at this orchard love the cider doughnuts fresh out of the fryer, either coated with cinnamon sugar or glazed. The produce stand is open year round, so you can actually get your doughnut fix whenever the craving strikes.

Rowe's Orchards

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Cider doughnut fans in the Bangor area head to Rowe's Orchards, where you can pick your own apples and enjoy apple cider alongside a variety of Maine-made prepared foods.

Urban Sugar Donuts

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This mobile treat-frying truck serves up mini apple cider doughnuts with a caramel glaze seasonally. Check its facebook page to find its location and the day's special flavors.

Mcdougal Orchards

Visit doughnut maker Cap'n Jack in his "Donut Shack" to fuel up on these hearty treats. Twice-daily wagon rides will give you a chance to digest before you head out to the trees for apple picking.

Libby and Son U-Picks

Make a beeline for the farm stand where you can watch the magic happen: a donut machine here steadily pumps batter into a river of hot oil. Devour your snacks in a golf cart as friendly staff ferry you to the fields.

Brackett's Orchards

This Western Maine orchard ups the ante by making both apple cider doughnuts and an apple-filled variety, along with other baked goods in the farm stand. In fact hungry apple pickers can enjoy an entire meal made on-site, courtesy of a brick oven turning out fresh pizza.

Apple Acres Farm

Enjoy an apple feast of doughnuts, pies, and cider at picnic tables surrounding this orchard's farm stand. Spend the afternoon picking a variety of apples or strolling around the farm's 200 acres.

Orchard Hill Farm

Play farmer for a day at Orchard Hill Farm, where you'll find hay rides on the weekends and a big, restored barn for poking around in. You'll need lots of energy for all those farm chores, so take advantage of the doughnuts and other baked goods made on-site.

Thompson's Apple Orchard

Thompson's makes a variety of doughnuts on-site (again with that mesmerizing machine), including plain, chocolate, and pumpkin, and the apple cider flavor is a perennial favorite.

Rocky Ridge Orchard

Cake doughnut lovers flock to Rocky Ridge's dense varieties: molasses, chocolate, and apple cider. Enjoy other Maine-made treats, too, like chocolate milk or cider, even baked beans and coleslaw on Saturdays.

Wallingford's Apple Orchard

While the Wallingford's orchards and farm stands are certainly bucolic places to enjoy your hot, fresh cider doughnuts, nearby Lake Auburn offers a great picnic spot as well. Take your treats to go and work off those extra calories on the lake's nature trail.

Ricker Hill Orchard

Whether you're stopping by Ricker Hill Orchards to pick up some apples, sample house-made hard cider, or throw a few baskets on the disc golf course, you won't want to miss the fresh-baked cider doughnuts. Pumpkin, chocolate, and blueberry flavors round out the offerings.

Lakeside Orchards

Happy apple pickers at this orchard love the cider doughnuts fresh out of the fryer, either coated with cinnamon sugar or glazed. The produce stand is open year round, so you can actually get your doughnut fix whenever the craving strikes.

Rowe's Orchards

Cider doughnut fans in the Bangor area head to Rowe's Orchards, where you can pick your own apples and enjoy apple cider alongside a variety of Maine-made prepared foods.

Urban Sugar Donuts

This mobile treat-frying truck serves up mini apple cider doughnuts with a caramel glaze seasonally. Check its facebook page to find its location and the day's special flavors.