These baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts are soft and sweet with that little hint of fall spice that make them the perfect to enjoy with a cup of milk, or your favorite pumpkin spice latte. They're incredibly easy to make, and are perfect to make when you're hosting.
Recently, I have been experimenting with a lot of sweet treats and desserts. It's just something I feel more inclined to doing as we start getting closer to the holidays.
My carrot cake loaf, pumpkin spice cookies and pumpkin loaf cake are all time favorites in my household, but this time, I wanted to make something sweet and delicious with fall inspired flavors. And that's when I thought of making these baked pumpkin donuts!
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What I Love About this Recipe
You don't need to fry these, which makes them much healthier than your classic fried donuts, and so much more effortless too.
You'll need just a few pantry staples to make them. No fancy equipment or ingredients.
They're an absolute crowd pleaser. Make them for a Halloween party or a fall get-together you're hosting, and they're sure to disappear in minutes!
Recipe Ingredients
Flour: Just your classic all purpose flour works perfectly well for this recipe. I would recommend using unbleached flour.
Pumpkin puree: This one's the hero ingredient here. Use canned pumpkin puree- not pumpkin pie filling or homemade puree. They'll just get the consistency of the mixture wrong.
Sugar: I used a mix of brown sugar and white sugar here. You can stick to using any one kind of sugar too, if that's what you prefer.
Eggs: To help the donuts hold their shape. Make sure you use room temperature eggs.
Oil: For the moisture and to slightly loosen the mixture. Use any neutral flavored oil for best results.
Butter: For the rich flavor. I would recommend using salted butter. You'll be using this to dip the donuts in, and to help the cinnamon sugar mixture stick.
Vanilla: Just a dash, for that flavor and aroma.
Baking soda: For that fluffiness.
Cinnamon: To balance out the sweetness of the donuts and for that warm, fall flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- If you don't have the cinnamon powder, feel free to use pumpkin pie spice instead.
- I coated the donuts in a cinnamon sugar mixture. You can enjoy them plain or even spread your favorite cream cheese frosting over them if you want to make them extra indulgent.
- For a bit of a chocolate-y flavor, you can also add some chocolate chips into the mix.
- If you don't have a donut tin, you can also make donut holes by adding the batter in mini muffin tins. Just remember that the cooking time will reduce if you're doing this.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Ready to make the pumpkin spice donuts? Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing your donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup of white sugar.
- Next, add the oil and an egg. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Now add the pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoon melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk well till you get a uniform consistency.
- Combine all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
- Fill donut pans with about ¼ cup of batter. Bake at 350 F for 10-14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of white sugar and 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Dip the donuts in melted butter or use a pastry brush to brush them in butter. Dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated well.
Storing Leftovers
Store your leftover pumpkin spiced donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. This works only if they haven't been coated yet though
If you want to freeze them, place them in a Ziploc bag or a freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Then, when you want to enjoy them, just allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat them, or get them out at room temperature before coating them.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- When combining the wet and dry ingredients, avoid overmixing the batter. Doing this will cause the donuts to become dense when they're baked.
- Remember to preheat the oven before you add in the donut tin. This is important, as the hot oven helps the donuts fluff up nicely and get that crispy texture on the outside.
- Don't want to top the donuts with the cinnamon sugar mixture? Drizzle a bit of maple syrup over them and finish up with a sprinkle of your favorite chopped roasted nuts like pecans and walnuts, or just keep it simple and drizzle some chocolate sauce over them.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Enjoy these soft and sugary donuts with your cup of coffee, or have them as a sweet treat after a hearty fall meal of herb roasted turkey and some pumpkin shaped dinner rolls.
You can also have these for breakfast with some apple cinnamon pancakes to make it a hearty affair!
Recipe FAQs
The toothpick trick always works perfectly! Insert a toothpick in the center, and if it comes out clean, the donuts are done!
Overcooking the donuts or adding too much flour can cause them to become dry and dense. Make sure you get the donuts out of the oven at the right time, and measure the flour correctly.
More Fall Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these pumpkin spice donuts or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups All purpose flour
- ¾ cup Pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup Brown sugar
- ½ cup White sugar divided
- ½ cup Avocado oil or canola oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp Butter divided
- 1 large Egg
- 3 tbsp plus 2 tsp Ground cinnamon divided
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a donut pan with non stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup of white sugar, the oil and an egg. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Add the pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoon melted butter, and vanilla extract when combined.
- Combine all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
- Fill donut pans with about ¼ cup of batter. I usually put my batter into a Ziploc bag, cut the corner and pipe it into the pan.
- Bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of white sugar and 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
- Once cooled, dip the donuts in melted butter or use a pastry brush to brush them in butter. Dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated well. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
-
- When combining the wet and dry ingredients, avoid overmixing the batter. Doing this will cause the donuts to become dense when they're baked.
- Remember to preheat the oven before you add in the donut tin. This is important, as the hot oven helps the donuts fluff up nicely and get that crispy texture on the outside.
- Don't want to top the donuts with the cinnamon sugar mixture? Drizzle a bit of maple syrup over them and finish up with a sprinkle of your favorite chopped roasted nuts like pecans and walnuts, or just keep it simple and drizzle some chocolate sauce over them.
- If you don't have a donut tin, you can also make donut holes by adding the batter in mini muffin tins. Just remember that the cooking time will reduce if you're doing this.
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Adebayo Bilikis Toyin says
10/10
Bilikis says
Delicious
Bilikis says
Thanks for the recipe ma
Bilikis says
Yummy yummy