Try my Pumpkin Roll, Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Scones, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, or this Pumpkin Cheesecake for more pumpkin-flavored desserts! These pumpkin donuts are the perfect sweet breakfast for any Fall morning with a glass of cold milk! You can make these donuts any time of year, but they are perfect for the holiday season. With the first cooler breeze of fall, or at the first hint of leaves turning color, out comes all things pumpkin and spiced. We love donuts for a special treat. For more delicious homemade donuts, try my Baked Chocolate Donuts, Apple Cider Donuts, Baked Strawberry Donuts, Paczki Jelly Donuts, and Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts!
Why We Love This Recipe
We’ll be baking and not deep frying these bad boys, so they’re basically healthy, right?! Use your favorite toppings to make these baked donuts exactly how you like them. This easy recipe makes fresh donuts in just 30 minutes without heating any frying oil!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Milk – I used whole milk, but lower-fat milk will work here too. Apple Cider Vinegar – Helps the donuts rise and not be dense. Flour – Use all-purpose flour for these donuts. Sugar – Brown sugar will give these donuts a sweet, caramel flavor. Baking Powder and Baking Soda – These leavening agents used in tandem make light and fluffy donuts. Spices – A combination of warm spices makes these donuts perfect for fall. Use ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt for the donuts, and ground cinnamon for the topping too. Pumpkin Puree – You can find pumpkin puree in grocery stores even out of pumpkin season, or you can use my recipe for Real Pumpkin Puree to make your own with real sugar pumpkins. Oil – I used vegetable oil to keep the donuts moist, but you can use canola oil or even olive oil if you prefer. Vanilla Extract – Compliments the warm spices, adding a bit of sweetness too. Butter – Use melted salted butter to make the top of the donuts moist so the cinnamon sugar sticks to them. Sugar & Cinnamon – Granulated sugar and cinnamon mixed together make the cinnamon sugar coating.
How to Make Pumpkin Donuts
Tips for Success
The toothpick test. When checking if the donuts are done, the toothpick should come out clean, maybe with a few crumbs. There should not be any batter on the toothpick, though. If there is gooey batter on the toothpick, bake them for another 1-3 minutes. Piping bag trick. Use a piping bag with a large tip, or a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, to transfer the donut batter into the donut pan.
Substitutions and Variations
Change the topping. These spiced donuts are coated in simple cinnamon sugar, but you can use other toppings if you prefer. Try my Cream Cheese Frosting, Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, a brown butter glaze, or a simple maple glaze made of powdered sugar, water, and maple syrup. Use other spices. These Pumpkin Spice Donuts can be made with pumpkin spice plus cinnamon instead of the ginger and cloves we use here. Muffin version. Use a muffin pan or mini muffin pan if you don’t have a donut pan. The baking temperature and time may vary, though.
More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
Chocolate Pumpkin Babka Pumpkin Bundt Cake Pumpkin Ice Cream Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Here are some ways to use up your excess pumpkin so it doesn’t go to waste. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Classic Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Juice Recipe (Harry Potter Inspired)
Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
