Baked Pumpkin Donuts
I can’t help it. There are days when I’m just drawn to it. Those four big letters glistening in the yellow glow and sparkle of retail extravaganza. I don’t care if I have to wade through the text messaging hoards of 12 year olds just to find it. I see it there, hidden in the back corner of the store covered with red tags and crossed out retail pricing. Oh, glorious SALE.
While partaking in some retail therapy, I couldn’t resist exploring a kitchen store for yet another gadget to purchase. I thumbed through shelves of “miracle devices” guaranteed to perfectly cook anything in the microwave. I even glanced through the mountains of magic spices Paula Deen decided to slap her face on this week. Finally, I came across a set of mini donut pans for a cool 5 bucks in the clearance section. A crisp Lincoln was tossed at the cashier as I headed home to create these flavorful pumpkin donuts.
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 Tbl. milk
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream together the brown sugar, canned pumpkin, eggs, milk, butter and vanilla extract until the butter is well incorporated. With your mixer on medium low speed, slowly add the dry sifted ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until just barely combined. Be careful of over mixing.
Spray the donut pan with cooking spray and fill each donut mold halfway with the pumpkin batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 6 – 8 minutes or until the exterior springs back when touched. Allow to cool completely and top each donut with cinnamon glaze.
Cinnamon Glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl. milk
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Mix until smooth and creamy. The glaze should pour easily from a spoon. You may need to add additional milk or powder sugar to get the right consistency.
Authors Note: There is no need to fret if you do not own donut pans. This recipe can be easy converted into pumpkin muffins. You may need to adjust the baking time accordingly. When using paper liners, lightly spray the liners with cooking spray just before filling them with batter. It makes a world of difference.
Buy Donut Pan Here: Norpro Nonstick Mini Donut Pan
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oooh, another yummy recipe to try! I have a mini donut pan that I have never used – what a shame. These look great – I will have to break it out!
Where did you find these on sale? I’m hoping it is a chain store I can run to tonight . . . .
The store I found these pans was called Kitchen Connection, which is usually located in outlet malls. I’ve also seen similar pans at Bed Bath and Beyond and Amazon.
They look good. I wish you had a picture of the pan so I could see what it looks like.
What a great idea Lisa. I’ve included a picture of the pan on my Flickr page. You can check it out here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/culinarycory/2939580854/
Great idea! These look great!
These are delicious! I love the addition of pumpkin!
Pumpkin donuts sound good! And they are baked as well!
The fact they are baked makes them oh so exciting!
Thanks for the suggestions, I am going to try and find a donut pan today and get started on this delicious looking treat. If I can’t find one, I may just settle and make them in muffin forms, but there just seems to be something that makes something tastier when they are in the form of a donut.
The Pumpkin Casserole is now on my list to try also! Oh, pumpkins…..
They look absolutely divine!
Canned pumpkin?!?!? get a couple of real Pie Pumpkins and prep them by baking and have a real treat!
canned pumpkin is evil! EVIL!!!
Mmmmmmm… Donuts.
Wow Joxter! You must really like fresh pumpkin.
I just tried this recipe and they are delicious! I made them in muffin tins. I would like to note to not use cupcake paper liners, as they stick to the paper. I will make them directly in the tin with no stick next time.
Thanks for you comments Jackie! I’m glad to hear you liked the donuts. A trick I use for reducing the sticking problem is by lightly spray the liners with cooking spray just before filling them with the batter. It’s a simple trick that makes a world of difference.
Great tip! I will do that next time, as I enjoy bringing my goodies to work and it is much easier to use the paper liners. My co-workers are going to love me tomorrow!
MY OH MY! These look and sound amazing!! Anything pumpkin gets thumbs up from me!
Oooh, I can just smell these baking in the oven! I didn’t realize there was such a thing as donut pans…where have I been? Might be too dangerous for me to get some!
If variety is the spice of life, then I say add sprinkles. Thanks for the comment PaniniKathy.
Ok. Perhaps I am falling prey to a problem of living in Michigan. What size of canned pumpkin did you guys use? We have the 15-16 ounce, 20-24 ounce, AND 36 ounce cans in the stores here. I desperately want to try the recipe, but that is a large difference of pumpkin!
Hi Jasmine,
Thanks so much for the question. The recipe calls for 1 cup of canned pumpkin, which equals to about 8 fluid ounces. You have a couple options when it comes to the size of your pumpkin can.
#1: Buy a 15 – 16 oz. can and double the recipe. This will make about 24 donuts if you use a similar donut pan I have pictured on my Flickr page.
#2: Buy a larger can and freeze the leftover pumpkin in a Zip Lock bag. You can easily defrost the excess and use it in your favorite Thanksgiving recipe.
ya know. I feel silly. I read ONE CAN where it said ONE CUP. I’m a dork. I got so darned excited and didn’t read carefully. Thanks for the indulgence for the gal who went temporarily bonkers!
I love the fact you became temporarily bonkers from the excitment. Thanks so much for your comments and I hope you enjoy the recipe.
So what will it take to get you back to the ATL to make a fresh batch of these donuts?? You know we have a nice kitchen with a bunch of gadgets that rarely get used….although I did use the waffle maker this morning to make a waffle using pre-made batter from a spray can.
Hey Marc, there’s nothing wrong with a little pre-made batter to get your day started right. I like to top mine with chunky warm applesauce, crushed graham crackers and a ton of whipped cream. It’s an apple pie for breakfast!
I would love to try these — they sound so delicious. I’ve always liked baked donuts more than the deep fried ones. Your photos are perfect!
I just printed the recipe, it sounds fabulous! I love anything with pumpkin in it.
I actually have one of the donut pans, but it is in our storage unit, I can’t wait to get it out and use it now!