Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
When I started making babysitting money around the age of 12, one of the my favorite things to spend it on wasn’t clothes or toys, it was donuts. There were two bakeries in town that sold the most unbelievably decadent donuts and I was addicted to them. Even before entering either shop, the rich, delightful smell of the light, sweet, floury treats would envelope me and once inside I would press my face against the glass case, trying to decide which flavor was calling my name the loudest. Both bakeries were pretty amazing and while all of the flavors were yummy, the seasonal donuts were some of my favorites.
Now that fall is here, so is my love of making all things pumpkin. And why not pumpkin donuts? And while fried donuts are a nostalgic treat, I’ll leave that kind of preparation to the bakeries. Baking them is a simple and it allows you to remove all the danger and mess of a pot of hot oil but retain the same fun factor of eating a delicious donut at home!
Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts (Makes about 16 Doughnuts)
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg
1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
1/3 Cup Milk
Cinnamon Icing:
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Milk
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a standing mixer or bowl using a hand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar.
4. Add the egg, the pumpkin puree and milk.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
6. Place the dough in a large zipper bag, seal the bag airtight and then cut off ½ inch of one corner.
7. Pipe the dough into doughnuts on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool.
8. To make the icing, place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
9. Drizzle icing over each doughnut and serve.
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Mmm…can’t wait to try this recipe.
what is so seasonal about using canned pumpkin puree?
You can get canned pumpkin all year, but in the fall, eating pumpkin feels like fall to me. I’m not a huge fan of canned foods, but pumpkin is one of those convenient foods that’s easy, creamy and delicious in the canned form.
Then use fresh pumpkin, Dana! No need to be mean about it. No one is forcing you to look at this site or use the recipes.
I’ll be making these later today! And I agree that roasting a pumpkin is just slightly too time consuming and labor intensive. Canned pumpkins is one of my ‘can ban’ exceptions. Can’t wait to eat these!
I was thinking about making donuts this weekend. I’ve never done it & was hoping you’d have a recipe!! Yay, thanks again!
Ooh, they sound delicious! I think that I’ve found my contribution to the family’s Thanksgiving feast! Thanks!
do you think this would work with apple puree instead of pumpkin or would it be too watery?
I feel like apple puree might be too watery, but it’s worth trying
Maybe drop the sugar and use apple butter instead for some apple-y goodness!
I have found that pumpkin can be easily replaced in recipes by mashed sweet potato or butternut squash…if you don’t like pumpkin.
Sounds delish!! Would it be the same to use canned pumpkin pie filling in place of the pumpkin and spice separately? just trying to buy one less thing.
Canned pumpkin is seasonal here. I had a hard time finding it this summer when the kids and I wanted pumpin waffles!
Most big groceries carry canned pumpkin year round, but Trader Joes has a canned variety I like a lot in the late summer through the New Year.
I am so glad you shared this recipe! I can make this without buying the doughnut pan which i am sooo tempted to do!
I found a doughnut pan at Ross for less than $10 at the beginning of the summer. I can’t wait to try these!!!!
I bought a doughnut pan and it’s been really fun to bake all kinds of doughnuts… it works really well…
I’ve been dying to get a donut pan and use it with this recipe. If you try it out, let me know!!
I just picked one up at Bed Bath and Beyond for $10 minus a 20% off coupon in the mail. It makes 6 donuts.
Canned pumpkin is seasonal where I live; can’t find it anywhere in summer. Also, I think if you research it you’ll find canned pumpkin has greater nutrient concentration than store-bought “fresh”.
These sound great! Another “topping” you can do for these is the following:
For the Coating:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Dip lightly in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.
Yum! Can’t wait to try these!
I was thinking the same thing! I am definitely going to do that next time.:)
Awesome! I Googled baked donuts a few weeks ago and the recipe I selected TASTED great, however the donuts crumbled as soon as I tried to take them out of the pan. My son called them delicious, and gave them a new name…BUSTED DONUTS. The recipe is a keeper, we just won’t serve them to guests:). We simply sprinked our Busted Donuts with powdered sugar and closed our eyes… delicious. Thanks for the new recipe, can’t wait to try it! (I am going to try it with rice milk, I hope it works.) Happy Halloween!
Should work fine with rice milk. I made them for 20 of Kenya’s friends and they loved them. Not crumbly at all!
I am so happy you shared this recipe with your fans. I will try to make these today if not tomorrow. Would it make any difference if we swapped in pastry flour or cake flour? I happen to have several types of flour on hand and wondered if it would work too.
ooo, I can’t wait to try this. I always buy cans and cans of pumpkin puree this time of year, and add it to my smoothies (with a dash of cinnamon – yum), make pumpkin bread, etc. This is just another great way to use pumpkin. And I agree with the other commenters….this is my one exception to not buying cans. Butternut squash is where I draw the line with wrestling with squashs! Pureeing a fresh pumpkin? No thank you!
Oh, and meant to add that it can be found in my store’s baking aisle all year round. I never thought to look there when I was first searching for pumpkin….
Can I substitute whole wheat for all of or half of the flour?
I used whole wheat flour for this recipe and it worked great!
We have to eat gluten free here…and usually use a pre-made GF ready cake mix (like Betty Crockers GF yellow) for our baked donuts. Would anyone know how to convert the mix ingredients to add the canned pumpkin?
I have pretty good luck with mixes by replacing all the added ingredients with 1-15oz can of pumpkin puree. Don’t add the eggs, oil, butter or whatever the mix calls for, just the pumpkin. They might need to bake a little bit longer, keep an eye on it.
These sound delicious. How do you pipe the dough into a doughnut – as simple as making a circle? Should it be a certain thickness, or will it work no matter how ugly they look on my mat?
You just pipe them into a doughnut shape. It’s actually easier then you think. I’m doing a video recipe of them for this Friday to show exactly how it works.
Made these for breakfast this morning! They were sooo good! My 2 year old and I enjoyed every last bite! Thank you sooo much for all of your fun and always delicious recipes!
Cant wait to try in my donut pan. (We can’t get canned pumpkin all year round here in my part of California– only pumpkin pie filling).
Wondering about using white whole wheat or wholr wheat pastry flour as well. Sounds delish!
I think white whole wheat would work great.
I just made them with whole wheat pastry flour (I always sub that for white in weelicious recipes) and it worked great!
These sound good … and, though I use canned pumpkin, too, I also puree the fresh pumpkins I get around this time of year. It isn’t all that hard to do, guys ….. I usually wash the pumpkin well and cut it in half, put it in the oven and bake until soft. Then I scoop out the flesh and put it through the blender – it does have a fresher taste than the canned. I usually divide it up in small portions and freeze. I’m gonna try this recipe with the pumpkin sitting on our front porch (not carved!).
Just made these!!! I used my mini-donut pan just cause I already had it. Would rec 12 min cooking time instead of 15, bottoms were a little brown. Also, I could seem to get the glaze to stay on like in the picture. It seems a little too soupy so I added more conf sugar but it just slightly coated the tops. I tried it both cool and warm. Otherwise really good!!! My peanut allegry kid could have a treat this Halloween!!
I made some with more powdered sugar too and the icing was a lot thicker and more white. In the recipe I kept it a little less sugary but by all means, add some more!
I’m type 2 diabetic …. has anyone tried this with non-sugar sweeteners?
Bake your donuts with Lakanto, a brown sugar-looking granulated wonder: expensive and worth it. Buy it at sarayahealth. Glycemic index-free, calorie-free, doesn’t feed candida, you can bake with it, and it has nothing artificial. I find it very delicious and super sweet. They say it is equal to sugar but it is sweeter to my taste. I have used it for 5 years and I love it to make muffins, chocolate, mousse, everything delicious and wheat-free. Lakanto was created by Donna Gates of bodyecology.com. Body Ecology Diet advocates it, and diabetics will love it, I’d imagine. Aloha!
These were amazing! Such a great recipe, Thanks Catherine! I made them with ground flax instead of egg (my little girl has an egg allergy) and they were perfect. Everyone loved them! I also used pumpkin pie filling and cut down on the pumpkin pie spice and it seemed to work. Thanks again!
I’m interested in using ground flax seed as well Katie. Could you taste the flax in the donut?
I mixed 1 Tbsp of ground flax with 3 Tbsp of water (equals one egg) with a mixer for a few minutes. I could not taste it at all. Hope this helps
Thanks! Your reply totally helps!
I love adding flax to foods. Did you have to add moisture into the recipe?
I just used 1 Tbsp of ground flax and 3 Tbsp of water for one egg. Other than that I followed the recipe.
Any thoughts on Baked Apple Cider donuts?
Would it make any difference if we swapped in pastry flour or cake flour? I happen to have several types of flour on hand and wondered if it would work too.
I just made two batches of these and they taste amazing! One thing I noticed is that my first batch rose more, they kept a bigger hole and the surface is very smooth. The second ones are lower and the surface has little holes in it. What could be the reason for that? The only thing I could think of is that for the first batch I melted the butter, used a little less sugar. Could that be the reason?
i made these last night with apple puree instead of pumpkin and cinnamon instead of pumpkin spice. they were FABULOUS! they flattened out a little looking more like a scone than a donut but they were so good! i will definately make them again. i just love weelicious.com!!!!
Mmmm, I can’t wait to try this! I enjoyed reading the posts. I sooo need a donut pan! And i second the idea about apple cider donuts. Love the idea for cinnamon topping. I would love to look into that Lakanto. Thanks everyone!
I made these today for breakfast and I loved them! There were some ingredients I didn’t have, so I just substituted. I used whole wheat flour and coconut oil instead of butter. I also didn’t have powdered sugar so I just drizzled the doughnuts with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. Delicious!
We really liked these. Of course they’re more like cakey cookies as they’re baked flat, but my little guy (who is a bit obsessed with doughnuts, much to my disappointment) didn’t care at all and was perfectly happy to accept them as doughnuts! I used all whole wheat pastry flour instead of white and I only used about 1 1/2 T of butter and then subbed some homemade unsweetened applesauce to make up the rest of the 1/4 cup of butter that was called for. I also didn’t have enough brown sugar, so I used more like 1/3 cup and they’re sweet enough (especially considering the glaze and my applesauce added sweetness too). Oh, and I added a dash of vanilla because I always add vanilla to baked sweets. I topped 1/2 of them with the glaze and 1/2 with a dusting of powdered sugar – they’re good both ways. Also, I had some fresh pumpkin in the freezer that I used instead of canned. It is so easy to cook a fresh pumpkin – I just poked a knife around the top a few times for steam to escape and then put the whole pumpkin on the oven rack with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any drippings. I roasted it at 400 for 45 min or so until it was tender and then it just fell apart when I cut it – I scooped out the seeds and then put the flesh into the blender to puree and froze it in 1/2 cup servings. Super easy, especially with roasting it whole because I hate trying to cut uncooked pumpkins and squashes.
Made these as part of our sunday breakfast. Really fabulous. My daughter raved and she’s one picky eater.
Made these as part of breakfast this morning. Didn’t make the glaze since kiddos had more than enough sugar over Halloween. These were AMAZING. Both girls yelled “make them again sometime!”
I wonder how they would be as donut holes? I am going to try them in the morning and roll them in the cin. sugar as one person had suggested.
made these this morning. they were amazing!! thanks for the recipe!!
We made these yesterday and loved them especially with the glaze! Both my kids enjoyed making them with me..love to hear my toddler talk about dry ingredients an wet ingredients. Had to give a plate to my neighbours and teachers so I didn’t eat them all today! Will make them for a brunch someday
Made these for Halloween night & the kids we hosted. Big hit with the kids & adults. Thanks again for a great recipe.
These look great. Do you think these can be frozen? I’d love to freeze some for my boy’s breakfast snack at preschool.
[...] in our area and I was asked to bring a dessert. I love looking at Weelicious.com and found this Pumpkin Doughnut [...]
Catherine,
As I LOVE maple, do you think substituting some of the brown sugar with maple syrup would work? I make pumpkin pancakes for my daughter and the little bit of maple is so yummy with the pumpkin. I’m guessing the 1/2 cup might be too much?
I did not have pumpkin pie spice , used allspice instead – worked fine. Didn’t have a “silpat,” I found out was a handy little silicone baking mat; and I discovered I was out of parchment paper. I used the large cookie scoop (1 1/2 in diameter) from pampered chef and scooped into a cupcake liner, then used a testtube size container to make a little hole/indent. Only cook for about 8 mins. Very tasty. The men working on my basement loved them! My diabetic husband also like them, since it only has 1/2 cup sugar was too bad for him either. Can’t wait to share with my girls (when they get home for Christmas).
well after having to substitute in 1/2c whole wheat pastry flour, adding too much molasses to the white sugar to make brown, putting in a full cup of pumpkin puree instead of the 1/2 called for, then adding more flour, baking powder, and baking soda to compensate – these still came out pretty good! It was just one of those mornings. Look forward to making them again following the recipe this time.
Oh, and if you can find “apple cider molasses” to dip the donuts in, I highly recommend it – yummmmm!
Just tested this out on my kids this morning – yet another great recipe! They came out soft and the flavor wasn’t too overwhelming. I piped a dozen donuts onto my baking sheet but still had some batter left over, so I piped a bunch of donut holes too and they also worked great! Just pipe a blob about the sized of a golf ball and use a spoon to smooth out the peak at the top. I drizzled glaze on the donuts and dipped the tops of the munchkins to coat. So good!
I just made these and the kids love them! Having allergies and being in Australia I had to make a few substitutions. I used a gluten free flour mix and some chic pea flour. I used rapadura sugar and rice milk. Also we don’t have canned pumpkin in Australia so just used cooked and pureed.
They are great. I didn’t ice them as I thought I would see if the kids like them without and they do! I would ice them is I was making them for visitors or a special occassion as my kids are used to things not being as sweet. Even my ASD son loved them and I have had to hide the rest! Thanks for all your great recipes.
Ok so I cheated on the icing and placed a few Hershey’s cinnamon chips on top when they came out of the oven. Then I just squished them down with a butter knife to ice them. And now its time to make the doughnuts!!!!
I can’t wait to make these!! I was searching for the pumpkin pancake recipe with the chocolate cream frosting but came across these so we will be making these this morning!!! Yum =)
Just made these and OMG they are amazing!!! I made mine with half whole wheat flour and they turned out great even my husband loves them!! I have to make these for the entire family thanksgiving morning =) Thanks for all the great recipes!!
I made these last weekend and YUM! My husband and I ate the entire batch in one day! I am such a sucker for pastries, muffins…these really hit the spot.
I replaced the pumpkin pie spice with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp nutmeg. Also didn’t have any eggs left after thanksgiving cooking so replaced that with one banana. Also used a PP suggestion of brishing them with melted butter and rolling them in cinnamon/sugar mixture. They were soft and sweet with a slight banana flavor. Can these be made into muffins? Will definitely be making them again!
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I’ve just loaded this app buy I live in the uk. What is in canned pumpkin? We don’t get that over here? Can I just roast and mash a pumpkin? Thanks, very excited about these recipes!
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I love this recipe. I have made a few adjustments (I use succant sugar (sp) instead and I also use almond milk and fresh pumpkin puree from my freezer. I did a bunch of pumpkin puree this fall from the pumpkins in our garden). Very yummy. Thanks!!
Ok, just made these for the first time today. My dough came out really thick. I ended up hand rolling to make donut shape. Also, my icing needed more milk but then I put too much in and it ran and did not really stick to the donuts. They were still good and my kids liked them. Any tips for how to make them better next time?? Thanks.
Has anyone tried freezing the baked donuts? I made a double batch and wanted to save the extra for a rainy day. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
I have! Just warm them up in the oven or toaster to defrost and enjoy!
Thanks Catherine. I was thinking of experimenting with other purees for this recipe. Do you think it will bake as well?
Ohhh what kind of purees were you thinking?! I would say purees that aren’t very watery would work the best. Let me know what you try and how they come out!