Homemade baked pumpkin donuts topped with cinnamon sugar. A perfect Fall treat that is easy to make and comes together in less than 30-minutes.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
- Perfect for using leftover pumpkin puree
- Baked, not fried (No oily mess to clean)
- It comes together in less than 30-minutes
Ingredients you’ll need:
You can find a complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions at the bottom of this post.
- Pumpkin Puree: when using canned puree, make sure it’s 100% pure pumpkin. The only ingredient listed should be “pumpkin”. As opposed to pumpkin pie mix/filling, which already has sugar and spices added.
- Pumpkin Spice: you can use your favorite store-bought brand or make your own.
- Cinnamon & Sugar: used to top the donuts with an added layer of sweetness, but you can also enjoy them as is.
- Butter: melted butter is for both the donut batter and the outside coating.
How to make this recipe:
These baked pumpkin donuts are easy to make and are a great compliment on a Fall day! Your house will be smelling like a PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) before you know it.
Step 1: Make donut batter
- Whisk together dry ingredients
- Whisk together all wet ingredients
- Then combine both wet and dry ingredients.
Step 2: Fill donut pans
- Grease and prepare the donut pans.
- Pipe batter filling it to the top, but it shouldn't spill over.
Step 3: Bake donuts
- Place donut pans into the preheated oven (350°F/176° C) and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into donuts; if it comes out clean, they are ready!
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes in the pan to cool. Then move to a cooling rack and allow them to finish cooling.
Step 4: Top with cinnamon sugar
- In a bowl big enough to fit a donut, mix cinnamon and granulated sugar.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Allow it to cool slightly; you don’t want it scalding hot.
- Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, lightly brush both sides of the donut with butter. Then roll or sprinkle the donuts in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated.
Helpful Tips:
- If you don’t have a piping bag on hand, you can make one using a large zipped-top bag. Pour the batter into the bag, move the batter into one of the corners, then cut a small opening for the batter to pipe through easily.
- Don’t plan on eating your donuts right away? Hold off on adding the cinnamon sugar topping until you are ready to eat them, as they can become soggy.
- Heat any extra stored donuts in the microwave 10-15 seconds before rolling them into the topping.
- Prevent the bottoms of your donuts from becoming soggy by allowing them to cool on a cooling rack.
FAQ:
Yes! Baked donuts are best stored in an airtight container (without any topping) for up to 2 months.
If you don’t plan on eating your baked donuts right away, hold-off adding any toppings and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator for up to 7 days
You can test a couple of ways:
- Toothpick method: These are pretty moist donuts. Insert a toothpick into the donut; they are done if the toothpick comes out clean. If the toothpick still has batter or quite a few moist crumbs on it, then continue to bake in 1-2 minute increments. Keep a close eye on them as you don’t want them to overbake.
- Bounce back method: Lightly poke the donut with your finger; if it bounces back, then they are done. If there’s an indent after touching the donut, continue to bake in 1-2 minute increments.
You May Also Like
- Baked Coffee Cake Donuts
- Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins (small-batch)
- Zucchini Bread with Brown Sugar Oat Crumble
Original Post: this baked pumpkin donut recipe was initially developed for Doughnate Sunday, a virtual baking class, which my friend and fellow baker bestie, Emily Tsen, and I created to raise funds for organizations that are taking action to make positive social and systemic change.
If you are interested in signing up for a future Doughnate Sunday, add your name to our email list. We’d love to bake with you during our next event.
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Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Cinnamon-sugar
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 12 Donuts 1x
Description
Homemade baked pumpkin donuts topped with cinnamon sugar. A perfect Fall treat that is easy to make and comes together in less than 30-minutes.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Donut
- 1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup Light brown Sugar
- 1 ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 ¾ teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter, melted & cooled
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup Milk, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon-Sugar
- 3 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, melted & cooled
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
Instructions
Baked Pumpkin Donut:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176° C). Grease your donut pans and set them aside.
- Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin, melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla until combined.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Pipe the batter into donut pans using a piping bag. You can fill pan to the top, but it shouldn’t be spilling over.
- Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, using a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Once done, let them rest in the pan and cool for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack, and let them cool for another 20 min.
Cinnamon & Sugar:
- While your donuts are in the oven, prepare the topping.
- Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Melt your 3 tbsp of butter and set aside to cool (keep separate).
- Once your donuts are cool enough, lightly brush both sides with the butter. If you have one, you can use a pastry brush, or the back of a spoon is just fine.
- Take your donuts and roll in the cinnamon sugar until lightly coated on all sides.
Notes
- Don’t have a piping bag? Make one using a large zipped-top bag. Pour the batter into the bag, move the batter to one of the corners, and cut a small opening for the batter to pipe through easily.
- These donuts do not rise a lot, for a fuller donut, you can fill the batter close to the top of the pan. Just make sure the batter does not spill over.
- If you don’t plan on eating them right away, hold off on adding the topping until you are ready so that they don’t become soggy.
- Store in an airtight container (without topping) for up to 2 days at room temperature, 7 days in the refrigerator, and 2 months in the freezer.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: baked pumpkin donut, cinnamon sugar, easy pumpkin donut recipe, homemade pumpkin donuts
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