These Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts are moist and tender inside with a sugar-and-spice coating, and they are the BEST baked donut recipe I’ve ever made!
I have to say, I think this pumpkin donut recipe is my very favorite recipe to welcome fall.
There’s just something so comforting about making these Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts on a morning with the slightest chill that says “fall is HERE and it’s gonna be glorious.”
Plus, they make your house smell like a cozy autumn day! Perfect for luring the kids downstairs on an early back-to-school morning.
Table of Contents
- The Story Behind the Recipe
- Why You’ll Love Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- Ingredients
- Adaptations/Variations
- How to Make Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- Tips for Success
- Can I Freeze Pumpkin Donuts?
- More Pumpkin Baking Recipes
The Story Behind the Recipe
Baked donuts are, in my opinion, one of the best invention for home cooks that’s come about in the past couple of decades. Those donut-shaped pans create magic in the kitchen, no hot oil in sight!
My older sister used to make the most amazing deep-fried cake donuts. She’d break out the deep fryer and they’d sizzle up golden and perfect. But it was a production for sure. Traditional homemade donuts are amazing, but they’re a lot of work!
Baked donuts are so much easier – more like making muffins. Just whip up your batter and spoon or pipe it into your donut pan. Bake for just a few minutes, and you have donuts! It’s the best thing ever.
Why You’ll Love Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
This pumpkin donut recipe is the BEST, I swear. They’re soft and tender and coated with pumpkin-spice-sugar-mix that takes them over the top.
They’re the best companion for coffee EVER. BFFs basically.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin puree – Use your pumpkin puree from a can, or grab some homemade pumpkin puree. These pumpkin donuts would be especially good with puree made from Winter Luxury Pumpkin or Long Island Cheese Pumpkin!
- Butter – melted butter goes into the batter, with an additional tablespoon for brushing the donuts after they’ve baked for extra-moist muffins that hold that wonderful cinnamon-sugar coating. I use unsalted butter for baking so that I can better control the overall salt content in a recipe.
- Egg
- Milk – Whole or 2% work, or unsweetened oat milk or almond milk will work as well if you want to reduce the dairy or it’s all you have.
- Pure vanilla extract
- Flour – I use your typical white all-purpose flour. but cake flour would make an even more tender donut.
- Brown sugar – I like dark brown sugar for the rich flavor, but light will work too.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Pumpkin pie spice – Make pumpkin spice blend yourself or buy it in the store. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves. Reserve a teaspoon of this mix for your sugar coating.
- Sugar – White granulated sugar mixed with pumpkin spice makes the sugary coating.
Adaptations/Variations
- Dairy-Free Pumpkin Donuts – Use dairy-free milk like oat milk. For the butter, use canola oil or melted coconut oil.
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donuts – I have not tested this recipe with a GF flour blend, but I suspect a one-for-one substitute will work great.
- Glazed Pumpkin Donuts – Omit the sugar coating and instead try a vanilla or maple glaze. Yum!
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Donuts – Add 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips to your pumpkin donut batter.
How to Make Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Simply mix together the wet ingredients, then sift in the flour. Add the brown sugar and mix just until blended.
From there, spoon the batter into your greased donut pans, or add the batter to a zipper bag and pipe it in.
Bake your donuts, then brush them with melted butter and dunk them in your pumpkin spice and sugar mix.
Shake off the excess sugar and serve! Ideally with a cup of coffee.
Tips for Success
- Spray your donut pans with non-stick spray so that the donuts pop out easily.
- Add your batter to a zipper bag and snip off the bottom, then pipe the batter right into your donut pan.
- Brush with butter and add sugar when super warm and fresh out of the oven. You can actually skip this butter step and dunk the donuts directly in the sugar when warm, but not quite as much will adhere and the donuts won’t be as moist.
Can I Freeze Pumpkin Donuts?
Yes! However, I recommend freezing the donuts before adding the cinnamon sugar coating.
To freeze, place the uncoated donuts in an airtight container and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to serve them, take them out of the freezer and allow them to thaw at room temp (about an hour). Brush with butter and dip with cinnamon sugar right before serving.
These are seriously the best pumpkin donuts around! I hope you love them as much as we do – and please come back and leave a review after you’ve tried them!
More Pumpkin Baking Recipes
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 6 tablespoons butter (5 tablespoons for the batter + 1 tablespoon for brushing on the baked donuts)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed; light will work, too)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or table salt)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
Coating
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
Equipment
- 2 donut pans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175° Celsius). Spray donut pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Melt 5 tablespoons of the butter and let it cool a bit. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, milk and vanilla until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while stirring to combine.
- Place a fine-mesh sieve over the top of the wet ingredients and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice mix. Sift the ingredients in and top with the brown sugar. Mix just until the batter is smooth and well-incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Bake just until the tops of the donuts spring back when you lightly poke them, 9-11 minutes.
- While the donuts bake, mix together the topping ingredients, the sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice in a medium bowl that's large enough to dip the donuts in.
- After removing the donuts from the oven, allow them cool for a minute in the pan, then use a butter knife and your hands to gently lift the donuts out of the pan one at a time, placing on a wire rack.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and gently brush both sides of the donuts with the butter. Dip the donuts into the sugar and spice mix, coating both sides and tapping them lightly to remove any excess. Serve.
