Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Pumpkin spice donuts have a moist, cake-like consistency and are made without frying. They’re loaded with pure pumpkin and delicious spices, and are the perfect baked treat to keep in rotation this season!
These pumpkin spice doughnuts are just what you need when you’re not looking for anything fancy, just a simple dessert or snack to satisfy your pumpkin dessert cravings. Enjoy them plain, glazed, or dunked in a cup of pumpkin spice hot chocolate or a pumpkin spice latte!
You won’t need any fancy appliances, just a couple of bowls, a wooden spoon, and a doughnut baking pan. These deliciously moist, baked donuts come together quickly.
About these baked donuts
If you’re looking for an easy dessert with a pumpkin spice flavor, these baked donuts are a must-try. They’re cake-like and moist, but unlike fried donuts, they don’t come with a lot of extra grease. They also don’t have unnecessary additives that you’d find in a store-bought pack of donuts. They’re made with pure pumpkin, a blend of spices, and a bit of brown sugar which gives them all the flavors we love in a pumpkin dessert! A healthy donut IS possible!
They’re so easy to make and pretty adorable to look at, but more than that, they’re delicious to bite into. They will be devoured in no time! Enjoy them plain or with a simple yet elegant vanilla glaze on top or maybe some chopped nuts. They go from breakfast or snack to a dessert in a pinch.
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at making homemade donuts but hesitated because you thought it was too difficult, baked donuts are about to become your new best friend. They’re just as easy as making muffins but will remind you of a classic donut. Even better, they’re healthier. What’s not to love?
Enjoy them with a glass of caramel iced coffee for an extra special treat or some gingerbread hot chocolate for a holiday brunch!
PS: Feeling pumpkin-obsessed this season? Make sure you try Pumpkin Sheet Pan Pancakes, Pumpkin Monkey Bread Muffins, Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes, or a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.
What you need
For the donuts
- Baking Staples – All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt are everyday pantry ingredients you probably have on hand. They work together to create the base to which other flavors will be added.
- Spices – Cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves – A wonderful spice blend that gets added to the pumpkin, making it a delicious pumpkin spice.
- Pumpkin Purée – Canned pumpkin works great for this recipe as it tends to be thicker than homemade puree and not as watery. You can use homemade puree if that’s what you’d prefer, just know the consistency of the batter and the texture of the donut will be slightly different.
- Eggs – You’ll need 2 eggs for this recipe for binding.
- Olive Oil – Used as fat that gives everything added moisture. A mild-tasting olive oil works best for this recipe. You could also use another type of oil or melted butter.
- Milk – Milk adds more moisture and richness. Any type of milk will work.
Glaze
- Icing Sugar – Otherwise known as confectioners’ sugar or powdered sugar, it makes a sweet, smooth, and silky glaze that sets nicely.
- Milk – Milk is needed to blend the icing sugar into a glaze. You could also use water in a pinch.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – Adds a delicate vanilla flavor, but another flavoring of your choice can be substituted. Try maple extract with these pumpkin donuts!
- Toasted Nuts – Chopped walnuts or pecans are great on these donuts but are totally optional.
How to make them
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients and set them aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, but do not over mix the batter.
Add the batter to a greased donut pan using a spoon or piping bag, filling about 2/3 to the top.
Bake 10-12 minutes in a preheated oven at 375ºF and allow them to cool 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Cool completely before adding glaze.
Add a Glaze!
Make glaze by whisking together ingredients in a medium bowl until desired consistency is reached.
Dip the donut in glaze and then immediately sprinkle it with nuts if desired. Do the same with the remaining donuts. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes for glaze to harden.
FAQs
Pumpkin spice is traditionally a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice. In this recipe, there is no allspice or nutmeg but add it if you like. No matter what combination you use, you’ll still get the essence of pumpkin spice as long as you’re at least using cinnamon and of course pumpkin!
You can. Just know that they’re probably not going to turn out as cute, but they’ll taste the same. Some readers have had success piping out the batter into ring shapes onto a silicone baking sheet. Others roll up foil into a balls, placing them into the centers of muffin tins, and piping around it.
Baking requires accurate measurements so it’s important to follow directions as listed. It may have been because the flour ratio was off which usually happens when flour isn’t spooned and leveled. As tempting as it is to scoop the flour right out of the container into our measuring cups, it’s an inaccurate way to measure flour and leads to adding more than the recipe calls for. Next time, try adding flour into the measuring cup by the spoonful and leveling it off with a knife. It could also be that you over-mixed your batter, causing it to become dense and tough.
How to make these donuts your own
- If you have store-bought pumpkin pie spice on hand, or a premixed blend ready, go ahead and use it.
- If you only have cinnamon, use a larger amount of it.
- As delicious as a vanilla glaze is, so is a maple glaze, a honey glaze, or a brown sugar glaze.
- Turn them into muffins instead and bake about 10 minutes longer.
- Use a mini muffin tin and call them donut holes instead!
- Don’t want a glaze? A little dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce is all that’s needed.
Storage Suggestions
As with any baked donut, store them in a tightly covered container.They can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you still have them (you won’t, don’t worry), transfer them to the fridge for up to 1 week.
More donut recipes
Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup olive oil (or any type of mild tasting oil)
- 1/2 cup milk
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar (aka confectioners' sugar)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3-1/2 cup toasted nuts of choice (walnuts or pecans)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease donut pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt, and both sugars. Set aside.
- Mix together eggs, milk, olive oil, and pumpkin together in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined (don’t overmix).
- Add batter to the donut pan using a spoon or piping bag.
- Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack. Cool completely before adding glaze.
- Make glaze by whisking together ingredients in a medium bowl until desired consistency is reached.
- Dip donut in glaze and then immediately sprinkle it with nuts. Do the same with remaining donuts. Allow to set for 20-30 minutes.
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include optional nuts.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For storage longer than two days, transfer them to the fridge for up to 1 week. They taste best fresh!
- If desired, use 1 3/4 pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.