Enjoy bakery flavor at home with these baked Pumpkin Spice Mini-Donuts!
In our house, if someone is craving donuts, we usually have to make our own donuts at home because with my daughter's severe peanut allergy, grabbing donuts at the local bakery like most people doesn't happen for us. The chance for cross-contamination of ingredients is too great.
I've had a mini-donut pan in my cupboard for years. I bought it with the intention of making my own baked donuts for my daughter. I figured they would be healthier than those that are fried and obviously eliminate any chance of a stray peanut product sneaking into them. But after several attempts, I gave up searching for baked donut recipes that didn't turn out as hard as rocks.
This recipe for Pumpkin Spice Mini-Donuts from Blue-Eyed Bakers caught my eye on Pinterest quite a while ago, and I'm so glad I broke out the mini-donut pan for it. Ah-mazing.
The texture is lighter and fluffier than your typical cake donut. It's more like a muffin, which I think is ideal for baked donuts. The pumpkin keeps the donuts tender and moist, while the fall-themed spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves) are a perfect match for the season. But wait, we're not done yet. The swooning begins once you coat them in butter and dust them with cinnamon-sugar. That really puts them over the top.
Instructions
Making your own donuts isn't nearly as hard as it sounds, especially when you're making baked donuts that just get thrown in the oven, and don't involve any complicated frying.
Start by preheating the oven, then grease the mini-donut pan. Next, you'll whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in a small bowl. Then, in a large bowl combine oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin, and milk. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. (Don't overwork the batter. No one likes tough donuts.)
Once the batter is prepped, pour the batter into a large Ziploc bag and snip a small corner off one end. Squeeze batter into mini-donut pan forms, working in stages if necessary. Bake until the donuts gently spring back when you touch them. Once ready, pop them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Can I Make Homemade Donuts Without A Donut Pan?
No donut pan? No problem! Whip out your regular old muffin pan, and grab some tin foil. With these two items, you can make some make ship donut pans in a flash.
Just place a small ball of foil in the center of the muffin tin, and pipe your pumpkin donut batter around it. Make sure you spray the foil, or the donuts will stick to it.
Are Baked Donuts Healthier Than Fried Donuts?
Traditionally baked donuts are a little healthier than fried donuts. The baked version has a lot less oil and fat content since there is no process of deep-frying.
This recipe does loose a little of that "healthier" status though as it is dipped in butter and coated in cinnamon and sugar, but life is too far too short to waste your calories on mediocre donuts.
How Long Do Baked Donuts Last?
Donuts are always best eaten fresh, and slightly warm. Honestly, there are few things that are better than a freshly baked donut that's still warm. If you cant eat them right away no worries, you still have options.
If you don't plan to eat all the donuts right away, place the uncoated donuts in an airtight container until ready to use. Then proceed with the butter/sugar coating when you are ready to serve them.
The donuts will last in an airtight container, uncoated, for about 4-5. Any longer than that and you will start to run the risk of them molding, or getting tough.
Serving Suggestions
There is no limit on when you can enjoy a good pumpkin baked donuts recipe! Have one with your morning coffee, as your after-dinner snack, or any time in between.
I made these as an after-school treat for my kids last week. Judging by their reactions, you'd think they just won the lottery. I have to agree; I felt rich with love for these bad boys, too.
Don't let the pumpkin in this recipe make you think this is only a fall recipe wither. Most grocery stores sell pumpkin year-round, so feel free to whip up a batch even in the dead of summer! No one here will judge you.
Baking Tips
- To make this recipe as full-size donuts, just use a regular size donut pan, and double the baking time.
- Don't overmix the batter. Overmixing will cause tough donuts, and no one wants that.
- For an extra tough of pumpkin flavor try making the coating with pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- No-Bake Oreo and Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfaits - Garnish With Lemon
- Layered Walnut Pumpkin Pie - Tidymom
- Creamy Turkey Pumpkin Chili - Garnish With Lemon
- Pumpkin Pie Smoothies - Shugary Sweets
- Kahlua Pumpkin Scotchie - Garnish With Lemon
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Overnight Oats - Cupcakes and Kale Chips
Pumpkin Spice Mini-Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoons ground cloves
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin
- ½ cup milk
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the mini-donut pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in a small bowl.
- Combine oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin and milk in a large bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. (Don't overwork the batter. No one likes tough donuts.)
- Pour batter into a large ziploc bag and snip a small corner off one end. (You're essentially making a pastry bag.) Squeeze batter into mini-donut pan forms, working in stages if necessary. Bake for 7-9 minutes. If the donuts gently spring back when you touch them, they are ready. Pop them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Coating
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
- Working with a few donuts at a time, brush both sides of donuts with butter using a pastry brush (or dip them right into the butter.)
- Put donuts into bowl and coat with cinnamon-sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
I made pumpkin pie oatmeal this morning - now you've got me wanting donuts! Anything pumpkin is so comforting this time of year.
Ooooh, pumpkin pie oatmeal! That sounds fabulous. Is the recipe on your blog? Will definitely check it out. So glad you stopped by!
Can i used this PumpkinSpice Mini Donuts Recipes in my Mini Donut machine
Hi Bonnie, I'm not sure how to answer your question as I've never used a mini donut machine. I suggest trying it for the recommended baking time and see how they turn out. Keep me posted!
where can I find a mini donut pan?
I've seen them at Target, but you can easily get them online (Amazon!)as well. Happy hunting!
Do you add the milk and pumpkin with the rest of the wet ingredients?
Hi Kendall, I reread the recipe and realized it isn't exactly clear when to add the pumpkin and milk. Yes, you do add those two items to the other wet ingredients. Thanks for clarifying, and enjoy the donuts!
Hi Anna!
Would you mind telling me the weight of the 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour in oz./gr.? I just want to make this donuts and I want it to be really perfect.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Heidi, Use 224 g or 7.88 oz of flour to get 1 3/4 cups. Here's a useful conversion chart for future use: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Just made them and they are delicious. To answer the previous commenter's question, you can make them in a donut maker. It's kind of like a waffle maker but for mini donuts if that makes sense. Also, we can't have gluten and I found Cup4Cup to be an excellent substitute for the all purpose flour.
Thanks for the tips!
could you use a non stick baking pan and and make more like sticks and bake untill done.I hate having to buy special pans ,or put into mini muffin pans?
I've never tried free-forming them into sticks, but a mini muffin pan would work great. Give that a try!
I don't have mini muffin pans so I would like to make them in regular sized pans. Any idea how that would effect the cooking time and the amount of donuts I would get. Thanks very much
Hi Sherrie, are you asking about regular size donut pans or muffin pans? I've never made them in large form, but I'm guessing it would make around 12 jumbo or 18 regular size donuts. And I'd add a few extra minutes on to the baking time. The donuts will be ready when they spring back lightly when touched. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for the info....I appreciate. The donut pans I have at home are regular size not jumbo.
These donuts look yummy! I love pumpkin recipes. I wonder if you have the nutrition value for these donuts.
Thank you!
Hi Celine, here's a great tool to help you find the nutritional information you're looking for: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp. Hope you enjoy the donuts!
Thank you Anna!
Hi Anna, thanks for sharing this recipe! This look amazing. Do you mind if I use/repost your donut photos?
Hi Bruce, glad you like the donuts! Would you mind sending a private message explaining a little more about what you are thinking? Thanks! garnishwithlemon @ gmail DOT com
You gave me a great excuse to try out the mini-donut pan I bought in January. Great recipe! Moist with great pumpkin flavor. I used organic brown sugar, pumpkin and freshly grated nutmeg. And I dipped the tops of the donuts in the butter then tossed them in the sugar rather then brush the butter on. Because I thought I would use less butter - I have no idea if that was the case. 🙂 Thanks so much for your recipe.
I love fall baking, and these donuts are some of our favorite treats. So glad you enjoyed them, Diane!
Oh my! These are soooooo amazing! Although My brother is allergic to eggs and peanuts I use an egg substitute and they came out amazing! They were the first donuts he had ever had. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. God Bless!
I'm thrilled, Renee! My peanut allergic daughter adores them, too, and it's so fun to make food that they wouldn't normally be able to enjoy. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I was just telling my daughter I was going to make pumpkin donuts this weekend! So glad I found these! The texture looks perfect and I love the sugar coating.
Can't go wrong with the sugar coating 🙂
I didn't even know you ladies were blogging back in 2012, I love surprises like that! I love donuts, so naturally I want 3 dozen of these babies!
That was right when we started, hard to believe it's been that long already-time has flown by!
I don't have a donut pan. What would you recommend? A mini muffin pan perhaps? These look so scrumptious!
Yes, you can use a mini muffin pan. Just keep an eye on the cooking time. Happy experimenting!
these did not turn out and I have no idea what I did wrong, they were doughy and tasted raw? I used a silicone doughnut mold, at 350 F
Hmmm, I'm not sure why they didn't work for you, either. Rae. Unfortunately muffin pan sizes can vary, and I suspect that may be part of the issue. I'd recommend making sure the donuts spring back lightly when you touch them before you take them out of the oven, regardless of the cooking time specified in the recipe.
Those look so insanely good! Love that sugar crunch on the outside of the soft pumpkin donut!!!
This is such an awesome recipe Ana! Thank you for sharing this with the world. I am writing a newsletter for an Insurance company, and we are wondering if we could have your permission to use this recipe on the newsletter. We would of course put your name and website to give you the credit, and even for future recipes. If you could get back with me that would be great!
I corrected my previous comments website! 🙂
Hi Brent, thanks for your kind words. Yes, you may use our image and recipe in your newsletter along with proper credit. Enjoy!
Made this recipe for brunch. Very yummy! I used maple glaze instead of the cinnamon sugar.
Oooh, love that twist, Rena! Thanks for stopping back and letting us know how they turned out for you. Happy holidays!
Can homemade pumpkin be used instead ? Or would it make them too doughy?
Are you talking about using your own cooked and pureed pumpkin? I'm sure that would work just fine.
Also could I make these into bigger than mini doughnuts?
Yes, you can! I've made them into mini and regular size doughnuts as well as mini muffins. They all work well. Simply adjust the baking time for the larger size. Happy baking!
Can I use pumpkin pie spice in place of all the spices in the recipe and if so how much should I use?
Hi Virginia, Yes, you can swap in pumpkin pie spice for the spices listed. I would start at 2 teaspoons and adjust from there if needed. Enjoy!
Hi! I am excited to test out this recipe. Do you recommend any particular type of milk (i.e. whole, 2%, 1%, low-fat)?
Hi Katie, We often have either 2% in the house, so that's what I use, but any milk will work just fine. Enjoy!
Have you ever tried freezing these?
No, I haven't, but I'd bet you can successfully freeze them without the butter/sugar coating. Let me know if you give it a go!
Can you sub pumpkin pie spice? If so, how much?
Hi Nichelle, Pumpkin Pie Spice usually has ginger in it, and while this recipe doesn't call for it, you can certainly still use it! Try 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in lieu of the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Happy baking!
My friend is lactose intolerant. Can I use almond milk instead of cow milk? Soy milk? Also, butter substitute instead of butter? Thanks for the advice. We just got a mini donut maker from Freecycle and are excited to try these!
Hi Marisol, I've never tried the substitutions you suggest, so I can't say for sure but it's definitely worth a shot. My gut says it will be just fine. Happy baking!
Hi Anna,
Thanks so much, I will let you know how it goes.
XO,
marisol