These Baked Pumpkin Donuts are heavenly — moist, tender, and practically melt in your mouth. Finish them in melted butter with cinnamon sugar or dip them in a browned butter glaze. Either way, they’re irresistible.
If you’ve been thinking “another pumpkin recipe?” — hear me out. These pumpkin cake donuts stopped me mid-sentence. If you bake just one pumpkin treat this season, make it these baked pumpkin donuts. They’re exactly what you want from a fall baked good: light, cakey, and packed with warm pumpkin spice flavor.
These donuts exceeded my expectations. I had to send most of them away or I would have eaten every single one. Warm, cinnamon-sugary, moist and tender — can you stand it? I couldn’t.
They’re simple to make and so good you’ll want to repeat the recipe. The hardest decision is choosing a finish: toss them in cinnamon & sugar or dunk the tops in a nutty browned butter glaze. Both are fantastic — try both and decide for yourself.
These are best the day you bake them. Warm from the oven they’re particularly tempting, and you may not stop at just one.
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
5 Stars
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- Author: 5boysbaker.com
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 15 donuts
Description
These moist, tender baked pumpkin donuts are a perfect fall treat. They’re quick to make and disappear fast — you’ve been warned.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
Coating:
- Cinnamon sugar (about 1/4 cup)
- OR
Brown Butter Glaze:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard donut pans.
- Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir just until the batter is smooth.
- Spoon about a scant 1/4 cup batter into each donut cup, or fill a large zip-top bag, cut a corner, and pipe the batter into the pans. Fill about 3/4 full. The recipe makes about 15 donuts, so you may need two batches depending on how many pans you have.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven. After about 5 minutes, loosen the edges and transfer the donuts to a rack to cool.
- While still warm (but not fragile), place donuts in a bag with cinnamon-sugar and shake gently to coat. If you’ve baked muffins instead, sprinkle their tops with cinnamon-sugar.
- To make the brown butter glaze: melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk constantly and continue cooking until the butter turns golden and fragrant, about 7–8 minutes. Pour the brown butter into a bowl, whisk in powdered sugar, 2–3 tablespoons milk or cream, and vanilla until smooth. Dip the donut tops in the glaze.
Notes
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, substitute 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Donuts
Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour