Don’t be fooled, these baked pumpkin donuts are just as rich and decadent as their fried counterparts. The maple butter glaze is the icing on the cake.
Baked pumpkin donuts are so much easier to make than traditional fried donuts, and they’re really really good. My coworkers can attest to that. I’ve tested out several different versions of this recipe and no surprise, the batch with the most butter and salt won 🙂
Tips and Substitutions
- Pumpkin pie spice is a great alternative to my spice blend.
- To make a buttermilk substitute, combine milk with a little white vinegar, or mix together yogurt and milk until you achieve a buttermilk like consistency. See recipe notes for more details.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
- Feel free to freeze any extra donuts. To freeze, wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in a resealable freezer bag. To defrost, place in the fridge the night before you want to eat them. Then place on the counter until room temperature.
Alternative Toppings and Add Ins
- Chocolate ganache instead of maple glaze. Try my ganache recipe for my Port Wine Brownies minus the port wine.
- Cinnamon sugar instead of glaze.
- Finely chopped walnuts or pecans on top. Add before the glaze sets.
- Chocolate chips or butterscotch chips in the batter.
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Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 dozen donuts 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
Don’t be fooled, these baked pumpkin donuts are just as rich and decadent as their fried counterparts. The maple butter glaze is the icing on the cake.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon*
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch cloves
- Pinch allspice
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup buttermilk*
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp (3oz) unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:*
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons (2oz) unsalted butter, melted
- Dash vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep oven and pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two donut pans (if you have them) with melted butter.*
- Mix dry ingredients: Place a sieve over a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices to sieve. Sift ingredients together into bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients: In another bowl, add egg and sugar. Whisk until very smooth. Add pumpkin, milk and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Mix wet and dry: Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk together. Stir in melted, cooled butter.
- Pipe into pans: Transfer batter to a piping bag. Cut tip making a ¾ inch opening and pipe into greased pans. If you only have one pan, save half of the batter for the second batch.
- Bake and cool: Bake for 9-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert pan onto wire rack. Allow donuts to cool completely.
- Glaze and enjoy: Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl. Stir in maple, butter and vanilla.*Dip cooled donuts into glaze and allow to set on a wire rack. After about 30 minutes, I dipped the donuts for a second time. Enjoy.
Notes
- You may substitute 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the spices in this recipe.
- You can make a buttermilk substitute one of two ways: combine ¾ cup of whole of 2% milk with 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and allow to sit for 5 minutes, OR combine ½ cup plain yogurt with about ¼ cup milk.
- This glaze recipe was adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- If you don’t have a donut pan, try a muffin pan. Baking times will vary.
- Make sure your donuts are completely cooled before glazing. The temperature of the glaze also affects the final results. When my glaze was warmer, it appeared thinner on my donuts and reminded me more of a bakery style glazed donut. Some of the glaze also soaked into the donut, which was tasty. When the glaze was cooler, it created a thicker layer and was more like frosted donut.
- Store in an airtight container and store at room temperature for several days.
- Feel free to freeze any extra donuts. To freeze, wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in a resealable freezer bag. To defrost, place in the fridge the night before you want to eat them. Then place on the counter until room temperature.
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 185mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 43mg
Keywords: baked pumpkin donuts, pumpkin donuts, baked donuts
This post was updated with new images, a video and a slightly adjusted recipe. My original recipe included a chocolate glaze, so I provided a link to a ganache recipe as an alternative topping.
These donuts are the perfect fall treat! Love the video!!
★★★★★
Thanks, Marissa 🙂
You’re doing some amazing work Sabrina. Much enjoyed reading your biography in culinary until present. I wish you the best in your current work and look forward to your updates. Thank you.
Thanks, so so much Bobby!