Happy day, my friends! Today is all about pumpkin, sugar, and DONUTS! Confession: I’ve been dreaming about these fluffy pumpkin cinnamon sugar donuts since JUNE. What can I say? My pumpkin loving heart knows no seasons. Then again, I’m the girl who made blackened chicken ramen noodle soup in July… so maybe all of this is no surprise?
If you’re anything like me, you adore donuts in pretty much any form! That said, I am a baked donut enthusiast and choose to bust out my donut pan over boiling a pot of oil 99.9% of the time. I like my donuts fat and fluffy. Sometimes baked donuts can be too cake-y and soft, but this version is fluffy yet firm. <— The best of both worlds, baby ♥♥♥
So here’s the nitty gritty on what you’ll need to make these dreamy donuts a reality! For the dry ingredients you’ll need all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. For the wet ingredients you’ll need milk (or almond milk), pumpkin pie puree (yes, the one with the spices already added in), and melted butter (or liquified coconut oil). You’ll also need granulated sugar and ground cinnamon to make the cinnamon sugar coating.
I thought about adding a drizzle or glaze to these donuts, but after test-tasting batch after batch, I decided to allow the natural charm of these pumpkin donuts to shine on their own. Sometimes less is more, ya know?
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A few years ago I tackled vegan baking and you guys seemed to really dig it. So today I’m offering you TWO recipes below. The first being a traditional baked pumpkin cinnamon sugar donut and the second being a VEGAN baked pumpkin cinnamon sugar donut. I made both batches for a party last weekend, placed them on the same platter (don’t worry – no one at the party was vegan!) and guess what? None of my friends mentioned tasting a difference between the two. Both versions are sweet, fluffy, and suuuuper addicting!
P.S. If you’re just dipping your toes into the baked donut game and are shopping for a donut pan, here’s the one I have been using for the past 3 years. It’s considerably cheap, very sturdy, and well, I just love it!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 baked donuts
Moist and fluffy Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar donuts are baked, not fried, and ready in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- Traditional version:
- 1 cup + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup *pumpkin pie puree
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup milk (I used whole, but any type will do)
- For the Cinnamon sugar coating:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- Vegan version:
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup *pumpkin pie puree
- 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- For the Cinnamon sugar coating:
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Traditional version:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Generously grease a doughnut pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, melted butter, and milk. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture - don't over mix!
- Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut pan, and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow doughnuts to cool a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire wrack to cool for a few more minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the butter for the cinnamon sugar coating; set aside. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a medium-sized bowl; set aside.
- Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, dip them in the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture; repeat until all donuts have been covered.
- These donuts are best eaten the day they are made.
- Vegan version:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Generously grease a doughnut pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, and almond milk.
- Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture - don't over mix!
- Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut pan, and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow doughnuts to cool a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire wrack to cool for a few more minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the coconut oil for the cinnamon sugar coating; set aside. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a medium-sized bowl; set aside.
- Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, dip them in the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture; repeat until all donuts have been covered.
- These are best eaten the day they are made.
Notes
Pumpkin pie puree can be found in most stores. If you can only find pumpkin puree, be sure to add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves to the dry ingredients.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 baked donut
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
% Daily Value |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
I was just thinking to myself the other day – I really need to make use of my donut pan! These look like the perfect way to do just that AND welcome my favourite season!
Bust that pan out, girl 😉 Fall is my favorite season, too!
No eggs?
Hi Laura! Yes, no eggs in this recipe.
Yesssssssss
Thank you, girl! So ready for PUMPKIN season 🙂
Made them for grandkids this morning …. LOVED them!!!!
Hi Cyndi! So happy to hear it 🙂
Are these gluten free? Either recipe?
Hi Cassie. No, neither recipe is gluten free. However a gluten free 1 for 1 flour may work.
Can this batter be put in muffin pans?
Hi Lili. I’ve never tried, so I cannot say for sure. If you do try, be sure to increase the baking time, as muffins take around 20 minutes typically. Please let us know if you give it a try!
Concerning your donut pan. You say, “here’s the one I’ve been using for the past 3 years…”, but did not mention brand. Is it perhaps Wilton, or some other brand?
Thanks for responding
Hi. The photo link for the pan I use is right below that comment (Norpro brand). If you’re still not seeing the link, please let me know and I’ll send it to you.
Any replacement if I don’t own a donut pan?
It this dough bread-like enough to roll out and cut and hold it’s shape?
Hi Kelley. This recipe requires a donut pan. The batter is too thin to hold shape.
Best vegan donuts I’ve had and so easy to make. I used cake flour and sifted the dry ingredients but other than that I used the exact recipe and it was great. Thank you!
SO happy to hear it, Elana!
Can i use whole wheat flour instead ?
Hi Juls. The texture will likely be more dense if you sub whole wheat flour.
I just used whole wheat flour, and they still were light and fluffy!
I hope you don’t mind, but I enjoyed your pumpkin recipe so much, that I put a link to it on my new blog. I can’t wait for Autumn 🙂 http://www.frolicinflorida.com
Amazing and super easy!
Can I make these in one of those baby cakes donut makers?
Hi Julie. I’ve never used a baby cakes donut maker, so I’m not sure how that product would work with this recipe. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out 🙂
Can you use regular pumpkin in a can instead of pumpkin pie purée??
Made these this morning. Super easy, and really tasty. Made a double batch, because why not? 🙂 Thanks the recipe!
OMG! I have made six of your donut recipes so far. All amazing but this one is hands down my favorite so far! Addictive. YUMMO!!!!!!
I was so excited to make these this morning, and am sorry to say I am equally as disappointed in the result. I’ve been a baker for many years, and in reviewing the recipe I was concerned that there wasn’t enough pumpkin in the recipe to provide the necessary flavor. They look beautiful out of the oven – plump and moist, but what I taste is sugar, then cinnamon, and a faint hint of pumpkin as an after taste. Definitely not what I was hoping for…
Hi Diane. I’m so sorry you were disappointed with the amount of pumpkin flavor in this recipe. Unfortunately pumpkin is tricky to bake with, and adding more than the called for amount in such a small scale recipe would lead to gummy donuts.
Just pulled these bad boys out of the oven and the tops are flat and lumpy instead of perfectly rounded. Any suggestions on how I can fix that with the next batch? Regardless, they smell and look delicious, so they’re gonna be devoured!
Not enough flavor in the donut only in the cinnamon suger
I I put the dough in a zip lock and squeezed it out to the pans.
It made them perfect shapes.
Made these this morning they turned out wonderful. Delicious. I will make them many more times. I only did the cinnamon and sugar on the top so I could taste that pumpkin and not just cinnamon and sugar. Thanks for sharing.
I made this recipe yesterday. It was a nice easy project to do with my 5yr old. We didn’t have a cake pan so we used the baby cakes cake pop maker. It took a couple tries to get them cooked perfectly, the timer on the cooker wasn’t in sync with the recipe. It took about 5-6 minutes for perfection. I have been unable to buy store bought due to a dairy allergy so thank you far creating one, and for making them healthier by not frying.
These are Delicious! What is their shelf life and since they ate drizzled with butter should leftovers be refrigerated?
Hi, I was wondering if I used a 12 donut mini pan instead- would that change the baking time?
I don’t get this but these didn’t work for me at all. I read the recipe a million times but this wasn’t nearly enough liquid to make anything thinner than a cookie batter. I thinned it out with more of the non dairy milk and pumpkin and they came out like glue-y pucks. No fun.
Hi Jenn. I’m so sorry you had trouble with this recipe. The batter is very thick and should be spooned or piped into the donut molds. Adding more liquid will result in a rubbery outcome.
I made these for breakfast this morning and after realizing that the only difference between the vegan and traditional version was the coconut oil, I decided to just use vegan butter (Earth Balance, to be exact). We really liked them since we still got the butter flavor of the traditional version!
Wow- just made the vegan version and they are delicious!! The only change I made was I used 1/4 cup sugar and 1 TB cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar topping. That was enough.
I will definitely make these again- thanks for the recipe!
My husband and boys told me to tell you…THOSE ARE AMAZING!!!” Thank you for the great recipe. Will be making these again, and again, Next time, I might try a cream cheese glaze. Yummy!
How can you store them?
These donuts are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
In the refrigerator or room temperature?
FYI – Your vegan version says to melt coconut oil, but then instructs them to be dipped in butter in step 16. Typo?
These are the best donuts ever!! My husband and I have made over and over. Thank you the recipe!
I’m so excited to try these, and I really appreciate you including the vegan version. My 16 month old is allergic to eggs and has a dairy intolerance- bummer- but I miss donuts!! I seriously can’t wait. I don’t have a donut pan, but….. something better! My Pampered Chef mini fluted cake pans will be perfect for these! 🙂
How do you substitute the coconut oil? I have an allergy.