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Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Donuts are baked, not fried, and ready in less than 20 minutes! So easy and perfect for breakfast! Pumpkin pie puree and pumpkin spice give these baked donuts incredible pumpkin flavor!
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
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. S
ometimes baked donuts can be too cake-y and soft, but this version is fluffy yet firm. <— The best of both worlds, baby ♥♥♥
How to Make Pumpkin Donuts
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, pumpkin pie spice, 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?
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!
More Donut Recipes
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake Donuts
- Nutella Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
- Brown Butter Apple Cider Donuts
- Coffee Cake Donuts with Vanilla Glaze
- Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Perfect Donut Pan for Baked Donuts
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
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
- 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 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
- 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 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.
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.
Hi, I was wondering if I used a 12 donut mini pan instead- would that change the baking time?
These are Delicious! What is their shelf life and since they ate drizzled with butter should leftovers be refrigerated?
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.
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.
These were a hit. I purposely only baked 9 min -ish. SO delicious. I used pumpkin puree that was in my pantry, so added the additional spices as you noted. Couldn’t I have just doubled or tripled the pumpkin pie spice vs the individual spices? Also, for the cinnamon sugar/coconut oil after baking, I used melted butter. Is there a difference?
You should add that to the recipe directions….brilliant. Will try the bag trick on tomorrow’s batch!
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.
Hubby just made them. Next time will add a bit more pumpkin pie spice and put cinnamon sugar only on the top and not coat it all over the donut.
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 am at the store right now and they carry organic pumpkin and a can I don’t know what the difference is between just canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree. Please help. So want to make them! I was at an event that had them and I begged for the recipe!!
plain pumpkin puree is your best bet! but organic pumpkin puree will work fine, too!
Made these this morning. Super easy, and really tasty. Made a double batch, because why not? 🙂 Thanks the recipe!
Hubby just made them and used regular canned pumpkin
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??
Amazing and super easy!