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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 made these mini donuts in a clam-baker that I purchased off of Amazon. Once I got my time adjusted correctly they turned out perfect. Very delicious. Thank you for providing the recipe.
10 ********** these donuts are phenomenal! Easy and oh so delicious! My husband who is a fuss budget about his Donuts never thought that a baked donut would taste this good! He said can you make another batch on Sunday! He said I’ll never eat a fried donut again! Thank you so much for this recipe. If you’re thinking of trying this recipe just do it you will not be disappointed.
Can these be done in the air fryer?
Hi Catherine. I’ve never tried these in an air fryer so I can’t say. The batter doesn’t hold it’s shape well enough to be handled easily, so that might raise an issue…
I want yo substitute the flour with almond flour.what would the conversion be? Thank you
Hi Susan. I don’t recommend that substitute at all, as this recipe does not work with almond flour.
The hardest part of making these Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Donuts is resisting the urge to double the recipe – it says they are best eaten the day of, and I’m only baking for 3 sugar babies. They are fast, they are easy, and they are absolutely delicious! I’ll be making more soon! Thank you 🙂
LOL. I totally agree… it’s so hard not to bake a million of these donuts! So happy they were a hit for you, Gina!
My boyfriend made these for me this morning and they are absolutely delicious. We didn’t have pumpkin pie puree, but pumpkin puree and we followed your spice recommendations for that. They came out perfect and so tasty. I know we’ll be making these often.
Awww what a special morning treat! So happy these were a hit!
Can I make these in advance and freeze them?
Unfortunately these don’t freeze well!
Can these be made in muffin tin, or individual brownie tin? If so what would you suggest for timing them?
Comparing your cinnamon sugar donuts (which may be the best things ever!) to these. Does the pumpkin pie filling sub for the egg that doesn’t exist in this recipes?
These were the most amazing start to our Thanksgiving day! Better than any bakery, I did both the regular and vegan recipes and they were a big hit with the whole family.