These healthy baked pumpkin donuts are moist, fluffy, and easy to make in 30 minutes! Homemade pumpkin donuts are baked and not fried and made with whole wheat flour.
In a small bowl combine dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt) and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin and melted butter until smooth and combined.
Add egg, milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
Add brown sugar and stir until it’s completely combined and dissolved into the batter.
Add the dry ingredients and stir until everything is combined and the batter is homogenous (uniform throughout).
Transfer batter from the mixing bowl into a quart Ziploc bag or piping bag. If using a plastic bag, cut off one tip of the bag.
Pipe batter into the wells of the donut pan.
Use your finger to smooth out any air pockets.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched and are slightly golden brown.
Let sit in the donut pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Add 2 TBS milk and stir to combine.
The mixture should be firm but flowy (easily poured with a spoon but not liquidy).
If necessary, add more milk ½ tsp at a time (a little goes a long way).
Glaze the donuts:
Once the pumpkin donuts are completely cooled, apply the glaze in one of two ways:
Dip the tops of the donuts in the bowl filled with glaze and then set on a wire cooling rack to harden.
Use a spoon and scoop the glaze onto the donuts. Let sit on the wire cooling rack to harden.
Let the glazed pumpkin donuts sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator until glaze is hardened, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
All-purpose flour. I chose to use a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flour for a lighter texture. Feel free to use your favorite flour (spelt, buckwheat, white whole wheat, etc), but be aware that it will effect the texture of the final product.
Whole wheat flour. You can use all-purpose flour in place of whole wheat flour.
Butter. If you prefer you can use coconut oil or ghee for a dairy-free version.
Milk. I used whole milk because that's what we buy! 2%, half and half, heavy cream, etc. should all work well in this recipe! To make this recipe dairy-free I recommend full-fat coconut milk for the richest taste.
Brown Sugar. Coconut sugar can be used in place of brown sugar for a refined-sugar free variety. You can also use granulated sugar, however I prefer the richer taste of brown sugar! Light or dark works well.
If you plan on eating them the day they are made, simply leave them out on the cooling rack or on a serving dish at room temperature!To keep them fresher longer, store the pumpkin glazed donuts in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. I recommend putting them in a single layer in an airtight container. Stacking them can cause the glaze to crack!