Pumpkin Doughnuts
November 6, 2012
This time of year pumpkins are everywhere! A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the local pumpkin patch. While they busied themselves painting silly faces on their pumpkins I walked around and picked out one of each variety pumpkin that was good for eating. Needless to say we have been eating a lot of pumpkin! That being said, I tend to use the fresh pumpkins for things like soup or caramelized roasted pumpkin and still use canned pumpkin for baking. It has a thicker consistency than the homemade puree which makes for better baked goods. Homemade puree needs to be drained before using to get a similar texture. One year I did a test making several pumpkin pies, some using canned pumpkin and some using fresh and we all liked the canned better. (We also couldn’t tell the difference between the parve one and the dairy one, which I must say surprised most people). Since I use canned pumpkin for baking there is no reason I couldn’t make pumpkin baked goods and desserts all year round, but it is the fall that has me craving pumpkin and spice.
Last year I bought a baked doughnut pan on a whim and it has been sitting in my cabinet ever since. When I started seeing pictures of baked pumpkin doughnuts popping up on pinterest I immediately knew it was time to break in the doughnut pan. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about baked doughnuts. The batter is very similar to a muffin or quick bread batter so I couldn’t imagine that baking it in a pan like a doughnut would make it taste like a doughnut. Well, I was wrong. These doughnuts are outstanding. I used the King Arthur Flour recipe for Pumpkin Doughnuts, and I thought the recipe was virtually perfect. The only change I made was brushing the baked doughnuts with melted margarine so that the cinnamon sugar would stick better. The coating is the key to these doughnuts. It is the coating of cinnamon sugar on all the surfaces make the doughnuts taste more doughnut-like than muffin-like. These don’t have quite the denseness that a fried cake doughnut does but these definitely taste like doughnuts. Even better, they were still delicious the next day and even made a great breakfast heated in the toaster on the third day. That is something a fried doughnut could never do! I will say I am sold on the pan, I am going to be using it a lot more often. Apple cider doughnuts are going to be next!
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Pumpkin Doughnuts
November 6, 2012
Ingredients & Instructions
Ingredients & Quantities
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) pumpkin purée
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons(8 oz) All-Purpose Flour*
- 3 tablespoons (1.5 oz) melted margarine
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Preparation Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won’t be doughnuts.
Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well.
Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a resealabel bag. While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), brush the doughnuts top and bottom with the melted margarine. Gently shake them in a bag with the spiced sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.
Cool completely, and wrap airtight; store at room temperature for several days.
Recipe Details
Recipe Times
Prep
20 Minutes
Cook
20 Minutes
Total
40 Minutes
Recipe Yield
12 Doughnuts
Recipe Categories
Pumpkin Doughnuts
November 6, 2012
Recipe Details
Recipe Yield
12 Doughnuts
Prep Time
20 Minutes
Cook Time
20 Minutes
Total Time
40 Minutes
Ingredients & Quantities
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) pumpkin purée
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons(8 oz) All-Purpose Flour*
- 3 tablespoons (1.5 oz) melted margarine
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Preparation & Cooking
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won’t be doughnuts.
Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well.
Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a resealabel bag. While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), brush the doughnuts top and bottom with the melted margarine. Gently shake them in a bag with the spiced sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.
Cool completely, and wrap airtight; store at room temperature for several days.
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Recipe Page: https://www.couldntbeparve.com/recipe/pumpkin-doughnuts/
I love this! They look like a cake-style donut, which is my absolute favorite!
wow! might have to try these for chanukah! i love pumpkin!
I think I could eat hal a doen of these right now. Re” fresh pumpkin — you’re right that the canned is drier. I use it but when I have a lot of fresh pumpkin I strain it. Takes longer but it’s important to do.
sorry for fast spelling. It’s : “I could eat a half dozen”
When I saw this recipe I figured it would be fried, so happy to see it is baked. I want to get a donut pan, something so fun about making baked goods in that shape.
Linked to you in this list I just happened to be putting together about “canning” pumpkin in the freezer.
Even before I read your post, I added a step which I’ve found very helpful in packing my own pumpkin: drain it VERY well, so you don’t end up with too-wet pumpkin. And I did say that even with draining, you might still not want to risk using homemade for pies.
Mmm… now I want a doughnut pan!!!
Thanks for sharing, this is helpful. I have several pumpkins that need Cooking so I may do this. I have discovered that if you want to use fresh pumpkin for pie it works well to cook it over the stove for a bit after draining to evaporate out some of the moisture. Most of the time that’s too much trouble for me so I fall back on canned, but in theory I like using fresh better.
I am not sure if it was an SNL sketch, or a blog post I read, but the first thing I thought when I was reading was “Why is Pumpkin in Everything!!”. I do like this Thanksgiving-meets-Chanukah approach to dessert, but I must apologize for embracing pumpkin… I just can’t seem to do it!
These look incredible!!! I am a huge doughnut fan (who isn’t?!?) and I love anything with pumpkin. I have a pan for mini doughnuts and I am def. going to give this recipe a try!
Wow these look so delicious, might be too hard to stay away!!
Making these next week for Mardi Gras 🙂 Your blog looks awesome, btw! I usually read in Google Reader, but it looks so professional!
Thanks so much. I hope you guys like the donuts as much as we did!
can I use mini doughnut pan?
I am assuming that you mean the kind of pan you use for baked doughnuts. Unfortunately I don’t think that would work for this recipe, since the doughnuts that work best in those kinds of pans are cake doughnuts rather than yeasted doughnuts. If you are looking for a good baked cake doughnut recipe to make in your pan that still has a Thanksgiving theme I love these pumpkin ones. Enjoy!
Me too- loved this recipe.