Pumpkin Spice Donuts are as Fall festive as it gets! These Spiced Pumpkin Donuts are baked in the oven, instead of fried, which makes them super easy to make at home. This is the best weekend breakfast in the Autumn months and ready in under an hour!
Me and my kids completely devour these donuts whenever we make them. They're full of pumpkin spice flavor, then dunked into a thick vanilla glaze that hardens around the soft cake like center.
It's a serious flavor explosion in your mouth and a big Fall favorite in our home!
For more Pumpkin spice recipes, try these Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Cold Foam, Pumpkin Protein Balls, No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares, and Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting.
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Why You'll Love These Donuts 🍩:
- Big on Fall Flavor. If you're a big fan of the pumpkin spice latte or just pumpkin flavor in general, these donuts have your name all over them.
- Fun to Make at Home. I always think of donuts being a "typical eating out" recipe, but now you can make them at home in the oven.
- Quick. These donuts are ready to eat in under an hour, including cooling time. If you only have a 6 count donut pan, plan on an extra 15 minutes for the second batch.
- A Kid Favorite. My kids beg me to make these every Fall!
For more kid friendly Fall breakfasts, try these Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls, Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins and Sheet Pan Pancakes from Mix.
Ingredients:
Not Pictured: Vegetable Oil Spray for greasing the donut pan.
Dry Ingredients: Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt form the bulk of the donuts and help with rising.
Spice Mixture: A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves bring in the pumpkin spice flavors and those warm Fall aromas.
Eggs: Bind ingredients and help with getting the right textures.
Melted Butter: Brings richness and fat to the batter. I recommend using a more yellowish butter, like Irish (the Kerrygold brand is great) or a grassfed butter, which has a higher fat content.
Sugars: A combination of granulated and brown sugar are used in this recipe. Traditional granulated sugar keeps the dough light and fluffy, while the brown sugar brings in flavors of caramel and molasses, which pair perfectly with pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin Puree: Cooked pumpkin is made into a puree and brings in the magical pumpkin flavors for this recipe.
Vanilla Glaze: Made from whole milk, vanilla extract and lots of powdered sugar, also known as confectioner's sugar. It's really important to get the recipe just right because you want a really thick glaze, which allows it to harden. Too much milk in the recipe will not allow it to get shell like texture and makes the donuts soggy. (I know this, because I tested it with too much milk the first time).
A Donut Pan is also required for this recipe. This recipe makes 12 donuts, so if you only have a 6 count pan, bake the 2nd batch after the 1st. You don't need two pans, but if you have them it saves a little bit of time because you can bake all 12 donuts at one time.
*Find the full recipe ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations 🎃:
- Instead of the nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and cinnamon blend, you could use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Love Maple flavor? Substitute the vanilla extract with maple extract for the glaze.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Donuts:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and cloves until combined. Set aside.
Step 2: Melt the butter and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. In another large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, ¼ cup milk, and cooled melted butter. Whisk together until combined.
Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and continue to stir until the batter is all combined. Make sure to really work under the batter too, as it likes to stick to the bowl.
Step 4: Grease the donut pan really well and fill the circular shape a little less than level with the top of the pan. They will rise a lot and we still want a hole in the donuts. Note: Load the donut openings with a spoon, or I find it easier and faster to fill a piping bag with batter. Bake for 11-13 minutes until fully cooked. Use a toothpick to poke through the centers and check for wet batter. If wet, return to the oven for 2 minutes, then check again.
Step 5: Pop the donuts out of the donut pan onto a baking rack lined cookie sheet. Bake the next batch if you don't have two pans. Allow each batch to cool for 10 minutes before coating them in glaze.
Step 6: To make the vanilla glaze, in a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
Step 7: Dunk the warm, not hot, donuts into the glaze and coat the top and bottom. Hold them over the glaze for a moment to allow them to drip the excess off.
Step 8: Transfer the glazed donuts back to the baking tray to allow the glaze to harden. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes.
Step 9: Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips 📋:
- Allow the butter to cool for about 5 minutes before adding to the wet ingredients or the heat could cook the egg.
- Do not add more milk to the glaze recipe. It may look thick, but it's important to be thick in order to harden into a shell like texture.
- Make sure to grease the donut pan really well to avoid sticking. They should pop right out when they're finished.
- Dunk the donuts in the glaze, while they are still warm to the touch. Use a baking rack over a tin foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet to help with the mess and to keep most of the glaze on the bottom of the donuts too.
If you love baking, try this Blueberry Pound Cake with Glaze, Monster Cookie Bars, Maple Pecan Cookies and Apple Turnovers with Phyllo Dough.
Recipe FAQs:
This is similar to a cake style donut, with a glazed exterior.
Pumpkin spice seasoning is just a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice and/or cloves. It's usually kind of expensive for a small container, so I just make my own version with the actual spices, that I always have on hand in the pantry.
Donuts are tricky to keep fresh for longer than 24-36 hours. I recommend eating the day of baking and giving the extras to friends and family. I leave them on the baking rack on my countertop, as it's kind of tricky to store them in bags, or Tupperware.
More Fall Sweets You Will Love:
If you tried this Spiced Pumpkin Donut Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 donuts 1x
Description
Pumpkin Spice Donuts are about as Fall festive as it gets. These Spiced Pumpkin Donuts are baked in the oven, instead of fried, which makes them super easy to make at home.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- Vegetable oil or cooking spray to grease pan
Vanilla Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar (Confectioner's sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and cloves until combined. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. In another large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, ¼ cup milk, and cooled melted butter. Whisk together until combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and continue to stir until the batter is all combined. Make sure to really work under the batter too, as it likes to stick to the bowl.
- Grease the donut pan really well and fill the circular shape a little less than level with the top of the pan. They will rise a lot and we still want a hole in the donuts. Note: Load the donut openings with a spoon, or I find it easier and faster to fill a piping bag with batter. Bake for 11-13 minutes until fully cooked. Use a toothpick to poke through the centers and check for wet batter. If wet, return to the oven for 2 minutes, then check again.
- Pop the donuts out of the donut pan onto a baking rack lined cookie sheet. Bake the next batch if you don't have two pans. Allow each batch to cool for 10 minutes before coating them in glaze.
- To make the vanilla glaze, in a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- Dunk the warm, not hot, donuts into the glaze and coat the top and bottom. Hold them over the glaze for a moment to allow them to drip the excess off.
- Transfer the glazed donuts back to the baking tray to allow the glaze to harden. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Allow the butter to cool for about 5 minutes before adding to the wet ingredients or the heat could cook the egg.
- Do not add more milk to the glaze recipe. It may look thick, but it's important to be thick in order to harden into a shell like texture.
- Make sure to grease the donut pan really well to avoid sticking. They should pop right out when they're finished.
- Dunk the donuts in the glaze, while they are still warm to the touch. Use a baking rack over a tin foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet to help with the mess and to keep most of the glaze on the bottom of the donuts too.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cooling Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: breakfast
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Holly says
So much flavor and I love that they’re baked! Will make again this Fall.
Tara Smithson says
The best right?! I ate way too many!