This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Baked pumpkin donuts that actually taste like they were fried thanks to one easy little secret step. You guys are going to love munching on these baked donuts with a cup of coffee on cool fall mornings!
It’s no secret that I LOVE a good donut.
In fact, when I visited Chicago with my husband a couple years ago we did a full donut tour of the city! I did the same when I went to Dublin with my daughter. We love donuts in this house!
There is nothing better than waking up to fresh donuts, although I have been known to eat them as snacks more often than as a breakfast treat. Donuts are for all times of the day, if you ask me.
I love fried donuts just as much as the next girl, but my donut pan gets a whole lot of use. Click here to find the pan I use. It’s around $10 for a set of 2 pans (give one as a gift!) and I use it more often than I use my muffin tin!
And for loads and loads of baked donut recipes, click here!
My secret for making baked donuts taste fried:
Okay, you guys. I’m going to get some flack for this, but are you ready?
First, think about what gives donuts that fried taste. It’s the fat from the oil and the crisp texture the outside takes on, right?
We’re going to replicate that by dunking the baked donuts in a bowl of melted butter (the fat!) and then tossing the donuts into cinnamon and sugar (the crispy crunch!).
I know it’s going to feel a little…indulgent…to dunk a donut in melted butter, but it seriously ups the flavor and makes these amazing.
If you want to save some calories, just skip the butter and toss straight in the cinnamon and sugar. They’ll taste more like a baked donut (which, let’s be real, is basically a muffin in donut form) but they’ll still be seriously good!!
I’m sure some of you are wondering why I would bake a donut and then ‘ruin’ it by adding all that fat – I’m not baking donuts to save on calories. I bake donuts because frying is not something that I feel like doing all that often. It has nothing to do with health reasons and everything to do with dealing with the hot oil and the smell your house takes on when you fry. 😉
I still fry donuts, it’s just not an every day thing for me. If you’re looking for fried donuts, give these recipes a try: Blueberry Donuts, Old Fashioned Donut, Biscuit Donuts.
Hope you guys give these treats a try. They’re perfect for breakfast or any time of day!
Check below for more pumpkin recipes!
Pumpkin Crunch Cake: One of the easiest pumpkin recipes ever!
Pumpkin Dip: We love to serve this dip with graham crackers and Nilla wafers.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: These bars look so impressive and they’re fairly simple to make!
Pumpkin Coffee Cake: It’s not fall until you’ve made this coffee cake!
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray.
- Add the pumpkin, egg, milk, and oil to a mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix to combine.
- Spoon or pipe mixture into the donut pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
- While the donuts are cooling in the pan, add the melted butter to a small bowl. In a second bowl, add the sugar and cinnamon and stir well.
- Dunk the donuts one by one into first the melted butter and then immediately into the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat.
- Serve immediately or store, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.
Sally Wiese says
I WASTE SO MUCH PAPER TRYING TO PRINT YOUR RECIPES. i CAN NEVER FIND THEM. Most people have the recipe there and it says print. I could not find them and what a mess. Eventially I saw it after I had already wasted 15 sheets. What am I doing wrong?
Karly says
Are you using the print button located in the recipe card?
Sheila says
I dont like pumpkin..is there another flavor that could be used or if no pumkin is used would it taste like old fashioned doughnuts
Karly says
I would just scroll through my other donut recipes and find one without pumpkin rather than trying to rewrite this recipe. You can find them here: https://www.bunsinmyoven.com/category/breakfast-2/donuts/
Karen Pawelko says
I will have to try these. I haven’t made donuts in years. I make your pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and that cake was a hit when I shared it with family. It tasted even better the 2nd day. I made it 3 times and just loved it. Thank you!
Karly says
So glad to hear you enjoyed the cake recipe! 🙂
Cheryl says
Hello — could you tell me whether the 1/4 cup pumpkin in the ingredients list (puree, I think?) is sweetened or not. I live in the UK and canned pumpkin is not readily available so I make my own puree (unsweetened). If the puree you use IS sweetened I presume I need to add more sugar to the donut mix? Thanks in advance
Karly says
It’s not sweetened – just 100% pure pumpkin. 🙂
Lisa | Tiny Kitchen Capers says
Donuts are one of my very favorite things! These look incredible!! Dunking a donut in butter and covering it in cinnamon sugar seems like a pretty good idea to me!