These Pumpkin Spice Donuts are moist, baked cake donuts and can be topped with a pumpkin spice – sugar mixture and/or a maple glaze. Super easy to make, and fun too!
Why we love pumpkin spice donuts
These pumpkin spice donuts are so good when made fresh and enjoyed with some coffee or tea. These delicious and moist, cake donuts are baked, not fried.
Because we love the flavor of maple glaze frosting just as much as the sugary coating, we wanted to make sure you had both. You can cut the coating recipe in half if you need to.
RELATED: You may also love these Apple Cider Donuts – topped with a cinnamon sugar mixture, donuts don’t get much better than this!
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Pumpkin Spice Donut batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice mix
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Maple Glaze (for 12-13 donuts)
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar – Pumpkin Spice Coating (for 12-13 donuts)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
- In a separate bowl: 1/4 stick unsalted butter
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Donuts
There is a video in this post that shows you how to make these donuts, step by step.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice mix, Kosher salt, and baking soda until evenly combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, whole milk, and melted and cooled unsalted butter. Stir until combined; do not over mix. Spoon into a donut pan. (You can also put the batter into a large zip lock bag and cut the corner.)
- Bake 8-11 minutes in a preheat oven. When donuts are ready, they should spring back when touched.
Maple Glaze Topping (12-13 donuts):
In a medium bowl, mix confectioner’s sugar, unsalted butter (melted and cooled), maple syrup, water and vanilla extract until combined.
Hold donut upside down and dip the top into the glaze, let it drip off the excess, and place on cooling racks to set.
Sugar Pumpkin Spice Coating (12-13 donuts):
In a small-medium mixing bowl, mix sugar and pumpkin spice mix until combined. Melt butter in the microwave at 20 second intervals until melted.
Using a pastry brush, brush cooled donuts with butter and toss in the sugar pumpkin spice mixture until coated.
Baking Tips
- You can save time by using a store-bought pumpkin spice mix or trying this recipe.
- Do not over-mix the donut batter to avoid making the donuts tough – mix until just combined.
Serving & Storing
These pumpkin spice donuts are best when served right away. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
I know you will love these pumpkin spice donuts! What a great way to welcome autumn.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Pumpkin Cobbler
- Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Magic Cake
- Perfect Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Roll
- Caramel Pumpkin Cocktail
- Pumpkin Cake Mix Cookies
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Pumpkin Spice Donuts
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
Pumpkin Spice Donuts batter:
- cooking spray oil for greasing the donut pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice mix
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
Maple Glaze
- 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar – Pumpkin Spice Coating
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter In a separate bowl:
Things You'll Need
Before You Begin
- You will need a donut pan for this recipe.
- Calorie count is for donuts without sugar coating or glaze.
- You can save time by using a store-bought pumpkin spice mix or trying this recipe.
- Do not over-mix the donut batter to avoid making the donuts tough - mix until just combined.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spray a donut pan with cooking spray oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice mix, Kosher salt and baking soda until evenly combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, whole milk, and melted and cooled unsalted butter. Stir until combined; do not over mix. Spoon into a donut pan. (You can also put the batter into a large zip lock bag and cut the corner.)
- Bake 8-11 minutes in a preheat oven. When donuts are ready, they should spring back when touched.
Maple Glaze
- In a medium bowl, mix confectioner's sugar, unsalted butter (melted and cooled), maple syrup, water and vanilla extract until combined.
- Hold donut upside down and dip the top into the glaze, let it drip off the excess, and place on cooling racks to set.
Sugary Pumpkin Spice Coating
- In a small-medium mixing bowl, mix sugar and pumpkin spice mix until combined. Melt butter in the microwave at 20 second intervals until melted. Using a pastry brush, brush cooled donuts with butter and toss in the sugar - pumpkin spice mixture until coated.
Serving/Storing
- These Pumpkin Spice donuts are best when served right away. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared here on Oct 18, 2017.
Amanda Davis
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Eddie Mutemi says
Perfect
Ruth says
I followed the recipe exactly and my donuts cooked through; however, when I tried one, the texture was not good. They weren’t cakey like I expected them to be, but kind of mushy. They’re also a little bland.
Amanda Davis says
Sounds like you may have done something wrong. I’ve made these many, many times and have not had that result.
Katie says
Tasted very floury. I made this twice back to back to make sure I didn’t mess something up, but they tasted too much like flour and nothing like pumpkin. Had fun baking it though :)
Amanda Formaro says
I’m sorry to hear that! We’ve always loved them and haven’t had that issue.
Ann says
Can you prepare the dough the night before and bake the next morning?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes
Linde says
Made these today but cut some corners. Used a yellow cake mix and pumpkin pie spice(1 tbs). Next time I’ll use a small plastic bag for squeezing. Large one was too awkward for me. They were delicious.
April says
enjoyed these with my coffee this morning. this recipe is very easy to make. I just couldn’t wait for the glaze to dry but I’m okay with that. Yum!!
Amanda Formaro says
Yay! I love these too. They are so good. Glad you loved them!
Felicia says
I only have regular brown sugar not dark will it work okay???
Amanda Formaro says
Yes!
Carol says
Can you use maple flavoring inplace of maple syrup and if you can how much
Amanda Formaro says
We have not tested that with this recipe. i believe that maple flavoring is more like an extract, hence concentrated. So it may be considerably stronger than syrup. Should you decide to experiment we would love to hear your results!
Sarah says
Okay, I need to get my hands on a donut pan because I need these donuts in my life. They look wonderful.
Amanda Formaro says
I hope you love them!
Mary Frye says
Unless you have a GOOD COOKIE PRESS to drip them into the donut pan, forget it. This was the biggest catastrophe I have ever had in my 50 years of baking. Dough was breaking out of the bag…. it was a gigantic mess. But the recipe is good!!
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry to hear you had trouble! I used a gallon zipper plastic bag and had no trouble at all. What size did you use?
Mary DeMoss says
Do these donuts freeze well?
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried freezing them. However, I would imagine they would freeze okay considering they are very similar to a cake or muffin in texture!
Carlee johnson says
Made these this morning they looked great but am going to lower the kosher salt amount to 1/8 tsp as little to salty for me. Have you tried the tupperware donut silicone maker that only take about 3 mins to bake and they came out amazing. I am a consultant so if you are interested let.me know.
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t heard of it, no! Interesting about the salt, I couldn’t even taste it in mine! Glad you liked them :)
Anna Chafins says
I made muffins out of the recipe yield about 12 left the temp alone but cooking time was about 35 minuets! Yummy
Amanda Formaro says
Excellent, thanks for sharing that, great to know it worked well!
Amanda Rose says
I was noticing that the cook time for Amanda’s other donut recipe was about the same but the temp was 425! I wonder if it’s a typo for this recipe?
Vanessa says
Could these be made as mini donuts? And if they can would I need to adjust the bake time?
Amanda Formaro says
I have not tried that, but how fun! I would think you could leave the temp and maybe cut five minutes off the bake time and keep checking after that. Maybe just bake two at a time until you get the time right. Please do let me know what your results are!
Alicia says
What size can of pumpkin did you use?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Alicia! You want the 15-ounce can, but you only use 1 cup, so it’s not the full can.
Lisa says
Hi Amanda! I made these this morning and they turned out amazing. I loved them. My one question is, my glaze came out thinner and dried pretty clear. Tastes amazing but doesn’t look like the pictures. I followed the recipe to a T and I sifted the confectioner’s sugar beforehand to loosen it up. Could that have changed the consistency? Just curious if you have any tips for future glazes :) Thank you!!
Amanda Formaro says
Did you measure out the powdered sugar before sifting? Sometimes that can make a difference! In the future you can always just add more powdered sugar to thicken it up :) So glad you liked them!
Kat says
Your site and these donuts look amazing! I was wonder if Almond milk might work?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Kat! I cannot say for sure as I haven’t tried them with almond milk. I would love to hear how it works out if you try!
Mandy says
If I don’t have a donut Pan, could you make these in a muffin pan? Would the oven temp need to be adjusted for that?
Amanda Formaro says
I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried that but I would imagine it could work. I would only fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. If I were to try it myself I would not adjust the oven temp, but I would probably check them regularly because the amount of time may be different. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!