One-Bowl Baked Pumpkin Donuts

5 from 1 vote

Quick, easy, and full of fall flavor, your family and friends will love these baked pumpkin donuts!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword baked pumpkin donuts, pumpkin donut recipe, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin spice donuts

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 11

Cooling Time 10

Total Time 41

Servings donuts

Calories 266kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) (about 1 ½ cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract; whisk to combine. Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder, and salt over top. Whisk until well blended. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice; be careful not to over-mix.
Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about ¼ inch shy of the rim. It helps to put the batter in a large zip-top bag, cut a corner off the bottom of the bag, and pipe the batter into each donut cavity.
Bake the doughnuts for 11 to 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait a few minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a wire rack.
Allow the donuts to cool for about 5-10 minutes before coating in cinnamon-sugar.

When the donuts are cool enough to handle (but still warm), prepare the topping.
Place the melted butter in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.
Working with one donut at a time, brush liberally all over with melted butter, and dip them in the cinnamon sugar to coat.
The donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Make sure that you use a can of 100% pure pumpkin puree, which is different from canned pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie mix. The pure pumpkin puree is unsweetened and doesn’t include any spices or other seasonings.

Use either canola oil or vegetable oil. You want a neutral oil that will not flavor the donuts, so don’t use olive oil. Feel free to substitute with melted unsalted butter if you prefer.

Be careful not to over-mix the batter. You want it to come together so that everything is combined, but then stop stirring! Mixing too much will result in dry, dense donuts.

Spooning the batter into the donut cavities can be tricky, so I always transfer the batter to a large Ziploc bag or piping bag, snip off a corner of the bag, and pipe the batter into the pan.

When the donuts are done the edges will be lightly golden brown and the donuts will spring back when you gently press on the tops. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.

You probably will not use all of the melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. As a result, the nutrition information for the amount used on each donut will vary, and is hard to calculate. Nutrition facts provided are estimated for the plain baked donuts without any coating.