Baked pumpkin donut holes are light and fluffy on the inside, with a crispy cinnamon sugar coating, for a warm fall breakfast treat that’s hard to resist!
My kids are on fall break, and we're sneaking away later today for a couple of nights of camping in the mountains. I cannot wait!
I love getting to just live outdoors, hike and cook and spend the time together without all the usual daily distractions. Plus, fires and cozy sweaters and s'mores are right up my alley.
But let’s get to the food.
Apple cinnamon donut holes are a fall staple in my house. I make them for my kids, for friends, for brunch parties, or for just no reason other than it’s a fall weekend.
I mean, who doesn’t love some donuts?!
(I’ve also previously shared my whole wheat cinnamon sugar baked donuts and my whole wheat chocolate baked donuts if you want to check those out.)
Today, though, we’re all about some pumpkin love.
These baked pumpkin donut holes are so light and fluffy, springy and airy on the inside. And then they are dunked in a cinnamon sugar coating that gives them the best crispy coating on the outside.
They are just super pop-able and irresistible!
Plus, they have warm pumpkin flavors and spices throughout and feel like such a cozy little treat on a cool fall morning.
Bring on the pumpkin mania!
Speaking of, if you need some more pumpkin breakfast recipes, check out healthy pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancakes or this pumpkin baked oatmeal.
Or make dessert with these pumpkin cookies with orange icing or pumpkin Rice Krispies. They are so cute!
Or go savory with this pumpkin mac and cheese with bacon or vegetarian pumpkin chili. I'll take pumpkin all the ways, thank you.
But back to today’s recipe and some donut deliciousness. Let's get baking!
Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make pumpkin donut holes. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making baked pumpkin donut holes:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is an easy go-to for this recipe, but you can also use white wheat flour of a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
- Pumpkin puree: Make sure you are using pure pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Using this in the batter AND in the cinnamon sugar coating on the outside really helps to infuse the pumpkin flavor. I don’t recommend skipping.
- Milk: I’ve used both soy milk and skim milk and both worked great. A whole or 2% milk would be fine and another alternative milk (that doesn’t have a ton of flavor) should be fine, too.
- Mini muffin tin: You’ll need a mini muffin tin for this recipe. They are inexpensive and you’ll find yourself using it a lot I bet!
Making these baked donut holes for a party?
You can bake the mini donut muffins ahead of time and then wait until you are ready to serve them to dunk them into the butter and cinnamon-sugar coating.
That way, it stays fresh and crispy on the outside of the donuts.
As for storing these…
How to store leftover donut holes:
- These pumpkin donut holes are best served and enjoyed fresh once they are made. You can keep extras stored in the fridge so they don’t get too soft/soggy. They’ll keep there for a 2-3 days.
- You can also freeze donut holes for up to 2-3 months.
If possible, it helps to refrigerate or freeze these without the cinnamon sugar coating. It won’t be as crispy after it’s sat for a while.
You can enjoy the leftovers cold or warm them up a little in the microwave.
I hope you have fun with all kinds of pumpkin things in your kitchen this fall, and I hope you give these healthy pumpkin donut holes a try.
(If you do, leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram; I love hearing from you!)
Happy fall, y’all!
XO,
Kathryn
Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes
Ingredients
For the donut holes:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. (I think a hand mixer works best for this but you can use a fork and just beat it really well.) Add the egg and mix again. Add the pumpkin, milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Add the batter to the muffin tin, filling each about ¾ full.
- Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes, until set. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a baking rack or paper towels and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter for the coating in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until well mixed.
- Dunk the top of each mini donut hole into the melted butter and then cover in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Set back on the baking rack or paper towels and let sit for a minute to set up. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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