These soft and moist pumpkin donuts are made with canned pumpkin puree and covered in a spiced sugar coating for melt-in-your mouth texture in every bite.
Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
DONUTS
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and vegetable oil until smooth. Add the egg, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract and whisk again until everything is combined.
½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup (56mL) vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 cup pumpkin purée2, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined.
Transfer batter to a large zip top bag, snip the corner off, and pipe batter evenly into donut wells, filling them ⅔ to ¾ full. You may also use a spoon.
Bake the donuts for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and the crumb bounces back when you gently poke your finger into the top of the donut. You can also use a toothpick or cake tester to test for no crumbs. Cool donuts on a wire rack until they are room temperature before dipping in coating.
SPICED SUGAR COATING
In a small bowl (wide and shallow enough to dip your donuts into), combine the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Toss together until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1 and ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Melt the butter in a small bowl (wide and shallow enough to dip your donuts into). Dip each donut in the butter, coating all surfaces, lift out, and allow excess to drip off.
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
Place buttered donut in the spiced sugar coating, flipping a couple times to coat all surfaces. Transfer to wire rack to cool until ready to serve. Donuts are best enjoyed the day they are made, but will stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature up to 2 days. Donuts freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the microwave as needed.
Notes
Room temperature ingredients: it is always a good rule of thumb to use room temperature eggs when using melted butter. To bring egg to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with a measuring cup as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.