Glazed Pumpkin Donuts
Soft and moist baked pumpkin donuts dipped in a sweet, pumpkin pie spiced glaze. These donuts will take you only about 30 minutes to prepare and make every morning feel like fall.
If you’re a fan of baked donuts, try my apple donuts and pumpkin spiced latte donuts.
Table of Contents
It doesn’t get more “fall” than the sweet aroma of pumpkin treats in the air! Even if it doesn’t get cold where you live and you don’t get to see the leaves change color, pumpkin will get you in the fall mood.
One of the best treats on a fall morning, is a fresh pumpkin donut with my coffee. These soft and moist baked donuts are packed with sweet pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavors. As an added bonus, each donut is dipped into sweet pumpkin spice glaze.
Since these donuts are baked, it means you don’t need to take out the mixer or much extra equipment, all you need is a whisk and a couple of bowls. Baked donuts are also usually ready in about 30 minutes, especially if you have more than one donut baking pan.
Ingredient Notes and Tips
Pumpkin Puree – you can use your favorite store-bought pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree. Just note that homemade pumpkin puree can sometimes be thinner so you really need to pay attention to that! When getting store-bought, make sure to get pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie mix!
Spices – you will simply need pumpkin pie spice mix for this recipe. Pumpkin pie spice usually contains a combination of like ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, and ground nutmeg.
Flour – All purpose flour works great. Make sure you spoon the flour into the measuring cup instead of dunking the cup into the bag! Then, cut the excess at the top with the back of the knife to level. When you dunk the cup, you really pack the flour into the cup.
Baking Powder – Make sure that it is not expired! In order for your baking powder to be potent and work properly, you need to use it within 6 months of opening the container.
Brown Sugar – you can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. The difference between the two is in the amount of molasses added, dark brown sugar containing more, of course.
Heavy whipping cream – you can substitute half and half if needed but watch the consistency of the glaze since half and half is thinner than heavy whipping cream.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pumpkin Donuts
Glazed donuts recipe doesn’t get much easier than this!
Whisk wet ingredients and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth (1, 2). Sift in dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated (3).
The best way to get the batter into the donut pan is to use a piping bag. Scoop the batter into a large piping bag, cut the tip off the piping bag, and squeeze batter into the donut cups in a circular motion (4).
PRO TIP: To transfer the batter from the mixing bowl into the piping bag easier, place the piping bag into a pint glass and fold it over the rim to open it up!
Fill each cup until almost full (5) and bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes (6). Let the donuts cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, tap the edges of the pan gently on the counter to loosen the donuts, then you can take them out of the pan easier.
Use a wire rack to cool the donuts to room temperature. Whisk powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and warmed heavy whipping cream a shallow and wide bowl.
I highly recommend placing a sheet of parchment paper under the wire rack to catch the glaze. Dip each donut into the glaze to coat it on the top and sides. Place the donut back into the wire rack to set.
PRO TIP: It’s best to wait until your donuts are cooled to room temperature to glaze them. Do NOT glaze warm or hot donuts. If the donuts are too warm, the glaze will melt right off.
Recipe FAQs
A classic pumpkin spice mix usually contains ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves and ground nutmeg. If you would like to make your own, simply combine:
3 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon,
2 teaspoons of ground ginger,
2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg,
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cloves,
1 teaspoon of ground allspice.
This is one of the most common questions when baking with pumpkin!
Canned pumpkin puree has only one ingredient – pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie filing actually comes mixed with sugar, spices, and a few other ingredients. Using pumpkin pie filling in recipes that call for pumpkin puree will compromise the taste. It’s hard to gauge how much sugar and spices to take away from the recipe to balance what’s in the pie filling.
That’s why I don’t usually recommend using pumpkin pie filling in recipes that call for pumpkin puree.
Yes, technically, but you have to be careful about the texture! It’s important to note that homemade pumpkin puree can sometimes be thinner than store-bought so you really need to pay attention to that. When making your own pumpkin puree, make sure to drain off accumulated liquids from cooking he pumpkin.
If you like to use homemade ingredients, consider making my homemade pumpkin puree.
Try adding some nuts to your donuts like chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts.
You can also add chocolate chips, I highly recommend using mini chocolate chips to they incorporate better into the donuts. Caramel or butterscotch chips make another great addition.
If you don’t like to glaze your donuts, try making a streusel topping or cinnamon sugar coating.
Storing Suggestion
When storing baked donuts, make sure to store them inside an air-tight container with a paper towel under them. Choose a cool area that is out of sunlight!
Room temperature: Homemade pumpkin donuts don’t have a very long shelf life at room temperature. If you plant to store them on the counter, make sure to place them inside an air-tight container and store them only for 1 day. Any longer, and it’s best to refrigerate.
Refrigerator: To extend the shelf life, store donuts in the refrigerator, still in an air-tight container. (If you live in a hot or humid environment, or if your donuts have cream filling or dairy toppings, it is always best to refrigerate them.) In the refrigerator, baked donuts should last 5-7 days.
Heat them up: To warm up cold donuts, you can easily heating them up for a few seconds in a microwave! Just a few seconds to warm them up though, you don’t need any more
Freezing Homemade Pumpkin Donuts
While you can freeze them for 2-3 months, note that it will change the texture of the donuts after thawing.
Make sure to freeze pumpkin donuts without the glaze. Make sure to cool baked donuts first. Place them onto a parchment paper covered cutting board side by side and freeze for about 2 hours. Set the timer!
Once frozen, you can stack them with a square of parchment paper in between each donut and place them into a large freezer zip-top bag. Get as much air out as you can, label, and back in the freezer.
To thaw, you can simply thaw individual or all donuts on the counter for about 30-40 minutes. Prepare the glaze according to the recipe and glaze the donuts when ready.
More Pumpkin Recipes To Try
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!
Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
Pumpkin Donuts:
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable or avocado oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream warmed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease the donut baking pan.
- Combine all wet ingredients and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk well. Sift in dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated.
- Scoop the batter into a large piping bag. Cut the tip off the piping bag, leaving only about 1/2- 3/4 inch opening.PRO TIP: To transfer the batter from the mixing bowl into the piping bag easier, place the piping bag into a pint glass and fold it over the rim to open it up!
- Squeeze batter into the donut cups of the pan in one smooth circular motion, filling each cup almost all the way full. Make sure there is an even amount of batter all around.
- Bake for about 15 minutes. Let the donuts cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, tap the edges of the pan gently on the counter to loosen the donuts, then you can take them out of the pan easier.
- Use a wire rack to cool the donuts to room temperature. Spread a sheet of parchment paper under the cooling rack to catch glaze drippings.
Glaze:
- Add powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice into a small mixing bowl.
- Heat up heavy whipping cream and whisk in vanilla extract. (You can heat it up in a microwave for just a few seconds.)
- Pour the mixture into powdered sugar and whisk until completely incorporated.
- Dip each donut into the glaze to coat it on the top and sides. Place the donut back into the wire rack to set.
Video
Notes
- Room temperature: Homemade pumpkin donuts don’t have a very long shelf life at room temperature. If you plan to store them on the counter, make sure to place them inside an air-tight container and store them only for 1 day. Any longer, and it’s best to refrigerate.
- Refrigerator: To extend the shelf life, store donuts in the refrigerator, still in an air-tight container. (If you live in a hot or humid environment, or if your donuts have cream filling or dairy toppings, it is always best to refrigerate them.) In the refrigerator, baked donuts should last 5-7 days.
- Heat them up: To warm up cold donuts, you can easily heating them up for a few seconds in a microwave! Just a few seconds to warm them up though, you don’t need any more.
- Freezing: See the post for freezing instructions.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in September 2019.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
These were delicious and everyone enjoyed them! My glaze was initially way too thick for whatever reason but I added a bit more liquid ingredient to it and it turned out just right. Shared the recipe with some coworkers and all of their families enjoyed it too. The only downside was even in the fridge they only lasted about 2 days before becoming too soggy to enjoy. I guess that just means we have to eat them faster!
I am so glad you liked them, Shelby!
How can you store these. Need to make some for a wedding.
Hi Shirley, I would make them and refrigerate them until the day of the wedding. Take them out of the fridge for an hour or longer to get to room temperature before glazing them. Then add glaze right before you need to take them to the wedding.
Wouldn’t make them again, not enough flavor I added maple syrup and cinnamon to the icing to give it some flavor!
They are always a big hit with my family, but I am sorry you didn’t like them.
This recipe is delicious! I made some modifications. I did not use any eggs. I used 1/4 cup of Almond milk in my wet ingredients. In my dry ingredients, I used cake flour plus misc spices. Without icing, these donuts are delicious. For the glaze, I did not use heavy whipping cream to cut down on fat and calories. I used warm Almond milk. By making my own donuts, I can control what goes into my recipe and save money. Thank you for this outstanding recipe.
Just made these, and your recipe is delicious! Will definitely be making these again!
Thank you, Sarah! I am glad you liked them!
I’ll make the recipe for my family. We love pumpkin and it looks really amazing!
Thank you, Patricia! I hope you all love it!
Loved the recipe!
Thank you, Luciana! So glad you liked it!
I made these in my Baby Cakes donut maker. They turned out yummy!
Yay! So glad you liked them!
I’m wanting to make these I don’t have a pan to make them in was curious if you’ve ever just made them into bars and how big of a pan you would need for that and the time to cook it? Thanks
Hi Casey,
I have not tried making them like that so I am unsure of the results. I would treat them like my apple pie blondies and bake them at 350 degrees in a 9×9 baking pan for 20 minutes then check the doneness with a toothpick. Then once they are cooled pour the glaze over top of them. Here is the link to my apple pie blondies if you would like to go over the baking instructions.
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/apple-pie-blondies/
yummy recipe thank you share 🙂
Thanks, Daisy! So glad you liked it! 🙂