Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Aug. 17, 2022
These Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes are soft and loaded with fall pumpkin flavor on the inside, while coated with irresistible cinnamon sugar on the outside. Best of all, they’re baked and not fried!
They’re round like pumpkins, except they’re super mini and adorable. They were born out of a pumpkin obsession. And they’re on the menu today.
Though I still haven’t settled the ongoing debate of whether it’s “doughnut” or “donut,” I kind of don’t really care today. I’m just being lazy and calling them “donuts” so it’s easier to type.
Aside from the gorgeous foliage, fall’s biggest brag is pumpkin-y treats.
And however you spell it, these Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes are undeniably perfect for fall…
If you could squeeze your favorite flavors of fall into one little bite, this is The Bite.
Each little morsel is packed with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg , and ginger. Plus pumpkin. Plus golden brown sugar.
More pumpkin and cinnamon. We aren’t gonna be shy about those two things.
You don’t need any special equipment for these decadent little pumpkin donut holes.
If you have a mini muffin pan, you’re all set. If you don’t have one yet, it’s a totally worthwhile and cheap investment. We’ve used our mini muff pan for these apple donut holes, in addition to lots of mini muffins.
The insides of these Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes are soft and fluffy and moist. They’re not very sweet, which is exactly how you want them, because they’ll be frolicking in cinnamon sugar soon enough.
Which brings us to the finish. Once these donut holes are baked to golden perfection, roll and dunk them in a bath of wonderful cinnamon sugar. The scrumptious balance of pumpkin, spices, and sugar will come to life.
These baby donuts are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or after-school snacks. They’re baked and not fried, so we feel pretty great about them.
Not that anyone will need any arm twisting, but do polish these off while they’re fresh and warm from the oven. They’ll be at their mouthwatering best when fresh.
Here’s to all things miniature and adorable.
And share-ably yummy.
Enjoy.
Did you make this?
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Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 10 TB unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for pan
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp table salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 ¼ cups pure pumpkin puree, from a 15 oz can
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
For the Coating:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 48 mini muffin cups.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and pumpkin puree. In the bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs on eat a time, scraping down bowl as needed. Switch mixer to low speed; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the pumpkin mixture. Finally use a rubber spatula to fold in any remaining flour streaks, but take care not to over-mix.
- Divide batter into mini muffin cups (about 1 level Tablespoon each); use oiled or damp hands to smooth out surface of dough balls. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 8-10 minutes. If needed, repeat in batches until all donuts are baked.
- Meanwhile, prepare the Coating: In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon; whisk to combine well and set aside. In a separate bowl, set aside melted butter.
- As donuts are finished baking, let them cool a few minutes until they can easily be removed. Brush warm donut holes with melted butter, toss to coat in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and serve warm.
Notes
Batter is not very sweet, since cinnamon sugar coating is quite sweet.
Nutrition (per serving)
Source: Chew Out Loud
Here are a few of our favorite fall treats:
- Pumpkin Spice Trifle. Because sometimes you just want an easy, delicious non-pie dessert for that fall potluck.
3. Triple Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Icing. Triple. Pumpkin. Scones. And cream cheese icing. ‘Nuff said.
- Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie Dip. Get your pumpkin pie in this way easy form of a dip…perfect for pairing with apples!
