Pumpkin Donut Holes

These Pumpkin 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!

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 23

Servings:

Ingredients

For the Batter:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for pan
3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
⅓ cup buttermilk
1 ¼ cups pure pumpkin puree
¾ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
2 large eggs

For the Coating:

¾ cup granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 48 mini muffin cups (not regular sized 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. 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 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Repeat until all donuts are baked. Let donuts cool a couple minutes in pan for easy removal.
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.
Brush warm donut holes with melted butter, toss to coat in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and serve warm.

Notes

Use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, to control sweetness and spice levels.
Alternate the dry and wet ingredients when mixing to keep the batter smooth and prevent over-mixing.
Scoop batter into mini muffin pans using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon for even, uniform donut holes.
Dampen your fingers or use a spatula to smooth the tops before baking so they look neat once baked.
Bake just until a toothpick comes out clean; overbaking can dry them out quickly due to low sugar in the batter.
Do not dip in butter/roll in cinnamon sugar until just before serving. Otherwise, the coating may lose its crispness.
Use room temperature butter to help it cream more easily with the brown sugar for a light, fluffy texture.
Batter is not very sweet, since the cinnamon sugar coating is already quite sweet.
This recipe is part of our Pumpkin Recipes Collection.

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Nutrition (per serving)

Course: Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Method: Bake