Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze
These soft, cakey Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze have just the right amounts of autumn spice. Drizzle on some of this rich, dreamy maple glaze, and the result is something that even summer babies like me can look forward to!
Is it “doughnut” or “donut”?
Either way, who doesn’t like these tasty things? Personally, I don’t think I could live without donuts. These are especially amazing. Since I bake them, they’re soft, like a cake, and have a luscious maple cinnamon glaze. Just writing this makes my mouth water.
I warn you, eating just one may be impossible. You’ll want to have people around for accountability! The thing is pumpkin is a vegetable, so maybe this is really health food. What do you think?
Is Pumpkin Healthy?
Did you know that pumpkin has tons of great vitamins and nutrients? It’s almost like a superfood in its nutritional content. And on top of that, cinnamon lowers blood pressure, and ginger helps aid digestion. So, I guess this is health food! Well that settles that!
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Pumpkin Donuts?
Pumpkin season always sneaks up on me. And that’s probably because I usually try to avoid pumpkin recipes, much to the dismay of Scott. Well, I went to the kitchen and whipped up a happy compromise, and I must say I’m a big fan of pumpkin now!
Since pumpkin is one of Scott’s favorite flavors (along with sweet potato), I have to make recipes that I love too. I didn’t think I was huge on pumpkin, but I mean, I can get behind any donut recipe.
By the way, sweet potato pie is his next favorite fall dessert!! This recipe is definitely worth your time!
Once I made this donut recipe several times, I realized it wasn’t the pumpkin I didn’t like, but the spices. I tweaked the spice ratio and viola – the perfect pumpkin donut!
This recipe is pretty straight forward using AP flour, baking soda, pumpkin purée, milk, eggs, and butter.
Where I changed up things a little is by replacing the pumpkin spices such as cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves with an all inclusive pumpkin pie spice. By using only 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin pie spice, it gave just enough spice without overpowering the pumpkin purée.
After making them a few more times, I decided a little nutmeg needed to be added to make it complete.
How to Make the Maple Cinnamon Glaze
This is a super easy glaze to make. In a medium sized bowl, add the maple syrup, powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk, and a pinch of salt and mix well. That’s it!! This glaze is perfect for sugar cookies too.
You just dip the donuts into the icing and let them drip dry on a cooling rack over a sheet pan.
Note: For a thicker coat of icing, make a double portion and dip twice. Allow the icing to harden before eating!
How to Freeze Donuts
1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place the donuts an inch apart on the paper.
2. Place the cookie sheet with the donuts into the freezer for 3 to 4 hours, or until fully frozen.
3. Remove the donuts from the freezer and place in a freezer safe bag and put back into the freezer immediately. You can take on or two out at the time and place on a cookie sheet. Warm the donuts in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes or until warm.
Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Icing
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Donuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk use more as needed
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Instructions
To make the Pumpkin Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a donut pan (6-count pan) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the brown sugar, pumpkin, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, lightly sitrring until just combined.
- Place donut filling into an icing bag or a zip-top bag. If you are using a zip-top bag, cut an opening for piping the mixture into the donut pan. Pipe the batter evenly between all 6 donut cavities.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the donuts comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes, or until you can easily handle the donuts. Remove the donuts to a cooking rack placed over wax paper and continue to allow the donuts to cool while you make the icing.
For the Maple Glaze
- In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup, milk, and salt until well combined. If the icing is a little too thick, add a splash of milk to thin it out.
- Dip the tops of each cooled donut into the glaze and transfer back to the wire rack to let the glaze harden for about 10-15 minutes. I like to dip them a second time for a thicker coat of icing. Serve and enjoy!
TEST TEST TEST TEST
These are wonderful! I used canned pumpkin and doubled the recipe. Made 18 donuts. Found the can in my pantry while cleaning it out during this stay at home time. My boys want me to make them again!
They were good, I dipped them in a maple glaze.
Thanks so much for letting me know!! The maple glaze is the best!! Glad you liked them!