If youโre craving cozy fall flavors, these homemade pumpkin donuts are just the treat. Baked (not fried!) and topped with a rich brown sugar icing, theyโre soft, moist, perfectly spiced, and ready in under 45 minutes. The icing sets beautifully so the donuts are easy to stack, store, and even transportโmaking them just as practical as they are delicious!
I originally published this recipe in 2019 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
Thereโs something about pumpkin season that makes baking feel extra special. These donuts capture all of that magical fall comfort with warm spices, a soft cake-like texture, and a rich brown sugar caramel-like icing. Theyโre simple enough for a weekday breakfast and impressive enough to serve at a fall gathering or holiday brunch.
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Donuts
- Baked, not fried
- Makes a big batch, but can be halved
- Cake donut texture that’s still moist and soft
- No mixer needed
- Ready in less than 45 minutes
- Perfectly spiced and you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice
- Delicious plain, but even better with icing
By the way, these taste fantastic with a cup of coffee and homemade pumpkin coffee creamer. Fall breakfast doesn’t get much better than this!
One reader, Jennifer, commented: “I had some leftover pumpkin and this was the perfect recipe to use it on. The donuts are soft and the glaze turned out just like a donut shop! โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Tricia, commented: “This recipe is perfection! Made them today and wanted to share them with the world. Ha! Perfect texture and moistness. I love that the glaze sets. I added pecans to the top. โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Lat, commented: “I thought I loved all your other baked donut recipes, but these are just insane. They blow everything else away. And the frosting! Literally one of the best treats I’ve made, and I’ve been baking A LOT this year! โ โ โ โ โ “
Behind the Recipe
My mini pumpkin muffins are donut-like, but it wasn’t until I transformed these pumpkin cream cheese muffins into cake-like donuts that I was truly satisfied with a classic baked pumpkin donut recipe.
I love that muffin batter because it’s really easy to prepare and always impresses, even without the cheesecake filling and crumb topping. (And that says a lot!!) The batter is a lot like my pumpkin crumb cake muffins, but there’s baking powder for lift, and we’ll sweeten the donuts exclusively with brown sugar.
How to Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Made with basic ingredients, these pumpkin donuts come together quickly. Here’s what you need for the batter:
Making them is extremely simple. Here’s the basic process:
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients.
- Fill donut pan.
- Bake.
I have a handy trick for filling donut pans, and I swear by it if you’re looking for an easy shortcut. Add the batter to a large zipped-top bag, cut off a corner, then pipe the batter into the donut pan filling only about halfway. The bag makes transferring the batter easy, neat, and quick. I use the same trick when making the baked chocolate donuts in Sally’s Baking 101 cookbook.
Bounce-Back Trick
I have another trick for you and I do this with almost every cake, muffin, cupcake, and donut that I bake. When the donuts are looking just about done, lightly poke the top with your finger. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. If your finger leaves an indent, the donuts need a little longer in the oven. Testing with a toothpick works as well.
Brown Sugar Icing
After plenty of testing, I landed on this buttery brown sugar icing, which is adapted from my apple Bundt cake glaze. Itโs smooth, creamy, and rich, and it sets into a glossy finish that makes these donuts easy to transport.
Hereโs how it comes together: Simmer butter, brown sugar, and milk together. Stir in vanilla and confectionersโ sugar until smooth. Add a pinch of salt for balance (highly recommend!).
Dip the donuts while the icing is warm and let it set for a few minutes. The combination of spiced pumpkin donut + buttery brown sugar icing is truly next-level.
Let the icing thicken for a few minutes, then give those donuts a nice belly flop right into it. Brown sugared and buttery, this icing might just be better than the donuts themselves. If you’re hooked on it, you’ll also love the icing drizzled on apple cinnamon bread.
The brown sugar icing sets, so these are convenient for stacking or transporting.
Alternate Pumpkin Donut Toppings
Before the icing sets, you can garnish the donuts with finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts), toffee pieces, coconut, or sprinkles. If you’re not into brown sugar icing, try any of these:
- Vanilla Icing
- Maple Icing from these Banana Scones
- Brown Butter Icing from these Apple Blondies
- Cinnamon-Sugar Topping (see recipe note)
More Fall Baking Recipes
And, of course, don’t forget about pumpkin pie, the dessert that started it all!
Print
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 donuts
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If youโre craving all the cozy fall flavors, these homemade pumpkin donuts are just the treat. Baked (not fried!) and topped with a rich brown sugar icing, theyโre soft, moist, perfectly spiced, and ready in under 45 minutes. The icing sets beautifully so the donuts are easy to stack, store, and even transportโmaking them just as practical as they are delicious! See recipe Notes about turning these into pumpkin muffins or mini pumpkin donuts.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil or melted coconut oil)
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (226g) fresh or canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Brown Sugar Icing
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (whole milk is best)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (170g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- pinch of salt, to taste
- optional topping: crushed walnuts (see Note for other options)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Grease donut pan(s) with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or, for ease, I recommend transferring the batter into a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling each about halfway.
- Bake for 10โ11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, theyโre done.
- Cool donuts in the pan for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter. *For mini donuts, bake in a mini donut pan for 8โ9 minutes. Cool donuts for at least 10 minutes before icing them.*
- Make the icing: Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and sifted confectioners’ sugar until smooth and combined. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if desiredโI always add a tiny pinch. Let the icing cool for 5 minutes to slightly thicken.
- Dip the tops of the pumpkin donuts into the warm icing. If the icing is getting too thick as you’re dipping, whisk in a little more milk, or warm back up in the microwave or on the stove to thin it out.
- Place dipped donuts on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet to allow excess icing to drip off. Top with chopped nuts or other toppings if desired. If applied lightly, the icing will eventually set (in about 1 hour) so you can stack or transport the donuts.
- Cover leftover donuts tightly and store at room temperature for 1โ2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can freeze the donuts, plain or topped with the icing, for up to 2โ3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up to your liking in the microwave. I usually microwave them for just a few seconds. If plain, top with icing before serving, if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Large Zip-Topped Bag | Saucepan | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores, or you can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you donโt have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice. This is in addition to the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamonโyou will still add that.
- Milk: For the donut batter, any milk works, dairy or non-dairy. I’ve tested with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk. For the icing, whole milk will give you the thickest consistency and best flavor.
- Optional Toppings: After applying the icing, you can sprinkle toppings on top or dip the donuts into any of the following: sprinkles, finely chopped walnuts (what I use) or pecans, toasted coconut, finely chopped toffee bits, or a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Instead of icing, you can add a cinnamon-sugar topping. Follow the same topping instructions (including dipping in melted butter) found in my baked cinnamon sugar donuts recipe. Feel free to replace that cinnamon in the topping with pumpkin pie spice, if you’d like.
- No Donut Pan? Make donut muffins in your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Follow the baking instructions for my pumpkin crumb cake muffins, leaving off the crumb topping. Top warm muffins with the brown sugar icing before serving.
- Mini Donuts: Want to make mini donuts or mini donut holes in a mini muffin pan? Grease your pan, and fill each mini muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for about 8โ9 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I tasted one while it was slightly warm. Absolutely amazing! Perfect pumpkin flavor and texture. The frosting took it over the top. I have a sweet tooth, but think I liked the donut best just plain, no frosting. Thank you, Sally!
Any ideas for egg substitution to make these vegan? Thanks!
Hi Emme, we havenโt tested this recipe with any egg substitutes. If you try anything, let us know how it goes! Happy baking!
I made these tonight to bring to work tomorrow to have at a coffee tasting. I made 24 mini donuts and 6 regular. Fantastic and so moist!
These were my first time making donuts at home. Recipe was simple and easy to follow. They turned out perfectly. Baked for 12 minutes in our oven. Before the icing, the cake is mildly spiced and not too sweet. After the icing, they are perfect and look so professional. A huge hit at the Choir Concert Bake Sale last night.
Delicious doughnuts, but honestly they donโt taste much like pumpkin to me. Just taste like plain (delicious) doughnuts.
I made them weighing all ingredients as directed. They came out too fluffy (kind of like a box cake mix) and the frosting lacked depth of flavor. First batch with oil stuck to my Wilton donut pan, and second batch released ok by buttering pan. Frosting hardened super quickly so I had to work fast.
I made these this morning in a mini cupcake pan
They turned out great
The icing is to die for I could just eat that on a spoon
i’m a big fan of all your recipes. however, for the amount of icing made versus the amount of donuts there are made, is there a lot of icing left over? i only ask as i’d be tempted to eat all the left over icing lol. i prefer to make only what’s necessary ๐ i’m sure you get my drift!
I had quite a bit left over too, so I put the rest in a baggie and into the freezer for my next batch.
These pumpkin donuts are really good. Made half batch as directed. I piped in, just wish I had an easier way to put batter in piping bag!
If you put the bag in a tall container (I use a straight tall vase) and fold the edges over, you will have both hands to hold the bowl and use a spatula to fill the bag easily.
Great recipe. I wasn’t sure if we would like the brown sugar icing, but it was delicious. Really easy to make on a chilly Sunday morning. I made them per the recipe. I will try swapping out the oil with applesauce when I make them again as well as add a little more cinnamon and pumpkin spice.
Wow! These were delicious! Thank you so much for this wonderful fall recipe! Perfection!
how do you recommend storing these? I put them in a plastic bag last night and got all the air out and I woke up this morning and the icing was melting off.
Hi Julia! Make sure that they are 100% cool before covering and storing any leftovers to avoid condensation forming. You can also store them in the fridge without the frosting if that works better for you.
These look fabulous. I donโt have a doughnut pan so Iโll be using either a muffin pan or a mini doughnut pan. Approximately how many does the recipe make if using these alternative pans? Thank you so much!
Hi Lauren, this recipe bakes beautifully in a standard 12-count muffin pan! See recipe notes for details.
Could the oils be swapped out for cooled melted butter instead?
Hi Patricia, you can substitute melted butter for the oil, but the donuts wonโt taste quite as moist. Hope you enjoy these donuts!
Can I make the doughnuts first and then frost a couple of hours later???
Hi Jeannie, absolutely.
I love these! But can this batter be made to be not pumpkin, what would the pumpkin need to be replaced with? Iโm wanting to make a more neutral batter to make different flavors!!
Hi Lauren, here are all of our other donut recipes if you’re looking for other flavors!
These are so amazing! The taste is incredible. I love the baked donuts and the frosting takes them over the top! (And they turn out so pretty with dunking the tops in the warm frosting) Thanks Sally for another winner!!!
These were incredibly easy to make – my 8 year old helped! We finally got to use our donut pans!! They were really tasty and we all loved the brown sugar icing! This oneโs a fall regular for sure!
I loved these so much! I made them at least three times in the course of one week for different events and people, and everyone loved them a lot! Some said that they were even good without icing! Thank you Sally, for all the recipes!!
These we’re delicious (note I used the past tense because they went quickly). I substituted ‘potiron’ (a relative) for the pumpkin because the latter is almost impossible to find here in France. The result was excellent especially with the lovely balance of spaces.
Hello can I switch the milk with almond milk ? Due to dairy issues
Hi Jasmyn, Yes a non dairy milk will work instead. Hope you love these donuts!
I made these with 1:1 gluten free flour blend and they were amazing!
I saw this recipe this morning and made them immediately. They are absolutely delicious, tender and moist. I added maple extract instead of vanilla for the icing and it was absolutely perfect.
I haven’t made them yet but do they really make 16 donuts?
I made them and they are delicious and made exactly 16 donuts. However, the next time I make them I will sift powdered sugar so get out all lumps.
I made 12…3 inch donuts today. They were moist and delicious. It took 20 minutes for mine to cook but I baked in a silicone donut mold on a tray. I added 2tbls maple syrup to glaze and bacon bits on a few. Great recipe! Wish I could post photo!