Pumpkin Donut Holes
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The most irresistible mini pumpkin muffins smothered in cinnamon sugar goodness! Perfect for breakfast, lunch + dinner!
Featured Comment
Can you have these for breakfast? Yes. For lunch? Yes. For dinner? Yes, yes, yes. You can have these bad boys for all of the meals.
why i love this recipe
- Baked, not fried. So moist and so fluffy, these donut holes deliver in all avenues without any of the fried, oily mess.
- Comes together quickly. These come together in less than 35 minutes, tasting even better than your local bakery.
- Great for sharing. Made in a mini muffin tin yielding 12 bite-sized pieces, these are perfect for sharing at potlucks, big gatherings and holiday parties.
mini muffins or donut holes?
Technically, these are mini muffins as they are baked in a mini muffin tin. But they look and taste like donut holes so if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, these are in fact donut holes. Donut holes that are super soft and cakey with all the warm, Fall spices, completely baked start to finish.
tips and tricks for success
- Use a small cookie scoop. Using a small cookie scoop is a convenient way to transfer the batter to the mini muffin tin with ease and less mess.
- Pumpkin puree vs. pumpkin pie filling. Canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling are not the same, and are not interchangeable. Pumpkin pie filling comes pre-mixed with sweeteners and spices.
- Dip and roll just before serving. To avoid soggy donuts, coat the donut holes in butter and cinnamon sugar right before serving. Plain, uncoated donuts will store much better.
Tools For This Recipe
Mini muffin pan
Pumpkin Donut Holes: Frequently Asked Questions
A small cookie scoop should work beautifully here.
Another neutral oil such as vegetable, grapeseed or sunflower oil can be used in place of canola oil.
This is best served immediately but you can certainly prep the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, baking powder and salt) as well as the cinnamon sugar topping ahead of time.
The donut holes (before they are dipped in melted butter and coated with cinnamon sugar) can be stored in an airtight container for 1-2 days at room temperature, adding the butter and cinnamon sugar right before serving.
Pumpkin Donut Holes
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the cinnamon sugar topping
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a mini muffin pan or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, baking powder and salt.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar, canola oil, egg and vanilla.
- Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray.
- Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- When the muffins are done, cool for 2 minutes and dip each muffin into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
For the cinnamon sugar topping
- In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Tanks a lot for recpi , dear chunga ♥
How do you suggest storing these. When I put these in a tin with wax paper moisture built up and caused the coating to get wet & sticky.
These are really best when consumed immediately!
This looks like a fantastic recipe! Last year for Christmas, I got a donut hole maker. Do you think I could use that instead?
How fun! But I honestly have never used a donut hole maker before so I don’t really know what works or doesn’t work!
Ground allspice, or whole?
Rachel, it is best to use ground allspice.
anyone try these with whole wheat flour? That’s all I have right now and soooo want to make them!!
I am going to try these today….they look amazing!! Stupid question though…..how do yours look like donut holes? Don’t they come out of the mini muffin pan looking like muffins, or does the dipping in butter round them out?
Sharon, these do come out of the muffin pan so they are not technically “donut holes” but the butter-cinnamon-sugar mixture rounds them out a little bit!
Make today…they got better as the day went on. One of those unusual things that taste better when sit a while! Coated a few with powdered sugar too.
Can this be baked any other way than with a mini muffin pan? I don’t have one and really want to make these!!!
Sheree, these are best when baked in a mini muffin pan.
I’m making these in a donut pan!
Do you think I could substitute coconut oil for the canola oil and coconut milk for the milk? Trying to figure out how to make them a little healthier.
You can certainly substitute coconut oil and coconut milk but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the donut holes as further recipe testing is needed.
They look amazing! I love the fact that they are baked instead of fried.. Nothing like the smell of nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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So funny that you were reading my old post from way back in the Philippines! I went back and read it again myself… it’s always kind of like reading your own (public) journal or something.
These pumpkin donut holes look like my life. LOVE.
Or, well, okay, so I’m realizing that this post is almost two years old, but for some reason I just got the pingback for the link TODAY. 2014. LOL. So weird.
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