Pumpkin Donut Holes
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These irresistible baked pumpkin donut holes (mini pumpkin muffins) are super soft, cakey, and coated in cinnamon sugar! The best fall treat.
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Why you’ll love these baked pumpkin donut holes
- Cozy fall treat. These quintessential fall treats are packed with real pumpkin flavor and warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
- Completely baked, not fried. So moist and so fluffy, these donut holes deliver in all avenues without any of the fried, oily, greasy mess.
- Comes together fast. The donut holes come take only about 10-15 minutes to prep, tasting even better than your local bakery.
- Great for sharing. Made in a mini muffin tin yielding 12 bite-sized donuts, these are perfect for sharing at potlucks, school parties, family get-togethers, and holiday gathering. And they are guaranteed crowd-pleasers!
mini muffins or donut holes?
Technically, these are mini muffins as they are baked in a mini muffin tin. But they look and taste exactly like donut holes, donut holes that are super soft and cakey with all the warm, fall spices, completely baked start to finish.
Key Ingredients
Muffin batter
- Flour: all-purpose flour
- Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves (or substitute pumpkin pie spice)
- Leavening: baking powder and salt
- Pumpkin: pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- Wet ingredients: milk, brown sugar, canola oil, egg, and vanilla
Cinnamon-sugar topping
- Butter: melted to brush or roll the warm donut holes
- Cinnamon: ground cinnamon
- Sugar: granulated sugar (substitute brown sugar for richer, caramel-like flavors)
How to make baked pumpkin donut holes
- Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar, canola oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until moist, working carefully not to overwork the batter.
- Bake. Using a small cookie scoop, transfer the batter into the mini muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Make the cinnamon sugar topping. Whisk together the ground cinnamon and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Roll and coat. Roll or brush each warm muffin with melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.
- Let cool. Let the donut holes cool on a wire rack.
Tools For This Recipe
Pumpkin Donut Holes: Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, no. Pumpkin puree contains 100% unsweetened cooked pumpkin whereas pumpkin pie filling contains pumpkin and various additives such as sugar, water, and spices.
Another neutral oil such as vegetable, grapeseed or sunflower oil can be used in place of canola oil.
A small cookie scoop should work very well here without making a mess.
This is best served immediately but you can 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 just before serving.
Pumpkin Donut Holes
Video
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.
Equipment
Notes
- 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.
- Avoid pumpkin pie filling. Canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling are not the same, and are not interchangeable. Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin as pumpkin pie filling comes pre-mixed with sweeteners and spices.
- Combine just until moist. Using a rubber spatula, stir the batter until everything is just combined and moistened with a few lumps here and there. Over-mixing will lead to dense, tough donut holes.
- Fill 3/4 full. Fill each cavity in the mini muffin pan about 3/4 full to give the batter room to rise without spilling over the edges.
- Dip and roll just before serving. To avoid soggy donuts, coat the donut holes in butter and cinnamon sugar just before serving. Plain, uncoated donuts will store much better.
Did you make this recipe?
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These are absolutely amazing!!! I tried to follow the recipe exactly, despite doubling the recipe, but I think I ended up with a little extra pumpkin, so that went in as well. Can’t get over how good they are!! Thanks for sharing!!
Delish! Made for freezer breakfasts but not sure they’ll last longer than an hour with 5 kids 😉
I did have to add another T of butter but everything else was spot on!! I used Spelt flour b/c that’s my go to for baking except bread.
Thanks for the recipe!!
I’ve made these for my toddler before and they were fantastic. The last two times I’ve made them they’ve come out super weird and gross. I can’t figure why – has the recipie changed?
Nope – recipe has not changed since it was posted in 2012.
Have you ever baked these the night before, and then coated them in the evening??
Sorry baked in the evening, coated them in the morning!
I actually have not – they never lasted that long! 🙂
Looks tempting!! 🙂
what if you do have a donut hole baking pan, would you bake the recipe for the same amount of time?
I had no idea donut hole baking pans existed! I would assume the baking time would be the same but without having tried it myself, I can’t really say with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
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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