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Everyone loves a donut, but it isn’t always practical to fry an entire batch… unless, of course, you have oodles and oodles of time on your hands. If so, lucky you! This fall, I don’t have tons of extra time so baked cake donuts are so much quicker to make. As an additional bonus, they don’t smell up the whole house since there is no frying involved – so they’re healthy right?! To make these pumpkin spice donuts, you do need a donut pan, but I think once you realize how easy they are, you’ll see the small investment is completely worth it!
When it came to picking a flavor for these donuts, I wrestled with so many different flavors. Some sort of cinnamon-infused apple variety would be terrific, but I’ve already made a few apple recipes this fall season. My next thought was (logically) some type of pumpkin flavor. And what could be more appropriate – and more widely over-used, I know! – than a pumpkin spice flavor! Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger come together to form the most perfect flavor palette.

Since I couldn’t shake the concept of some type of apple from my mind, the glaze for these pumpkin spice donuts incorporates a bit of apple cider. I know, a bit unconventional, but it’s a really nice twist that just seems to round out the whole kit and kaboodle.
These donuts are such a simple way to enjoy the flavors of fall and I know that once you make them you’re going to love them. When you do make them, jump back here on the site and let me know in the comments what you think! Did they work out for you as well as they did for me?

All recipes for "A Perfect Fall Day"
Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Chipotle Squash Soup
Quick Caramel Corn
If you want all of the recipes in this fall episode, make sure to download the PDF.
Watch how to make these pumpkin spice donuts

Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts
- ⅓ cup oil
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
For the glaze
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3-5 tbsp apple cider
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt butter and add to oil in a large mixing bowl. Add sugars and mix with a hand or stand mixer.⅓ cup oil, 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup light brown sugar
- With the mixer running, add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.3 large eggs
- Mix in vanilla and pumpkin.1 15-oz can pumpkin puree, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Finish batter by adding flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix until no dry streaks remain.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¾ tsp baking soda, ¾ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- Spray donut pan (affiliate link)with nonstick baking spray and fill forms ¾ full of batter.
- Bake in preheated oven 12-18 minutes until the donuts are set and slightly browned around the edges.
- Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. Continue baking donuts until all batter is used.
- While baking, prepare glaze by whisking together all ingredients until smooth.1 cup sifted powdered sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 3-5 tbsp apple cider
- When the donuts are cooled, dip in the prepared glaze.
More, more, more, we want more!
Good Fall Morning! Saw your post, hopped out of bed and got to work in the kitchen. As I freshly harvested the last zucchini from my garden, it seemed zucchini donuts with apple cider glaze would be the obvious choice. 15 of the little darlings are in the oven as I write. Hopefully they will look as glorious as yours. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Ohmygoodness Honey, I literally cried with happiness multiple times watching this video of your perfect fall day. You brought so much joy to my heart! I live on Hawai’i Island, so we don’t get much in the way of traditional fall or winter weather here. I am fully in LOVE with fall and winter holidays. This brought all the cool, cozy, fall contentment to my day. I love ALL your videos and this one was one of my favorites. Mahalo nui loa for sharing the beauty with us! Makes me want to go visit mainland for the holidays💗