Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat pumpkin puree, sugar, vegetable oil, butter, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined.
- Fill three 6-cup nonstick doughnut pans so each mold is almost full. Smooth tops with a moistened finger.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack.
- For topping: stir sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush each doughnut with melted butter, then dip in cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips:
Use pumpkin purée that's been drained on paper towels for 30 minutes before mixing. Excess moisture is the enemy of fluffy doughnuts, and even canned purée contains more liquid than your batter can handle without becoming dense and gummy. Fill your doughnut molds only ⅔ full, never more. I learned this the hard way after dozens of batches – pumpkin batter rises more than you'd expect, and overfilled molds create flat tops that won't hold glaze properly. Mix your wet and dry ingredients until just barely combined, with visible flour streaks still showing. Pumpkin purée makes it tempting to overmix since the batter looks lumpy, but those streaks disappear in the oven while preserving the tender texture. Add a pinch of cardamom along with your cinnamon and nutmeg – this is an old Caribbean spice trick my abuela used. The cardamom enhances pumpkin's natural sweetness while adding a subtle warmth that makes people wonder what makes these taste so special.
Use pumpkin purée that's been drained on paper towels for 30 minutes before mixing. Excess moisture is the enemy of fluffy doughnuts, and even canned purée contains more liquid than your batter can handle without becoming dense and gummy. Fill your doughnut molds only ⅔ full, never more. I learned this the hard way after dozens of batches – pumpkin batter rises more than you'd expect, and overfilled molds create flat tops that won't hold glaze properly. Mix your wet and dry ingredients until just barely combined, with visible flour streaks still showing. Pumpkin purée makes it tempting to overmix since the batter looks lumpy, but those streaks disappear in the oven while preserving the tender texture. Add a pinch of cardamom along with your cinnamon and nutmeg – this is an old Caribbean spice trick my abuela used. The cardamom enhances pumpkin's natural sweetness while adding a subtle warmth that makes people wonder what makes these taste so special.
