Baked Spiced Pumpkin Donuts Holes

How have we made it so far into the month and I have hardly uttered the word pumpkin? I expect full mutiny on my hands. Don't you worry though. I have made pumpkin curry, pumpkin chocolate hazelnut muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and these delightful spiced pumpkin donuts.

Let's talk a minute about pumpkin. Who doesn't love pumpkins? We all love running out to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect one for our doorstep in October. Finding the perfect pumpkin used to be a painstaking process for me. I like funky pumpkins. Ones that come in unique shapes and have character. I love character. Now I grow cinderella pumpkins in my backyard, which takes care of all my character needs. Cinderella pumpkins come in bright redish orange hues and squat shapes. They are anything but boring and taste great too.

This brings me to my second point about pumpkin. What most of us love about pumpkin, me included, is that we have come to associate it with fall spices and sweets. A little secret between you and me...pumpkin does not come from the ground tasting like nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar. In fact, it tastes a lot like squash because that's what it is. Don't let that stop you from throwing it in every baked good. Pumpkin adds great moisture to baked goods and it's well complimented by all those fall spices and sugars.

Pumpkin also makes great donuts. The term donut may be a stretch here as these are not fried but they sure taste a heck of lot like donuts. Donuts without all the fuss of frying. Quick and easy and oh so fluffy. After baking you dunk them in butter and roll them in cinnamon sugar. That's where all the happiness comes from, a nice donut butter and sugar bath.

Baked Spiced Pumpkin Donuts
Makes 12 donuts, slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted or other neutral oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk

For dunking
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and use a spatula to stir until combined.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and bake for 14-18 minutes, until toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, melt the butter for the coating. Mix together cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Take each baked donut and coat completely in the melted butter shaking off the excess and then coat in cinnamon sugar.