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A few weeks ago in the THM Blogger Test Kitchen (Unofficial) Facebook group, someone requested a pumpkin donut recipe. Since I happen to like donuts and am always looking for an excuse to use the handy little Babycakes donut maker I picked up at a thrift store for $3, I thought donuts + pumpkin sounded like a great idea! These little pumpkin donuts are topped with a cream cheese glaze with a neat consistency (thank you, coconut oil)! No donut maker? No problem! Just bake them in mini muffin tins instead.
I was really pleased with the texture of these donuts. The batter is fairly stiff so I wasn’t sure how much they would rise, but I didn’t want to add a lot more liquid because pumpkin keeps things very moist and I didn’t want to be able to wring my donuts out like a sponge! Thankfully the donuts did rise and were the perfect texture of not too wet and not too dry. After chilling them, I whipped up a thick glaze with some cream cheese and coconut oil (to make it firm up once cold), dipped the tops, refrigerated again…and let’s just say that they didn’t last very long after that.
Don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand and don’t want to buy any? Make your own! It’s much cheaper, and you’ll probably have most of the ingredients on hand already. I like to keep pumpkin pie spice in the pantry so I don’t have to dig out the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves every time I want to make something with pumpkin and spice (which is quite often right now). Here’s a recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice. (If you don’t have allspice on hand, I would just leave it out, personally. Don’t leave the cloves out, though. Ground cloves are one of my favorite spices.)
I’m thinking this pumpkin donut recipe along with its frosting could be repurposed into many things…cakes, muffins (stuffed with cheesecake…mmm…it’s on my list), you name it! I have so many fall-inspired recipes on my “to-make” list right now. Oh, the options…
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for answers to FAQs. Check out the Suggested Products section below the recipe for links to products that I use and recommend.
You may also enjoy:
- Starting THM
- my recipe index
- my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
- all my pumpkin recipes
- all my donut recipes
- all my recipes using my baking mix
- Briana’s Baking Mix recipe
- ½ c. Briana's Baking Mix*
- 2½ tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- -
- ½ c. plain pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- 3 T. refined coconut oil, melted
- 1 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 T. refined coconut oil, softened
- 1 doonk (1/32 tsp.) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- Dash maple extract
- 2 T. unsweetened almond milk (cold)**
- Whisk the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Bake in a greased mini donut maker by 2-tablespoonfuls for 3-4 minutes or until the donuts don't feel too squishy when you press down lightly on the tops. Chill the donuts before glazing.
- To make the glaze, whisk the first four ingredients together until mostly smooth (they might not emulsify completely until you add the cold almond milk). Add the almond milk and whisk until smooth and emulsified.
- Dip the chilled donuts in the glaze, then return them to the fridge or freezer to harden the glaze. If you have enough glaze left, double dip the donuts after chilling. Store in the refrigerator.
**Or carton coconut milk for a nut-free version; most people with nut allergies can handle coconut just fine, but check with your doctor first to make sure.
No donut maker? Try baking these in greased mini muffin tins at 350* until a toothpick comes out cleanly and the tops aren't too squishy when you press on them lightly.
Suggested Products:
- THM Baking Blend – you can use this if you don’t want to make my baking mix
- THM Super Sweet Blend – my favorite versatile sweetener
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder – the most economic sweetener
- Maple Flavoring
- This Babycakes Mini Donut Maker is what I use to bake these mini donuts.
Do you have any dairy free frosting?
None that I can think of right off hand. I’m sorry!
Can these be made in the oven in a donut pan?
“No donut maker? Try baking these in greased mini muffin tins at 350* until a toothpick comes out cleanly and the tops aren’t too squishy when you press on them lightly.” A donut pan would probably work as well, to the same specs. 🙂
loved these! Thanks for sharing all your great recipes!
Can these be frozen for individual thawing?
I’m not sure. I assume so, since most baked goods freeze fairly well. They’ll be best fresh or stored in the refrigerator, though.
These are so good! Thank you, Briana for sharing these! Running to your cookbook and blog posts now to see if you’ve shared more mini-donut recipes. I found a babycakes mini-donut maker at goodwill for $5 and was looking for a reason to use it 🙂
I’m so glad you liked them, Tammy! Here are my other mini donut recipes:
https://www.briana-thomas.com/powdered-sugar-mini-donuts/
https://www.briana-thomas.com/chocolate-mini-donuts-with-ganache-glaze/
https://www.briana-thomas.com/banana-bread-mini-donuts-with-cream-cheese-glaze/
These glazed pumpkin donuts are delicious! Thank you for another Briana hit!
Made these today… Awesome!
I wish I could post a picture! Our glaze was baby blue, that’s what happens when your 7 year old is your assistant baker.
That’s great! I’m so glad you liked them!
Briana Thomas- Thanks for another GREAT treat! Made this for this family this morning and they were a huge hit!!!
These look yummy! Unfortunately I can’t use stevia…do you know if this recipe would work with coconut sugar? Thanks!
I’ve never worked with coconut sugar, but I assume that would work. 🙂 I’m not sure how it dissolves, so you might need to powder it before using it in the glaze. If you know how coconut sugar compares in strength to regular sugar, you can use this chart to help convert: https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
Hi Briana! Thank you for all your amazing recipes!!
I had some problems with the glaze! =( The glaze appeared emulsified, but then the coconut oil congealed before I could dip the donuts. It was like dipping into liquid that just ran off with lumps of coconut oil stuck to the donut.
What did I do wrong?!
Thanks for any advice!
I’m not sure what happened, but my best advice would be to make sure the cream cheese and coconut oil are soft but not melted (warm but not hot).
I made these as muffins and they came out with perfect texture. Doubled the batch and used only 5 eggs as mine were large and that seemed right. Added two doonks stevia to the batter; I think these might be good enough to sneak past my non-thm kids….
Awesome! So glad it worked out for you – and I’m glad you tweaked it a bit to your liking.
I doubled the recipe subbing THM baking blend (equal amounts) and I got 11 regular sized donuts. I cooked them at 350 for 13 mins. Perfection Briana! Thanks so much!
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know how you did it!
I haven’t iced them yet, but the donuts themselves are yummy!! Great recipe! They will make breakfast & snacks for THM a snap!!
I made these, super yummy! I followed your recipe, using the THM stevia for the glaze and it was very bitter tasting. I don’t know why??? I remade glaze with a different sweetener and it worked better for me. Thank you for all your recipes! Just ordered your cookbook today. 🙂
I’m glad you found something that worked for you! Some people’s taste buds seem to be more sensitive to stevia than others. I can use stevia just fine, but then I’ve been using it for about 3 years and I think there’s definitely something to the theory that your taste buds adapt to what you’re used to. 😉
I made the donuts and put a tutorial on my vlog channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XRfMts2xmY
I reviewed them and these are amazing! I can’t believe how good they turned out. The glaze was also amazing. The donut tasted like a moist donut cake in one! Thank you Briana for making this and sharing it. It saves me a lot of trouble from trying to make things and having a failed recipes on top of cooking for 6 little ones and my husband. You make my life easier lol.
I’m glad they worked out for you, Michelle!
Wonderful! These are so light – not heavy like a lot of the almond flour recipes. This is the first time I have used your baking mix, and I love it! I used my cookie scoop for each mini muffin tin and baked them in my oven for 12 minutes. Ten perfect mini muffins!
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know how you did it!
What was the temp of the oven when you baked your mini muffins? Thank you!
Hi Briana!
I’m definitely making these today. I found another low-carb pumpkin donut recipe that was amazing, but they were 200 calories each. Yours come out to only 95 WITH icing! I can’t wait to try them!
I don’t have a mini donut maker, but I have a donut pan that holds six. Do you know if this recipe will yield enough for six regular-sized donuts? I guess I can just make the recipe and find out myself, too, lol.
I’ll just let you know, how’s that? 😀
Never having used one, I have no idea! I’m guessing the recipe would make more like 4 regular-sized donuts. 🙂
I did a double batch and I got 8 regular donuts and 24 mini muffins
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!
I am so glad you updated, I was reading the comments to see if I can use a regular donut pan. Would you say one batch would have filled the six donut pan?
WHERE IS YOUR BAKING MIX RECIPE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE, I DIDN’T SEE IT?
Here’s the link. 🙂 https://www.briana-thomas.com/brianas-baking-mix/
Wouldn’t you know I’m on the road and will have to wait till I get home tomorrow to make these pumpkin doughnuts that I requested!!? Thank you so much Briana! You are a gem! Tomorrow, tomorrow….!
Haha…thanks for the suggestion!
I can’t wait to make these! I found a used appliance store near me that has the mini donut maker for 5 bucks! I wanted to know, though, if you can use Tuvia instead of the THM sweetener? I am trying to get everything here locally and not have to order online. Thanks and can’t wait for your cook book!!
Yes, you can use this sweetener conversion chart to help >> http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/
Unfortunately you probably won’t be able to find THM Baking Blend or all the ingredients to make my baking mix locally (oat fiber can usually only be found online, although I know that some people substitute ground psyllium husk flakes for it. I’ve never tried that though.).
I just made these for breakfast in my mini cupcake maker. Absolutely yummy and amazing! I’m going into the office with a smile on my face! 🙂
Aw…I’m so happy you liked them! Love the cupcake maker idea!