Soft, fluffy baked pumpkin donut holes made in a mini-muffin pan, are healthy, full of fall spices, and lower in calories with no oil. Just 5 ingredients, dairy free and gluten free, and ready in 20 minutes!
These baked pumpkin donut holes are easy to make and have a spicy wholesome flavor. Healthy with nutritious pumpkin puree and oat flour, these donut holes are easy to make in a muffin pan, and are dairy free, gluten free, and refined sugar free.
If you love healthy donuts and pumpkin recipes, you might want to check out my baked pumpkin donuts with glaze, healthy pumpkin bread with applesauce, and even my Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Oat flour. Or use all-purpose flour. Oat flour can be purchased or use your blender to process rolled oats into flour.
Pumpkin puree. Buy canned pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin PIE puree.
Sugar. I use organic cane sugar because it tastes better. You can also use coconut sugar, which is like brown sugar, for a refined sugar free donut.
Milk + lemon juice. I use a milk plus lemon juice to help the baking soda react but it isn't essential, it just makes a lighter cake-like texture.
Essentials. Baking soda, pumpkin pie spices, vanilla and salt.
Glaze coating. Powdered sugar and milk.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Prep: Spray or rub a mini donut pan with any oil or butter. This recipe makes 12 donut holes. Add the lemon juice to milk now and allow to curdle for 1 minute. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 1: To a bowl, add donut hole ingredients.
Step 2: Stir up the batter into a smooth texture.
Step 3: Scoop the batter into mini muffin pan.
Step 4: Dump the freshly baked donut holes into a pan to cool before glazing.
Step 5: Mix up powdered sugar and milk into a thin glaze - drizzle or dip the donuts, dust with cinnamon and serve.
Storage
Store at room temperature for three days. If you want to refrigerate them, they will last a week but store without the glaze coating or they will become wet. These pumpkin donut holes also freeze well - again freeze uncoated and thaw in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Expert Tips
- Make sure the pumpkin puree is at room temperature so it mixes better.
- The donut hole pan. I used a mini muffin pan. You can use a donut hole pan if you can find one, but they aren't very common. Do not line the mini muffin pan with paper liners - instead rub or spray with oil.
- Don't over bake. The donut holes can dry out easily. As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, tip it and dump the donut holes onto a cooling rack or dish and let them cool.
Variations
- Sweet potato donut holes. These pumpkin donut holes can easily be made as sweet potato donut holes. Just use canned sweet potato puree instead - your holes will be a bit sweeter but otherwise the exact same.
- Chocolate chip pumpkin donut holes. Add mini chocolate chips to your batter before baking to make chocolate chip pumpkin donut holes.
- Nutty pumpkin donut holes. Add ¼ cup chopped walnuts to the batter.
Topping Suggestions
Let me count the ways you can coat donut holes:
- Glaze coating: As I added to my recipe card, dip cooled donut holes in a milk-sugar glaze.
- Powdered sugar coating: Roll cooled donut holes in powdered sugar.
- Cane sugar coating: Brush or dab each cooled donut hole with milk, very lightly, don't saturate them - and roll in cane sugar.
- Pumpkin spice coating: Mix half pumpkin spice and half cane sugar in a bowl, then dab each cooled donut hole with milk and roll in the mixture.
FAQS
These pumpkin donut holes can be made nut free by using oat flour instead of almond flour.
Yes, add 1 teaspoon of milk in ½ cup confection sugar, stir and roll cooled donut holes. Once glazed, these donut holes need to be kept refrigerated or the glaze will melt.
You probably can add ¼ cup of cocoa to the batter, and taste it to be sure it is sweet enough. You also might have to add a bit more milk if the batter seems dry with the added cocoa powder. Bake the same.
More Baked Donut Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes
Equipment
- mini muffin pans
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 ¼ cup oat flour* Or all-purpose or GF baking flour
- 1 cup pumpkin purée canned
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon milk
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Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease or spray olive oil in the wells in a mini muffin pan, either 2 (12-hole) pans or 1 (24-hole) pan
Make donut holes
- In a mixing bowl, stir ingredients in a bowl.1 ¼ cup oat flour*, 1 cup pumpkin purée, ½ cup cane sugar, ¼ cup milk, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch salt
- Spoon or scoop the batter into each mini well - about 1 tablespoon per well.
- Don't smooth out the batter. The scoops will bake into rough round shapes that will resemble old fashioned donuts.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
- Flip the donut holes out of te into a dish quickly so they don't stay in the pan and keep baking, drying out.
Glaze
- Roll cooled donuts in glaze and allow to dry before storing.½ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon milk
Dee Dine
Healthy pumpkin donut holes made in 15 minutes in a muffin pan.