Pumpkin doughnut muffins are pillowy little pumpkin spice muffins coated in a crisp cinnamon sugar crust. This pumpkin doughnut remix is the best thing to happen to Fall since the PSL!
pumpkin doughnut muffins are the perfect fall treat
Just look at that bite shot and tell me you aren’t hungry for one of these cute muffin/doughnuts! They’re loaded with real pumpkin, just the right blend of spices, and of course that sugary crust we crave on warm doughnuts straight from the fryer. It’ll be all instant pumpkin patch in your kitchen when you bake these Fall doughnut wannabes, guaranteed (with none of that greasy paper bag action).
If you love doughnuts in fall, try one of my doughnut bundt cakes!
what you’ll need
This recipe is a pleasure to make because it uses just one bowl, and has the perfect amount of puree to give that classic pumpkin vibe without making the muffins stodgy. The spices are perfect, too, but I go a little heavier on the nutmeg because that’s the flavor we associate with classic, old fashioned doughnuts. Neat, huh?
- canned pumpkin puree ~ you could make your own, but why? Canned pumpkin is actually thicker and better than anything you can make yourself, and it’s actually more nutritious, too, who knew?? I have a pretty strong preference for Libby’s, and I’ve tried just about all of them out there.
- eggs
- oil ~ a neutral veg oil like canola makes these muffins moist for days.
- sugar
- buttermilk
- flour
- baking powder ~ always refresh your baking powder at the start of the Fall baking season, we don’t want any baking fails, especially this time of year 🙂
- salt
- pumpkin spices‘ (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove)
how do I get all that yummy cinnamon sugar to stick?
- Brush the entire surface of your freshly baked muffins with a thin coating of melted butter.
- Plop it down into a bowl of sugar, and roll it around until it’s completely covered. Then shower it with more sugar ~ you don’t want to miss a spot!
- That’s it, it’s ready to devour. But fyi, they’ll keep their crunch for a few days on the counter, so no rush.
pumpkin doughnut muffin faqs
Wow, this is never a question for me, canned pumpkin is like gold in my house, I can never have enough. If you don’t use it on a regular basis, why not freeze it ~ fill an ice cube tray and freeze until solid, then transfer to a heavy duty zip lock freezer bag. Need further inspiration? Check out my pumpkin recipe archives 🙂
Because of the butter and cinnamon sugar coating, I would advise against freezing these muffins. Luckily, they are so easy to throw together in one bowl, there’s no planning ahead required!
These muffins will last a few days on the counter, covered loosely.
Yes, definitely! Simply make the recipe as is, fill your mini muffin tin, and bake at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, since they’ll cook quickly!
I don’t recommend warming these muffins because of the sugar coating. They’re absolutely wonderful at room temperature.
I love pumpkin anything!
- Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Pumpkin Spice Crisp
- Pumpkin Crunch Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Pumpkin Doughnut Cake
- Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Soft Batch Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
Equipment
- a standard muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
For sugar coating
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. (I use an oven thermometor to insure my oven is at the correct temperature.) Spray or butter a 12 cup muffin pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove, and whisk well.
- Add the baking powder, and salt whisk again to get them evenly incorporated.
- Finally, fold in the flour until everything is combined and there are no dry pockets of flour left. Note: Once the flour is added you don't want to over mix the batter because vigorous mixing creates gluten that can make your muffins tough.
- Scoop the batter evenly into your prepared muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full. You should be able to make 12 muffins.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins are nice and round. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan to a rack.
- While the muffins are baking, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
- While the muffins are still warm (but not hot), brush each muffin lightly with the melted butter, and roll in the cinnamon sugar.
Nutrition
I absolutely LOVE this Recipe. No Mixer needed!! I made these in a larger Muffin Tin therefore only having 7 Muffins was was GREAT. The Baking time was 28 minutes for the larger Muffins. They turned out GREAT, very Tasty and great with my Morning Coffee!! I also baked them in Muffin Cups and only dipped the tops in the Cinnamon Sugar mixture. This recipe will be added to my FALL Baking Rotation.
Glad you love these Gwen, I love them too. I like your easy muffin cup method!
Even better the next day! I have to give them away before I eat them all.
Fantastic recipe.
I do that too 😉
Can you sub with gluten free flour?
Yes, the muffins will be quite soft, but you can use it.