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
My 16 year old son asked me to make these again last night, saying they are his favorite dessert ever! I use coconut sugar and only 3/4 of what is listed in the recipe and they are still plenty sweet. Would say this makes more like 18+ normal sized muffins/cupcakes. Doubled it yesterday and even with filling cupcake tins all the way to the top, it made 24 and I had enough left over to fully fill a mini 4″ cake pan. No one is complaining about having too much :). Thank you!
These are amazing-so incredibly light and fluffy! I made them gluten free by simply using GF 1-1 flour-came out great. A new fall tradition for sure!
Thanks so much Anna ~ so good to know they work so well gluten free 🙂
These muffins are great! They’re moist and tender and smell like fall. I love that they are a one bowl recipe too. I needed less than half of the sugar and cinnamon mixture, so will adjust accordingly in the future. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wonderful recipe! Using vegetable oil and folding in the flour makes these very light. I used half the recipe for the sugar coating & still had a little left over.
I had to make a second batch of these the day after the first try, they disappeared so fast! Absolutely delicious!
Happy to hear it, thanks!
Love these smelled so good baking! Also made your Lemon crunch cake grandkids thought it was the best two thumbs up!!
Yay Janice, they do smell good while they’re baking, that’s for sure 🙂
Made these this morning. They are ABSOLUTELY amazing! Soooo fluffy!
I’m so happy you loved them Micha, thanks 🙂
Hi Sue,
I am going to make these but would like to know if I can use my large, bakery size muffin tin?
I love your site, pictures and definitely your recipes!!!
Have a great holiday weekend,
Susan
Thanks Susan! I haven’t tried them in a large muffin pan, and I suppose you could, but they wouldn’t be quite as cute. I think the ratio of muffin to sugary crust is important, and with a large muffin you might lose that, not sure. Let us know if you try it.
LOVE the new profile picture! These muffins are PERFECT for me. I love pumpkin – not really lattes, but baked goods are my jam! Can’t wait to make these for a nice cozy fall breakfast!
Thanks Debi 🙂 I’m with you on baking with pumpkin, bring it on!
These muffins look delicious and I can’t wait to try them. Also, love your new picture!!
I know you’ll love them, and thanks! We’re working on a fun blog redesign that involves lots of new pics 🙂