Homemade baked pumpkin donuts with cream cheese glaze recipe

This recipe for baked pumpkin donuts is so delicious and fun to make. Don’t forget the cream cheese glaze for a truly classic pairing!

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If you don’t already have a huge batch of homemade pumpkin pie spice on hand, start by mixing that up! I have a lovely recipe here for a homemade pumpkin spice that you can keep on hand for all of your pumpkin recipes.

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For this recipe, I wanted something that was soft and tender, yet moist. This recipe definitely hits all the high notes! 

I wouldn’t necessarily call this a “cake donut” because it’s really not sweet enough to be called a cake. It’s spicy, cozy, and just right. It will, however, be baked just like a cake donut.

To get started on these homemade pumpkin donuts, you will first gather all your ingredients. There’s nothing worse than getting half-way through a recipe and realizing you are missing powdered sugar! 

Gather all of your ingredients and supplies, (the professional chefs call it ‘mise en place’) meaning “everything is in its place”. Melt your butter and set it aside. You don’t want it boiling hot when you add it into the donut batter.

Set your 3 ounces of cream cheese out so it comes to room temperature.

For this pumpkin donuts recipe, start by preheating your oven to 350

Take your donut pan and butter it well so there isn’t any risk of sticking. (You can also use cooking spray.)

Mix it up!

Next you will take a medium bowl and add to it all of your dry ingredients. This is your all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice. 

Then in your large bowl (you will add the dry into the wet ingredients, so make sure the wet ingredients are in the large mixing bowl) you will mix together the canned pumpkin (or homemade pumpkin puree) with the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

Once you have the wet ingredients (all mixed up) and the dry ingredients (all mixed up) in their respective bowls, there’s one more thing we need to add!

Don’t forget the butter!

That butter you melted and set aside. Go grab that and make sure it’s cooled enough that it won’t cook the eggs in the wet ingredients.

As long as your ingredients are all room temperature you should be good to go.

Add the melted butter into the wet ingredients and get it all mixed together. 

Now you can add your dry ingredients into the pumpkin doughnuts batter.

Be careful not to over mix the donut dough, as you want them to be fluffy donuts, not tough like a yeast bread.

Donuts going in the oven!

Once everything comes together you will either scoop or pipe batter into your donut pans.

I prefer using a piping bag, although a large zipped-top bag would work just fine. For this method, you just fill the bag with batter, then cut the bottom corner off and use it just like a piping bag.

You could also spoon it into the pans, but the batter is thick and it will take a while to get everything all spread evenly in the pans.

For best results, use a piping bag.

This recipe will perfectly fill 12 baked donut size cavity pans. (3 3/4″ size) I have two 6 cavity pans.

Once the batter is in the pans, you can get a little festive (if you like!)  This is the part where you can add pecans.

I love pecans, but the kids are more of purists, so I only added pecans to 3 donuts. When added just to the top (which becomes the bottom after they’re removed from the baking pans) they get wonderfully toasty and delicious.

It’s the perfect crunchy component.

Place  them in your preheated oven (350) for 13-15 minutes.

You’ll know they’re done baking when a toothpick comes out clean and they will spring back after touching.

As the warm donuts are cooling, it’s time to mix up the DELICIOUS glaze!

When deciding which glaze would be perfect, I considered a maple glaze…but you just can’t beat that classic cream cheese frosting flavor with all things pumpkin. 

To make the cream cheese glaze, simply take 3 oz cream cheese (roughly 1/3 of a block) and put it in a small bowl.

You’ll want a smaller bowl, so you won’t waste as much glaze while dipping your deliciously golden brown donuts.

If you forgot to set your cream cheese out to come to room temperature, you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften. This works fine, don’t worry!

Once it’s soft and malleable, You can add in your vanilla extract, salt, and confectioners’ sugar. Using a whisk will help get all those clumps smoothed out.

The glaze is like the fancy gown on these adorable pumpkin donuts. They’re going to be making the first impression! Make sure it’s a smooth luscious consistency.

Check it for taste before you move on. Some people prefer their glaze to be on the sweeter side. If that’s you, go ahead an add in a bit more powdered sugar, then use enough milk to give it a good glaze consistency. (see picture below)

Then once the donuts are cooled, you will simply drop them into the glaze and give them a half-twist then pick them up sideways and let the glaze drip off for a few seconds.

This part may get a little messy… but in the wise words of a chef I worked under,

“If you don’t make a mess, you’re not doing it right!”

You can either place them on a wire rack to set, or a serving plate. 

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If there are any left over, just store them in an airtight container in a single layer and keep them refrigerated for up to 4 days. 

Enjoy these spiced pumpkin donuts!

This pumpkin donut recipe is so tasty and satisfying. This pumpkin season you’ll want to have this recipe card in your arsenal for some cozy baking. 

These easy donuts with all those warm spices will be sure to bring the wonderful fall vibes any time of year. 

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