Donut or doughnut? Since I am New England born and raised and a really huge fan of the Dunkin’ variety, it has always been donut to me! Doughnut seems just a little too fancy and hoity-toity for a breakfast that is essentially just a deep-fried hunk of dough!

Don’t get me wrong, donuts are delicious. And so are doughnuts. Which is why I am SO very excited that I recently became the proud owner of a donut pan!! Ok, ok, so it’s really just a muffin tin that’s shaped like donuts. But donut-shaped muffins are WAY better than muffin-shaped muffins!

Since it’s finally pumpkin season (!!!), I decided my first donut venture had to include it!

Cinnamon Glazed Baked Pumpkin Donuts

(adapted from Taste and Tell)

makes 12 donuts

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

for the glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or you could use maple extract)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 donut pans (12 donuts) with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

In another bowl, use an electric or stand mixer to cream together the brown sugar, butter and pumpkin. Add in the eggs, mix well, then mix in the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir by hand until just combined.

Transfer the batter to a large Ziplock bag (or piping bag with no tip). Cut off the corner and pipe the batter into the donut pan.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the donuts in the pan 5 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add the vanilla extract, then slowly add the milk until the mixture is just barely runny.

Drizzle the glaze over the donuts and add sprinkles, if desired!

The donuts came out cakey and delicious with just enough sweetness from the glaze. The best part about these donuts is that since they’re homemade and baked, I don’t feel guilty at all about scarfing them down for breakfast every day! (I may or may not have already made 2 batches…)

Fall (and Halloween especially) is such a fun time of year with so many treats around! And now you can make your Halloween even sweeter!

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Good luck and happy haunting!