Pumpkin donut holes baked in a mini muffin pan rather than fried, then rolled in cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.
Thirty-five minutes start to finish and no oil to heat, which is most of the reason to make them this way.
Why This Recipe Works
- A thick batter holds its dome. This is what separates a donut hole from a mini muffin, and it comes from the ratio rather than from any technique.
- A cup of pumpkin puree brings moisture as well as flavour, which is why these stay soft without the fat a fried donut carries.
- Brushing with butter before the sugar gives the coating something to stick to. Rolling a dry donut hole in cinnamon sugar leaves it patchy.
- Two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice across 24 pieces is a lot per bite, and it needs to be — the sugar coating is competing for attention.
Muffin Batter, Donut Finish
Nothing here is fried and nothing is shaped by hand. What makes these read as donut holes rather than as small muffins is a sequence of four ordinary decisions.
Keep the bowls separateNo dry streaks in either bowl
Flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice whisked in one bowl; pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, milk and melted butter in another. Baking powder distributed through the flour first is what makes it lift evenly rather than in patches.
Combine to thick, not smoothThick and slightly sticky
The dry goes into the wet gradually and the target is a thick, slightly sticky batter. Thick is the point — a pourable batter spreads into the corners of the cup and bakes flat-topped.
Three-quarters full, no moreAbout three-quarters up each cup
Filled to the top a mini muffin cup domes over its own rim and becomes a mushroom. Three-quarters is what gives the round crown that makes the shape work.
Butter and roll while warmStill warm to the hand
Five minutes in the pan, then brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Warm is what makes the sugar cling; a cooled donut hole sheds most of it back into the bowl.
Ingredient Notes
- Canned pumpkin puree
- One cup. Puree rather than pie filling, which is pre-sweetened and pre-spiced and would double up on both.
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Two teaspoons in the batter. This is the whole spice profile — there is no separate cinnamon, ginger or clove in the dough.
- Butter, twice
- Six tablespoons melted into the batter and four more melted for the coating. Two separate lines doing two separate jobs, which is easy to read as one.
How to Make It
Heat the oven
350°F (175°C).
Whisk the dry ingredients
In one bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
Combine the wet ingredients
In another, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, eggs, milk and melted butter until smooth.
Make the batter
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet until a thick, slightly sticky batter forms.
Fill the pan
Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan and divide the batter between the cups, filling each about three-quarters full.
Bake
10 to 12 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean.
Coat while warm
Cool 5 minutes in the pan. Stir the granulated sugar and cinnamon together, brush each donut hole with melted butter and roll it in the cinnamon sugar while still warm.
Success Tips
- Do not overfill the cups. Three-quarters is the shape.
- Have the coating ready before the pan comes out of the oven.
- Roll them warm. Cold donut holes will not hold the sugar.
- Check at 10 minutes. Small bakes overshoot quickly and a dry donut hole cannot be rescued.
Serving Ideas
Warm, in a bowl, with coffee. They are best within a few hours of baking, which makes them a morning recipe rather than something to make the night before.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Airtight at room temperature up to 2 days. The cinnamon sugar softens and partly dissolves into the surface after the first day — still good, just less crisp.
Freeze
Freeze uncoated up to 2 months. Thaw, warm briefly, then butter and roll in fresh cinnamon sugar; a coating that has been frozen goes damp.
Reheat
A few seconds in the microwave brings back the soft centre. They do not need reheating to be good, but they are noticeably better warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make them without a mini muffin pan?
You can bake the batter in a standard muffin tin, but you get six muffins rather than 24 donut holes and the bake time goes up. The shape is the recipe here, so the mini pan is worth having.
Can I fry these instead?
No — this is a batter, not a dough, and it has no structure to hold together in oil. A fried donut hole needs a yeasted or cake-donut dough, which is a different recipe.
Can I make the batter ahead?
Not for long. The baking powder begins reacting as soon as it meets the wet ingredients, so a batter left to stand loses its lift. Mix it when the oven is already heating.
