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These small batch pumpkin donuts bake up the size of the ones sitting behind the bakery case, and you get exactly four of them. No pot of oil, no thermometer, no greasy stovetop to scrub down before you have even had coffee. A bowl, a whisk, and a donut pan.
Four is the whole point of this recipe. You want pumpkin donuts, not sixteen pumpkin donuts going stale on the counter by Thursday. And because these are baked, they go from bowl to cinnamon sugar in about forty minutes. If you are feeding a crowd, my full batch baked pumpkin spice donuts use the same pan and make eight.
Quick Look: Small Batch Pumpkin Donuts
- 🍩 What it is: Four bakery-size baked pumpkin donuts rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar.
- ⭐ Why it works: Piping the batter instead of spooning it fills the pan evenly, so the tops rise level.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: No oil to heat, no frying smell in the house, no cleanup.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Stop mixing the second the flour disappears, or the crumb turns gummy.
- 🍳 Pan notes: Built for a large donut pan, not the small ones sold in most stores.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Best the day they are baked. Coat them in cinnamon sugar right before serving.
Why This Recipe Works
- The pumpkin does the heavy lifting. Three quarters of a cup of puree in a four donut batch means every bite tastes like pumpkin instead of tasting like cake that met a pumpkin once.
- Olive oil and melted butter together. The oil keeps the crumb soft on day two, the butter carries the flavor. Using one without the other gives you a donut that is either bland or dry.
- You pipe, you do not spoon. Spooning batter into a donut pan gives you lumpy, uneven tops. A piping bag, or a ziploc with the corner snipped off, fills the ring smoothly in about ten seconds.
- They are big. Most small batch recipes hand you three or four little ones. This batter fills four full size cavities, which is the difference between a snack and an actual breakfast.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Pumpkin puree. Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and it will throw the sugar and the moisture in this batter completely off.
- Pumpkin pie spice. Store bought is fine, but my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend uses jars you already own and tastes fresher.
- Brown and granulated sugar. The brown sugar brings moisture and a little caramel note. The granulated sugar keeps the crumb from getting heavy.
- Olive oil and butter. Both, for the reason above. A neutral oil works if olive oil is not your thing.
- One egg, at room temperature. A cold egg will seize the melted butter into little flecks.
- Cinnamon sugar coating. Sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter to help it stick. This is not optional in my house.
Substitutions And Additions
- No pumpkin pie spice. Mix your own with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves.
- Glaze instead of cinnamon sugar. A simple maple or vanilla glaze works, and it holds up better overnight than the cinnamon sugar does.
- Other purees. A reader asked me about apple puree and I have to be straight with you, I have not tested it. Apple puree runs wetter than pumpkin, so you would need to add flour to compensate. If you try it, come tell me.
- Leftover puree. A can gives you more than this recipe uses. The rest goes into pumpkin chocolate chip muffins or a batch of small batch pumpkin biscuits.
How To Make Small Batch Pumpkin Donuts
- Preheat to 350F and spray a large donut pan with cooking spray, getting into the center posts.
- Combine the pumpkin puree, olive oil, melted butter, vanilla, egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Stir in the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt just until the flour streaks vanish. Stop there.
- Transfer to a piping bag or a ziploc with the corner cut off and fill four cavities. Piping is what gets you clean, even tops.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
- Brush each cooled donut with melted butter, then dip in the cinnamon sugar and turn to coat every side.
Expert Tips
- Spray the center post of the pan, not just the ring. That post is where donuts stick and tear.
- Fill each cavity about three quarters full. Overfilled cavities close up over the hole and you end up with muffins.
- Let them cool completely before the cinnamon sugar. Warm donuts melt the sugar into a wet paste.
- A ziploc bag with a snipped corner works as well as a piping bag. A reader confirmed it and so have I.
Small Batch Pumpkin Donuts FAQs
A muffin tin will work, though you will get pumpkin muffins rather than donuts. Fill six cups two thirds full and start checking at 18 minutes. If you want a donut shape without a pan, my 5 minute air fryer donuts start from biscuit dough instead.
Almost always overmixing or underbaking. Once the flour hits the wet ingredients, every extra stir builds gluten and the crumb goes dense and rubbery. Mix until the streaks disappear and no further, and check with a toothpick before you pull the pan.
No, and this is the mistake I see most often. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices mixed in, so it makes the batter sweeter, wetter, and unpredictable. The can should say one hundred percent pumpkin.
This batter is written for a large donut pan, which is noticeably bigger than the mini pans most stores carry. One reader baked six medium donuts from this batter and reported the same bake time worked. If you go smaller than that, start checking at 12 minutes.
Coat them right before you serve them. If the donuts sit overnight already coated, the moisture in the crumb pulls the sugar in and you wake up to naked donuts. Store them plain and dip when you are ready.
More Pumpkin Recipe Favorites
Made these pumpkin donuts? Leave a star rating and tell me how they went in the comments. It genuinely helps other bakers decide whether to pull out their donut pan, and I read every single one.
Small Batch Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
for the coating
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350F then lightly grease the donuts pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, olive oil, butter, vanilla, egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and whisk until smooth.3/4 cup pumpkin puree, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 egg, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir the mixture just until combined. Do not overmix.1 cup flour, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Place the batter in a piping bag or a plastic bag over a cup and transfer the donut mixture to the bag. If using the plastic bag method, snip off one of the corners and "pipe" the batter into the prepared donut pan. This will make exactly 4-large donuts!
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife of a toothpick inserted in comes out clean. Let the donuts cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
The coating
- For the coating, stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow container.1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon
- When the donuts are completely cool, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and brush each donut with the melted butter. Making sure to get every corner of it. One by one dip the donuts in the cinnamon sugar to coat them.2 tbsp butter
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these last weekend and they were AMAZING! My husband said it was one of the best things I’ve ever made. Will definitely be making these again!
I am so happy to hear that, Kim!
Chahinez
These were phenomenal. I have never made baked (or fried for that matter) donuts before. I was able to borrow a tray from a friend so I didn’t need to buy new supplies for the first try. But they are delicious. I probably need a donut tray of my own. We made 6 medium sized ones, instead of 4 large but the recipe and cooking time was still correct.
I didn’t have a piping bag but used a Ziploc bag and it worked so well.
Delicious thank you!
These look delicious! Pumpkin desserts aren’t a big thing where I live in Australia but I’m excited to try! Out of curiousity, would these also work with other kinds of puree, like Apple?
I hope you love them! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried them with apple puree before. The apple puree might change the texture of the batter and make it more wet depending on how wet it is. So you can play around with it and maybe add a big more flour to balance out the wetness of the apple puree and see.
Definitely let us know how they turn out if you try that:)
Chahiez
These are the best pumpkin donuts I’ve ever made hands down. Thank you
Thank you so much for the kind review! So happy to hear you enjoyed these!
Chahinez
Those look great!
Thank you so much Alex!
You nailed it! These look perfect!
Thank you so much! Hope you give them a try!
These look so good. I am going to have to get a donut pan one of these days. Maybe I’ll put it on my Christmas list. 🙂
That’s a pretty nice Christmas gift to get! These donuts are totally worth it too! ❤️
These pumpkin donuts look so yummy! I’m glad it’s a small batch recipe too—you can’t do too much damage that way, right? 🙂
Absolutely! And you’ll be sure to have them when fresh! 🙂
I love small batch recipes and these donuts looks great! I would like to give this a try 🙂
I do too! Minimizes the damage that way! Plus the recipe itself is incredible!
They look pretty tasty!
Thank you so much Robin!