Glazed Pumpkin Donuts

I'm jumping on the baked donut bandwagon, even after swearing off purchasing any more one-use wonder types of pans.  I caved.  Cute, little donut pans...what resolve can withstand that temptation?  Not mine apparently. 

Baked pumpkin donuts are just about the easiest thing ever and they kind of look like they took more work than your average muffin don't they?  But yeah, not so much.  Easy peasy....as in dump the wet ingredients, turn on the mixer and then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  I suppose if you were being technical about it all, this is really a muffin shaped like a donut, but since it's baked in a donut pan, it holds that donut firm shape.  And when dipped in a glaze, it's remarkably similar to cake donut.  I bet if you dunked the entire thing in glaze, you'd swear it was pretty darned close to a fried cake donut. 

The most time consuming part was filling the pans and even that was pretty easy.  I piped it one time and then used a mini cookie scoop the second time and have to say that I prefer the scooping version.  

Of course I used the cinnamon chips again...call me giddy from having found them for the holidays after a long year's absence.  I melted them with some butter, added powdered sugar and a splash of milk to make a glaze.  

I can't explain the powdered sugar on top of the cinnamon glaze except to say that I did because I could.  

Or more likely, I was hoping for that sugary sweet sensation that you get from a glazed donut.  Coming from person who finds most desserts too sweet, that's saying something.  In the end these are donuts and should send you into sugar shock with just a bit... I did actually prefer these with the regular 'ole sugary sweet glaze that forms that awesome sugary sweet crust on donuts.  Yep.  I liked them so much I had to take them to the office after just one lest I like them repeatedly at home all by myself.  I've included both glaze recipes below though so you can decide yourself. 

The recipe from King Arthur flour is definitely a keeper--these went pretty quickly.

Glazed Pumpkin Donuts

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 can pumpkin puree
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In bowl of mixer combine eggs, pumpkin, oil, sugar and pumpkin pie spice and mix well
3. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.  Mix only long enough to combine. 
4. Spray donut pans lightly with oil (these definitely need this even though the pans are generally non-stick.  I made the mistake of not greasing the first time and the donuts stuck like crazy)
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each donut cavity (about three cookie scoops full) and spread around. Tap gently to settle batter. 
6. Bake 15-18 mins.  
7. Let cool 5 mins and transfer to rack to cool completely before glazing. 

For the regular 'ole glaze:

5 tbsp butter, melted

2 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 tbsp hot water

OR

For the cinnamon chip glaze:
1 cup cinnamon chips, melted
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp hot water (start with one and add second if needed to thin out glaze)

1. When donuts are cool, prepare glaze by whisking together all glaze ingredients. 
2. Place rack with donuts onto cookie sheets to catch dripping glaze.
3. Dip top half of donut into glaze and set on rack.  Allow glaze to harden.

Makes 20 donuts