Baked Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Icing. Tender Pumpkin baked donuts that are made in one bowl and bake in 8 minutes are covered in a quick two ingredient maple icing and finally are topped with crunchy pecans. It will look like you’re a pro in the kitchen but these are a cinch to make!
I know I need to back away slowly from all the pumpkin but I just can’t! I get so excited about the holidays and for me my excitement comes out in food and adorable kid crafts. Since my level of crafting involves pre-made kits with my little ones and dipping feet in paint to look like candy corn with subtitles “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!” I will spare you the photos of baby feet in the orange, white and yellow and stick to the food!
I was at Starbucks a couple of days before making these donuts and in line the three people in front of me ALL ordered pumpkin spice lattes. Nevermind that we are in California and it was at least 80 degrees out (I must have looked nuts buying an iced coffee) I just smiled hearing “pumpkin… pumpkin… pumpkin” because that is how I feel! Every year when the holidays get into full swing I go out and buy a bunch of good quality Sugar Pumpkins.
Just a quick timeout from our story to let you know how to pick some delicious baking pumpkins. I buy “Sugar Pumpkins” or “Cinderella Pumpkins” and almost always stick to ones that are 6-8 pounds. I know it can be tempting to get those normal giant pumpkins the kids will decorate, but they do not taste great as a general rule. If you can find Cinderella Pumpkins you’re in store for a treat, they are my favorite (and no I don’t mean literally a Cinderella Pumpkin, haha. But seriously now I need to buy that for the little kid in me who loves Cinderella!).
Back to the story… so I buy probably 8 pumpkins, and they get a specific corner in my kitchen where I adorn them with spooky foam pieces my oldest picks out. One by one as they disappear into my recipes we come up with stories about the pumpkin, usually Frankenstein or Dracula need the pumpkin for a game they are playing.
So here we are, another delicious pumpkin recipe. (I think I have 4 more I haven’t shared yet…yes I love pumpkin that much!). This one benefits from being super easy to put together.
Notes:
If you have a normal donut baking pan I would increase the time to 12-14 minutes and makes 18 donuts (Thanks Shannah!).
If you don’t have a donut pan but want to make them anyway I would use a mini muffin pan and bake for 8-10 minutes!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until well blended with a whisk. Add in the flour and mix until just combined.
Put the batter into a large piping bag or a large ziploc bag. Pipe the batter into a greased mini donut pan, but only fill it up halfway.
Bake the donuts for 7-9 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.
While it is baking mix the powdered sugar and maple syrup (I’ve been ordering this brand for years and it has the best flavor!). I would start with a tablespoon at a time.
Depending on how thick your syrup is you may need 2 or 3 tablespoons.
You’re looking for the consistency of honey.
Dip the tops of the donuts (the bottoms will look pretty because they were in the mold) into the icing and immediately sprinkle chopped pecans over it and let it set to dry. 
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh pureed pumpkin (canned works great too)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup (this will depend on how thick your syrup is)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until well blended with a whisk. Add in the flour and mix until just combined.
- Put the batter into a large piping bag or a large ziploc bag.
- Pipe the batter into a greased mini donut pan, but only fill it up halfway.
- Bake the donuts for 7-9 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.
- While it is baking mix the powdered sugar and maple syrup (start with a tablespoon at a time).
- Depending on how thick your syrup is you may need 2 or 3 tablespoons.
- You're looking for the consistency of honey.
- Dip the tops of the donuts (the bottoms will look pretty because they were in the mold) into the icing and immediately sprinkle chopped pecans over it and let it set to dry.
Nutrition
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Sounds great! I’m making. Love, love anything pumpkiny.
Thank you! I’m a bit pumpkin obsessed myself!
Hi, I just made these and they are divine! I could just eat the batter raw, it’s so good. I used a normal size donut pan, and I thought you might like to put in that the batter makes 18 normal size donuts. I ended up running out of maple syrup trying to get it to icing consistency (curse my undersifted icing sugar), but I subbed in with caramel syrup and it still tasted very maple-y.
For the non-Imperial-system people, I used Kent pumpkin (I live in Australia), and baked my donuts at 160 C FF for eleven minutes. I used Butternut pumpkin first off, but it is very stringy and did not puree as well as the Kent.
Fantastic!! I am so glad you enjoyed them! I will update the recipe to reflect the quantity for full sized donuts. Thanks for the info 🙂
I get so excited about the holidays too! I would LOVE to wake up to these the morning after Thanksgiving! Yummo!
Me too! Now I need to convince my husband to learn how to bake them for me, he isn’t so great in the kitchen, haha.
Oh my, these look scrumptious! I need some for brunch this weekend.
Thanks so much Anna!
Yum! I made some delicious pumpkin donuts on my blog last week! Those pecans look like a delicious combo though!
It really is the season for pumpkin baking!
I love the flavors you get from combining pumpkin and pecans. This is a must try recipe!
Thanks! I love baking with pumpkin and pecans in the Fall!
These looks very tasty and certainly delish! We made some earlier that had walnuts on them, and that flavor pairing worked too.
Thanks for the tip!
Those look so yummy! I may have to try my hand at making them for breakfast one day soon!
Hope you love them!
Oh wow! These look and sound amazing! Love how easy they seem to make — definitely need to get these on my “to do” list! Pinning 🙂
Thank you! Come back and let me know if you make them!
Those look so good. I am definitely going to try your recipe since they are baked, not fried.
Yes! Not fried, though I do love a good fried donut I don’t deep fry a whole lot with two little ones running around the kitchen. I’m too nervous.
These are so cute! I want like a dozen of them right now!
Thanks!
These look incredibly delicious and I bet the pecans make them taste even more good.
Thanks! The pecans really add a great flavor to these!
Cinderella donut 🙂 love it, so cute and must be so delicious, I would ask for the whole pan! Pinned!
Thanks for the pin Katalina! And yes, Cinderella donuts, love that name!
I love donuts and I love pumpkin. I am making these with my new donut pan!
This is the perfect use for that pan! Come back and let me know if you make these!
Oh my goodness, these sound amazing. I love everything about them and know my only issue would be not eating them all myself 🙂
Thank you! Don’t worry – they’re the perfect size for grabby hands around the house to snatch them before you can eat them all yourself!
I love these. Not only are the adorable, but they look Delicious!
Thanks Brandy!
Your glaze is just perfect! Nice and glossy. And the pairing of pumpkin, pecan and maple is perfection.
Thanks!
I love just about anything with pumpkin. It’s one of my favorite flavors. I think these look very delicious. I hope to make them real soon! Yum!
Thanks! Let me know how they turn out!
These are just adorable! The glaze and toppings sound so good. And I’m right there with ya – pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin! Love this time of year 😀
You only get one season of the year to bake with pumpkin – might as well take advantage of it!
You really went there didn’t you!? These look fantastic! I could eat them all, and I will when i make them next week!
Thank you for sharing
Thanks! Let me know how they turned out!
I have always wanted to try making my own donuts. Pecan and pumpkin sound perfect together!
If you have a mini donut pan these are surprisingly easy! These got devoured in a hurry in our house!
Yeah, um see you are going to fly out to my place and make these for me RIGHT? They look SO good! I want to take them off my screen.
Haha on my way!
I want these in my mouth right now ! That is all for today 🙂
Me too! They were delicious!
I bet these taste amazing. They are pretty too. So perfect with some cider.
Thanks!
Wow, these baked donuts look amazing and make me want to find my donut pan- I lent it out to someone and not I can’t remember who! Maybe it is time to buy another one! I am thinking that pistachio might be a great garnish in place of pecans, too!
I dug out my donut pan too, and I didn’t regret it! The pistachio sounds like it would be a great substitution!
My girls would love to be able to make their own doughnuts and my son would love to eat them. They think they’re so fancy whenever “piping” is involved.
That sounds like a fun family activity!
I love donuts of any kind. These look like they are perfect for fall!
Yes, the pumpkin flavor really makes it a great fall treat!
Holy donut heaven! Pumpkin pecan donuts in bite size form? I’ll take a dozen. Wait! Make it two…
Thanks!
I’d skip the pecans because no one in our house likes them, but these are awesome. We love all things pumpkin.
Thanks, we love pumpkin recipes too!
These donuts look so good, I haven’t ever made donuts, these look easy enough for me to try!
Thanks! They’re easy to make – all you need is a donut pan!