Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze

Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze are a quick and easy breakfast treat.  Even better -- they're baked rather than fried, so you can feel good about eating a few of these in the morning.

 



Now that it's October, I feel ready to embrace the change of seasons.  That means fun stuff like apple picking, unpacking fall wardrobes, and sipping warm apple cider.  It means brightly colored chrysanthemums and spooky Halloween decorations.  It also means that I'm finally ready to share a pumpkin recipe. 

Let's start with these Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze, shall we? 



This was my first time making donuts and I was glad to learn how easy they can be.  No stand mixer.  No yeast.  No vat of frying oil.  The only "glitch" I had in this recipe was that my mini donut pan makes 12 donuts, while this recipe makes enough batter for 24.  But mini donuts bake so quickly -- just 7-9 minutes per batch -- that this wasn't even an inconvenience.  You'll finish these off with a quick salted caramel glaze and they're ready to be enjoyed.  I used store-bought salted caramel, but I'm sure homemade would be even better. 

And the icing on the cake (or the glaze on the donut?) is that the entire recipe has under three tablespoons of oil.  That makes for a pretty perfect breakfast in my book.     



(click here for printable recipe)

Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze

(pumpkin donuts adapted from this recipe from King Arthur Flour)

 

Cook Time: 7-9 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

For the Pumpkin Donuts:

2 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2/3 cup flour

 

For the Salted Caramel Glaze:

1 Tbsp. salted caramel sauce, at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2-4 tsp. milk (depending on thickness of your salted caramel)

sprinkles (optional)

 

 

Instructions

 

For the Pumpkin Donuts:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a mini donut pan with cooking spray.

2. With a whisk or a hand mixer set to low speed, beat together all ingredients except flour.  With wooden spoon, gently stir in flour until fully incorporated. 

3. Using a spoon, fill donut pan with batter.  Be careful not to overfill. 

4. Bake for 7-9 minutes.  Donuts should spring back when lightly pressed. 

5. Cool for 2-3 minutes in pan.  Then remove to wire rack and cool completely. 

For the Salted Caramel Glaze:

1. In a small bow, mix together caramel sauce, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth. 

2. To cover donuts with glaze, hold sides of donuts.  Turn upside down and dip top of donut in bowl of glaze.  Turn donut right side up, and place on wire rack.  If desired, decorate with sprinkles.  Glaze will harden slightly and set up.  (note: because of the milk, leftover donuts should be refrigerated  But don't worry - you won't have leftovers!)

Yield: 24 miniature donuts

(click here for printable recipe)



Thank you for reading, folks!