When I was a kid, our Sunday morning breakfasts before church would often be something special from the day-old bakery we had in town.
One of my personal favorites was when we’d get mini donuts. I would dip them in milk, trading off between chocolate-covered and cinnamon sugar flavors.
I have been thinking about those donuts ever since I found a mini donut pan at our local thrift shop, and I finally took the plunge on baking some of my own.
Around Thanksgiving this year, I accidentally bought pumpkin pie filling instead of regular canned pumpkin, and it has been sitting in my pantry ever since, so I decided it was high time to both use up that can and break in my new pan.
The recipe I made is from the blog “Lovely Indeed.” You can find the original post at https://lovelyindeed.com/mini-donut-recipe-baked-pumpkin-spice-mini-donuts/. I added extra spices in my version.
Mini Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Ingredients
Donut Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
Coating Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray the wells of a mini donut pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and baking powder until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the flour just until it’s all incorporated.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a large zip-top plastic bag with the tip snipped off.
- Fill each well on the pan about three-fourths full, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove the donuts from the pan and let them cool.
- In another zip-top bag, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
- Lightly brush each donut with melted butter, and then drop them (a few at a time) into the bag, and gently shake to coat them in cinnamon-sugar. Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.
This took some time to make, as my donut pan only has nine wells, and this recipe easily made several dozen donuts, but it also gave me plenty of time to wash up my dishes and listen to a podcast.
And these were worth it. We shared them with our guests for a mingle at our office, and then we shamelessly snacked on the leftovers for a few days afterwards. They were moist, full of flavor and very addictive. I had a few with a cup of coffee, and it was the perfect pairing.
I didn’t get a chance to dip any of these in milk like when I was younger, but it was still nice to remember those Sunday breakfasts with my family. And the best part? I didn’t even have to share these with my sister.
This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 29, 2024.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
