The Cultural Dish: Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

For the past few weeks I have been pigging out on a lot of fall treats! To make matters worse (or better....) I purchased a doughnut pan. Yes, a doughnut pan. And now I am in trouble! There is just something about the smell of freshly baked doughnuts that lure you in, and now that I can make them myself... well... let's just say the hubs and I are going to need to put in a few extra hours at the gym!

Although eating doughnuts every day may not be the best way of eating, these baked doughnuts are so delicious and a great fall treat! You can whip these up pretty quickly and have an enjoyable weekend treat for breakfast! Oh, and if you don't have a doughnut pan, you can purchase one for very little mula! I purchased mine for like $7 - so well worth the investment!

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

Ingredients:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp ginger
-1/4 tsp cloves
-3/4 cup sugar
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup canola oil
-3 large eggs
-1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (approx. one 15 oz can)
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings:
For the toppings you can get creative! I did three different toppings as follows:
1.) Cinnamon and sugar mixture - Just combine the two and toss the doughnuts in the mixture
2.) Powdered sugar glaze - pour a little powdered sugar, a drop of vanilla extract, and a little milk. Stir until the ingredients combine and form a thick glaze. You may need to add more sugar or milk, depending on consistency.
3.) Pumpkin powdered sugar glaze - You do the same as the powdered sugar glaze, except you add a teaspoon of pumpkin puree to the mix!

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a doughnut pan.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and brown sugar. Then, whisk (or use an electric mixer) to add the oil, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla.

Once the wet ingredients are well combined, whisk in the dry ingredients. Spoon about 1/4 cup into each doughnut hole and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the doughnuts comes out clean. I also decided to make some munchkins, so I used a mini muffin pan to make the little guys!

Let the doughnuts cool slightly on a wire rack, and then top as you wish! You can always leave these bad boys plain too - they are just as yummy! Once you have coated your doughnuts in the topping(s) of your choice, return them to the wire rack to finish cooling and let the topping set.