Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Brown Butter Glaze

By On Oct 8, 2022

Meet your new favorite fall treat- moist, spiced pumpkin donuts covered in a decadent brown butter glaze! They cook in 15 minutes for a quick and delicious fall breakfast or dessert. With how amazing they are, they’ll disappear in no time!

Pumpkin is the flavor of the season! It’s so great in both sweet and savory recipes. If you’re as pumpkin-obsessed as I am, you’ve got to try out these mini pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin pudding cake, or pumpkin dinner rolls! They’re all filled with that rich pumpkin flavor you love and spiced to perfection!

Baked Pumpkin Donuts Recipe

Happy October! Are you obsessed with all things pumpkin right now like me? I think I have already gone through 4 or 5 cans and I have no plans of stopping anytime soon. These tasty donuts are the best addition to the pumpkin treat list, you’re going to LOVE them! My family went nuts over them. They disappeared SO fast! I was already getting asked to make another batch the same day.

The donut itself is super tender and moist, packed with so much amazing pumpkin flavor and warm fall spices! But can we talk about this brown butter glaze? It’s rich, nutty, and the perfect topping for this incredible donut. You can’t go wrong with brown butter, it makes every dessert even better! (You’ll have to try these brown butter Rice Krispies treats to see what I mean!) These baked pumpkin donuts are a must-make this holiday season. You may just want to make them year-round, and I don’t blame you!

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Donuts:

Vegetable Oil: Adds moisture to your donuts.
Large Eggs: Help all of the ingredients bind together!
Sugar: Granulated sugar works great here to sweeten up your donut batter.
Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling since we’re adding in our own spices! You can use canned pumpkin for easy prep or make your own puree for the freshest flavor. Find my full recipe here!
Spices: I used a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger for some classic fall flavor. You can also use pumpkin pie spice if you’d like!
Salt: A pinch is all you need to enhance the flavors of these tasty baked pumpkin donuts.
Baking Powder: Helps the donuts become light and airy instead of dense.
Flour: All-purpose flour works great here!

For the Brown Butter Glaze:

Unsalted Butter: I like the flavor of my glaze to be rich and nutty rather than salty, so I went for unsalted butter here.
Powdered Sugar: Adds the best sweetness and silky-smooth texture to the glaze.
Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract if you can!
Milk: Helps to adjust the consistency of the glaze. Any kind of milk works fine.

6-photo collage of the batter and frosting being prepared.

How to Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts With Brown Butter Glaze

Baked pumpkin donuts are such a quick and easy treat! They bake in 15 minutes with a short prep time so that you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying a tasty fall treat with your family and friends.

Preheat Oven, Prep Pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a standard donut pan and set aside.
Donut Batter: In a large bowl, beat the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder until smooth and well combined. Add the flour and stir until just combined.
Add to Donut Pan and Bake: Fill the wells of the donut pan ¾ full, about ¼ cup batter per donut. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool: Remove from oven, wait a few minutes and then use a toothpick to loosen and remove the donuts from the pan and place on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter.
Add Glaze: When donuts are cool, dip in the glaze. Makes around 17 donuts.

Brown Butter Glaze

Brown the Butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and heat until golden brown specks appear in the bottom of the pan, swirling the pan occasionally. The butter will get foamy and if you swirl the pan around, you will see brown bits at the bottom and it will have a nutty smell.
Add Remaining Ingredients: Remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl, using a rubber scraper to get all the brown bits at the bottom. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth and well combined. Add enough milk, as needed, to reach desired glaze consistency.
Frost: Dip tops of cooled donuts in glaze and set on a wire rack and allow glaze to harden. Sprinkle with sprinkles, if desired, before the glaze crusts over.

Top-down view of multiple pumpkin donuts on a wire rack. 2 have bites taken out of them.

Tips and Variations

Here are a few extra ways you can customize your tasty baked pumpkin donuts! They’re going to turn out perfectly! Prepare to have them on repeat all season long.

Don’t Overmix: Overmixing your donut batter can cause gluten to develop which will make your pumpkin donuts hard and rubbery instead of soft and moist. Only mix until ingredients are combined.
Toppings: Try out different toppings for your donuts! Sprinkles are always a good idea, as well as a chocolate or caramel drizzle, or chopped nuts! Be sure to add any toppings to the glaze before it sets!
Use Homemade Pumpkin Puree: If you want to take the flavor of your baked pumpkin donuts to the next level, use homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned! It’s super easy to make and tastes a million times better! Plus, it’s free of additives and preservatives! You can find my full recipe here. It comes in handy for so many different recipes, from pumpkin pecan pie bars to pumpkin hummus!

Top-down view of 3 donuts stacked on top of each other.

Storing Leftover Donuts

These amazing baked pumpkin donuts never last long at my house. If you’re lucky enough to have some extras, here’s how to keep them tasting fresh and delicious!

At Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
In the Freezer: Leftover pumpkin donuts can be stored in an airtight container or freezer bag for 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.

Pumpkin donuts with brown butter frosting laid out on parchment paper.