Pumpkin Donut Holes

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Tender fried pumpkin donut holes filled with the flavors of fall are guaranteed to make you feel cozy all season long! These bite-sized cake donuts are made with pure pumpkin purée, tangy buttermilk and warm spices. They are dipped in a simple maple glaze, but you can also coat them in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for a fun treat.

Pumpkin donut holes dipped with a maple glaze are sitting on a wire rack that is surrounded with tiny orange pumpkins.

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♡ Why You Will Love These Pumpkin Donut Holes
Ingredient Notes
Step-By-Step Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Storage
⭐️ Expert Tips
FAQ
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♡ Did you try this recipe?
📖 Recipe

♡ Why You Will Love These Pumpkin Donut Holes

Easy to make. Cake donut batter, which uses baking powder, comes together in less than 10 minutes. Yeast donuts like these pumpkin cheesecake donuts, raspberry cheesecake donuts, and Dubai chocolate donuts, require kneading with 2 rises.
Cozy flavors. The donut batter is flavored with pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and maple extract. The easy glaze is also infused with a hint of cinnamon and maple extract.
Texture. These pumpkin donut holes are moist & tender on the inside and crispy & craggly on the outside, which is made possible only by deep-frying the donuts.
Can be made up to 2 days in advanced. Chill the batter overnight, and then fry them in the morning for a quick and special breakfast treat.

A pile of pumpkin donut holes dipped with a maple glaze are sitting on a wire rack.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some notes about all the ingredients used for these Pumpkin Donut Holes. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Pumpkin donut holes ingredients which include, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, pumpkin puree, butter, egg, yolk, maple extract and melted butter.

Pumpkin Spiced Donut Holes

All-Purpose Flour - I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour for best results. Adding too much flour can make your donuts dry and dense.
Pumpkin Pie Spice + Cinnamon - Warm spices work perfectly with pumpkin.
Baking Powder - Helps the donuts puff up when fried.
Salt - Enhances the flavor.
Pumpkin Puree - Make sure you're using pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
Sugar - Adds a bit of sweetness and moisture.
Egg + Yolk - Make the donuts fluffy and the extra yolk makes it extra moist.
Melted Butter - For flavor.
Buttermilk - Make the donut holes light.
Maple Extract - For flavor.

Pumpkin donut holes glaze ingredients which include, powdered sugar, hot water, cinnamon and maple syrup.

Maple Glaze

Powdered Sugar - Also known as icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
Hot Water - Thins out the glaze. You can also use milk too.
Cinnamon - For flavor.
Maple Extract - For Flavor

*See recipe card for quantities.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make these Pumpkin Donut Holes! Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

White sugar, melted butter, buttermilk, egg, yolk, pumpkin puree and maple syrup are in a large glass mixing bowl.

White sugar, melted butter, buttermilk, egg, yolk, pumpkin puree and maple syrup are whisked together in a large glass mixing bowl.

Step 1. Combine Wet Ingredients - In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, pumpkin puree, melted butter, egg, yolk, buttermilk and maple extract until well combined.

All-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt are whisk together in a glass bowl.

Step 2. Combine Wet Ingredients - In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt.

Dry ingredient mixture is sifted into the large bowl with the wet ingredients.

Step 3. Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients - Sift dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Pumpkin cake donut dough is mixed in a glass mixing bowl with a rubber spatula until combined.

Step 4. Chill - Mix until just combined. Cover and chill for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Pumpkin donut dough is scooped with a small cookie scoop and then dropped into the Dutch oven with hot oil.

Step 5. Using a small 2-teaspoon cookie scoop, drop 5 to 6 scoops into the hot oil.

Pumpkin donut holes are fried until golden in a large white Dutch oven.

Golden fried pumpkin donut holes are sitting on a paper towel lined wire rack.

Step 6. Fry - Fry donut holes for 1 minute on each side, then transfer to a wire rack lined with paper towels.

Cinnamon maple glaze is whisked in a small bowl.

Step 7. Make Glaze - In a small bowl, whisk together powder sugar, hot water, cinnamon and maple extract.

Hands are holding 2 glazed pumpkin donut holes over a small bowl of glaze.

Step 8. Glaze Donuts - Dunk donut holes in the glaze and let the excess drip off. Let the glaze set for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Pumpkin donut holes dipped with a maple glaze are sitting on a wire rack.

Substitutions

Spices - Feel free to make your own pumpkin pie spice. You can even add other warm spices like nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger and cardamom.
Maple Extract - I highly recommend using maple extract because it works perfectly with pumpkin. However, you can substitute with vanilla paste or extract.

Variations

Other Coatings - You can coat these pumpkin donut holes with cinnamon sugar, powder sugar or a simple chocolate glaze.

Storage

Room Temperature - Donuts are best eaten the same day you fry them. However, leftover donut holes can be stored loosely covered in a container, on the counter for 1 to 2 days.

⭐️ Expert Tips

Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. Baking in grams, rather than volume, is the best and most accurate way to bake! All my recipes include gram conversions based on King Arthur's Weight Chart.

To keep the donut holes consistently sized, I recommend using a small cookie scoop. My scoop holds about 2 teaspoons of batter.

Fry the donuts in small batches. Fry 5 to 6 donuts at a time. This will prevent the oil's temperature to drop too low, as the dough will be cold.

Use a thermometer to consistently check the oil's temperature, as it can rise and lower as you move through the frying process. Keep a close eye on the temperature to ensure it stay between 350ºF (167ºC) and 360ºF (182ºC). If the temperature of your oil is too low, your donuts run the risk of absorbing too much oil and if the oil is too hot, the donuts will brown too quickly and the center can be uncooked.

FAQ

Can I bake these pumpkin donut holes?

I have not tried baking these donut holes, so I can't recommend it. If you're looking for baked donut recipes, try these baked apple cider donuts or baked funfetti donuts.

Can I make regular sized donuts?

Sure thing! You can check out my blueberry cake donuts post to see the method.

How do you safely dispose of frying oil?

Allow the oil to cool completely in the pot, then pour it back into its original container or a plastic bag and throw it away in the trash. It should never be poured down the drain, as it could potentially clog your pipes.