DIY Week: mini pumpkin donuts

When I discovered this original recipe from Blue Eyed Bakers, I immediately found the mini donut pan on eBay and had it sent my way (=the best $10 I've ever spent on eBay!).  I just had to make this little dessert. I'm all for some more Autumn in the tropics! Want to know the secret to perfect donuts? Read below to find out more!

Now, the ingredients are all relatively basic and generally are items that the average baker would have in her pantry, with the exception of the seasonally-available Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling of course (I'm partial to Libbys, but there are other great brands out there too!). If you want to get really into it, try making your own pumpkin filling with this recipe!

Here are the ingredients, courtesy of Blue Eyed Bakers.

For Donuts:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

First, preheat your oven to 350F and oil a mini donut pan. For the petite deliciousness:

Essentially, combine your dry ingredients (flour, spices, salt, baking powder) in a smaller bowl and combine your wet ingredients (everything else) in a larger bowl. Use a hand mixer if you feel necessary, I did it all by hand though. Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet until combined. Now, here's the trick to perfect donuts every time, are you ready? 

Scoop the pumpkin batter into a pastry bag (or a plastic sandwich bag with one tip cut off, this is what I used to avoid dirtying my pastry bag. I'm just silly about what goes in my pastry bag, I guess haha) and pipe that batter into each mini donut pocket of the pan. These should be filled to the top, no worries, they will not rise above it by much. You're making more of a "pumpkin bread" type consistency rather than a cake. Put those babies in the oven and bake for about 8-9 minutes (insert a toothpick to be sure). When done, carefully remove the pan and lightly shake over a wire rack to pop the donuts out and refill. 

Allow to cool for a little bit. While waiting, make your coating. Melt that butter and combine your sugar and cinnamon. Do not combine the butter and sugar mixture. Once the donuts have cooled to the touch, but still just a wee bit warm, dip them quickly in the butter and then coat in the cinnamon-sugar. They must be served immediately, so if you don't think you can eat 24 mini muffins, wait to coat the others. Just place the uncoated guys in a plastic tub with an air-tight lid and store for up to two days.

I have some helpful hints for this sugar coating procedure; my adjustments to the original recipe. First, I found that I liked the donuts much better after I let them cool completely and THEN coated with the cinnamon-sugar. When still warm, I feel like the butter soaks in too much and leaves a very strong buttery flavor. Try the cooled method on a few and compare; see what you think. Second, I also put my cinnamon-sugar into a plastic sandwich bag and tossed in the buttered donut to coat by lightly shaking (like shake-n-bake chicken!). I found this to be much easier, cleaner and prettier than tossing by hand.

And there you go!! A beautiful, simple and cost effective treat for Autumn! I like that this recipe can extend into the Christmas season too. I love to cook with pumpkin, and my dog appreciates it too. She always gets what's left of the Libby's can, which I toss into her homemade food. So, even though that raw pumpkin is a healthy treat, we both know that these are not. But let's pretend they are anyways. Because they're so delicious, and they're petite, so really if you eat around six, it's still just like having one slice of pie, right? 

This is Day 2 of DIY Week! I hope you've enjoyed both posts so far! I have more for sustainable living and home decor coming up!

Until tomorrow,