Old Fashioned Pumpkin Doughnuts are so flavorful and perfect for fall. Roll these pumpkin doughnuts in sugar and cinnamon while they are warm, they are the perfect autumn treat.
The aroma of sweet pumpkin, cinnamon and spices will fill your kitchen and possibly the entire house. Open your windows and the Southern breeze will carry the sweet aromas to your neighbors! And if you love Pumpkin Doughnuts, you’ll love Fried Apple Hand Pies and Apple Fritters!
You’ll need a donut cutter. They are really hard to find in stores, so do yourself a favor and just order it off Amazon!
How to make Pumpkin Doughnuts:
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a medium bowl.
Step 2: Add the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg to the mixing bowl. Alternate adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients until everything is combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl occasionally.
Step 3: Line a half sheet pan with several layers of paper towels. Set aside.
Step 4: In a large pot, heat about 3-inches of canola oil to 375 degrees F. Use a thermometer to test the temperature. Gently drop about 4 doughnuts into the hot oil, do not over crowd the pot. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Flipping the doughnut once.
Step 5: Remove the doughnuts from the oil and let drain on the paper towels. While doughnuts are hot roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
This dough is sticky. Use a plastic bench scraper (the curved side) to remove the dough from the mixing bowl. Use the flat side of the bench scraper to move flour around on your work surface.
You can make these doughnuts the night before. Cover the sheet pan loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day. Fry straight from the fridge. Also try Pumpkin Pound Cake, Pumpkin Waffles, and Easy Pumpkin Pie.
Use a digital thermometer to accurately measure the oil temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can put a pinch of flour in hot oil to see if it is the correct temperature. The flour will quickly bubble to the edges of the pan if the oil is hot enough.
Roll pumpkin doughnuts into cinnamon sugar mixture while they are still warm. I use a disposable aluminum pan to coat the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar. It makes clean up easy and gives you plenty of room to work.
They are simple enough to make. Just fry in a little pot of canola oil on your stovetop and set on paper towels for a few minutes. While they are still warm, roll in a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and a touch of nutmeg. Then watch the little fingers- and probably big fingers grab them as quickly as they can. For more great donut recipes, check out Apple Cider Donuts, Blueberry Cake Donuts, Old-Fashioned Donuts, and Red Velvet Donuts.
Do you love my recipes and these delicious Pumpkin Doughnuts? If you have a moment, please leave a star rating.
Old-fashioned Pumpkin Doughnuts
Ingredients
Pumpkin Doughnuts
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a medium bowl.
- Add the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg to the mixing bowl. Alternate adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients until everything is combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl occasionally.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Roll out to about 1/2-inch thick and use a doughnut cutter to cut out the doughnuts. Place the doughnuts and doughnut holes on sheet pans lined with parchment paper.
- Line a sheet pan with several layers of paper towels and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat about 3-inches of canola oil to 375 degrees F. Use a thermometer to test the temperature. Gently drop about 4 doughnuts into the hot oil, do not over crowd the pot. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Flipping the doughnut once.
- Remove the doughnuts from the oil and let drain on the paper towels.
- While the doughnuts are still warm, coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Nutrition
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Hi, I found this on FoodGawker and was hoping I could get your permission to post the recipe on my instagram recipe page (@foodie_recipes) as they look delicious! I will tag you in the photo and put your website address on the post! Hope this is okay, thanks 🙂 x
Olivia!
thank you- Would love for you to share my doughnut recipe. Thank You!! Jessica
These donuts are amazing. I love having one of these fresh from the oven still warm on a nice cool fall day. I mean how do you top a warm pumpkin donut, piping hot coffee and a cool crisp fall day?
Pumpkin season is around the corner and I can’t wait. These look really good and will look forward to trying them out. Already pinned.
I’d eat SO many of these. I just love pumpkin flavored things. I’ve never tried to make my own doughnuts, but I really should.
Those look amazing! My kids would love these! I love anything pumpkin!
I love pumpkin dishes, had never heard of pumpkin donuts. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
I can’t wait to make these pumpkin doughnuts, they look so delicious, can’t wait to try them out. Thank you for sharing.!!
I’m so happy I stumbled upon your recipe. My nephew loves pumpkins while I love cinnamon. I think this is a good combination of the two ingredients. We’ll definitely line this up for our next Baking Sunday. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Love this recipe. We’ll try it next Baking Sunday. I’m sure my nephew will love it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I am looking forward to pumpkin season so I can try making these myself one day, they look so yummy.
Oh, they look amazing! And the recipe is actually pretty easy to follow! I will try them out this weekend!
This is just so right in time. I crave for cake doughnuts made of butternut and nutmeg. This is perfect. Thanks so much!
You always make me crave for the recipes you shared. I am a newbie in baking and this is another great recipe for me to try.
Oh my god! I could definitely kill for donuts! I’ve never tried preparing them in this way! Can’t wait to try this recipe out at the weekend. Hopefully my donuts will be the same tasty! 🙂
I’ve never had a pumpkin doughnut before but these sound delicious! Definitely on my to make list x
There is nothing like Homemade Doughnuts. I bet the nutmeg adds amazing flavor. I would love to try this recipe!
I’ve never had the luxury of tasting a pumpkin doughnut before! That sounds so good!
wow doughnuts! Something that doesn’t need more convincing! I love doughnuts 😀
I never tried making pumpkin donuts. I’ve tried making it from potato. Pinned this recipe. Looks very delicious.
I love pumpkin and cinnamon flavors and aroma! Just wanna ask though, is the donut soft and moist? Also, how long will it last?