Donut Pumpkin Muffins

Donut Pumpkin Muffins are the perfect combination of pumpkin donuts + pumpkin muffins! Moist spiced pumpkin muffins are baked, coated in butter and tossed in cinnamon sugar – just like a donut!

Table of Contents

• Pumpkin Muffins + Donuts in One Easy Recipe
• A Whole Can of Pumpkin
• What You’ll Need
• How to Make Donut Pumpkin Muffins:
• Oil vs Applesauce in the Pumpkin Muffins:
• Pumpkin Spice or Cinnamon?
• Can I Make these Muffins Ahead?
• Get the Recipe

Pumpkin Muffins + Donuts in One Easy Recipe

Have you heard of donut muffins yet? They are sweet muffins that are brushed in melted butter and then tossed in sugar, like a donut! So it’s a donut muffin!

So how do we take those to the next level? We turn the muffins into pumpkin muffins and we coat them in a perfect mixture of cinnamon and sugar. And then I can only describe them with two words — epically delicious. 

If you love these Donut Pumpkin Muffins as much as my family does, make sure and check out my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins and Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel! 

A Whole Can of Pumpkin

One goal I have when making a pumpkin recipe is using an entire can of pumpkin, whenever I am able to.

I know we can’t always help it, but I hate when a recipe only uses part of a can of pumpkin puree and I have to open an entire can just for a small amount of pumpkin puree.

I worked on this Donut Pumpkin Muffins recipe until it was perfect and uses a whole 15 oz can of canned pumpkin for 18 muffins. Since we are only making 18 muffins total, each muffin is loaded with lots of real pumpkin flavor! 

What You’ll Need

These Pumpkin Donut Muffins don’t require too many ingredients and you probably already have most of them on hand:

• Flour – All purpose
• Pumpkin Spice – Don’t skip it! Or, if you don’t have it on hand already, you can use cinnamon and a healthy pinch of nutmeg in place of the pumpkin spice. (I also have a DIY pumpkin spice recipe below.)
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Pumpkin Puree – Like most pumpkin recipes, you want to make sure to use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and flavored. So make sure whatever can you grab, pumpkin is the only ingredient listed!
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Eggs
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• Granulated Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Butter – Melted

How to Make Donut Pumpkin Muffins:

Step 1: Combine dry ingredients: whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt.

Step 2: Whisk together pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

Step 3: Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, until there are no lumps. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.

Step 4: Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes and then pop them out of muffin tins and transfer them to a wire rack.

Step 5: Brush muffins all over with the melted butter and quickly toss to coat in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Serve these Pumpkin Donut Muffins warm or return to the wire rack and let cool completely. We personally like them best fresh and warm, but they are delicious either way. 

Oil vs Applesauce in the Pumpkin Muffins:

The last key ingredient is to add a little oil to keep them extra moist. A lot of muffins use butter, but trust me on the oil choice instead for these. You can use vegetable oil, canola oil and even avocado oil.

In case you are anti oil, you can use unsweetened applesauce in it’s place, that’s totally ok. They are best with oil from a texture stand point, but still delicious with applesauce. Just a little less moist and the texture is a little more fluffy than it is with oil.

In the end, oil will give you a denser and more moist muffin. Apple sauce will create a fluffier and a little less moist muffin.

Pumpkin Spice or Cinnamon?

You can use pumpkin pie spice (also sometimes shortened to Pumpkin Spice) or you can use cinnamon in this recipe. Either way is delicious!

If you do not have Pumpkin Spice, but would like to make it, below is a simple recipe:

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice

• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Mix all ingredients together. This recipe will make a little over 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice.
2. You can double or triple the recipe and save it for any other wonderful Fall recipes or even sprinkle it over your morning coffee!

Can I Make these Muffins Ahead?

Yes, you can and they will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

However, I personally prefer these Donut Pumpkin Muffins warm and fresh out of the oven the best. They are just so perfect fresh and warm…they almost taste like they are soft fried donuts!

If you happen to have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave. I do one muffin for 10 seconds just to warm it back up!

Just look at that perfect Donut Pumpkin Muffin — I promise they taste as good as they look, if not better! Bonus: in case you are in a rush, these muffins do not take long to make! No hand mixer or stand mixer needed! Just a couple of bowls and a good strong whisk!

I am so excited for all of you to try these Donut Pumpkin Muffins, I know you are going to love them as much as we do. In the comments below, you can now share a photo of how your recipe turns out! Please share a photo with your results!

Looking for more amazing Fall recipes? Make sure and check out my Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake, that also has an amazing streusel on top, 5-ingredient Caramel Apple Dump Cake and the famous, big layered Pumpkin Dream Cake!

Continue to Content

Yield: 18 Muffins

Donut Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Print

Donut Pumpkin Muffins: moist spiced pumpkin muffins are baked, coated in butter and tossed in cinnamon sugar for that perfect sweet outside - just like a donut!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 38 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (pure pumpkin puree)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

cinnamon-sugar coating:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease non-stick muffin pan with non stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar.Beat in eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
4. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, until there are no lumps. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.
5. Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes and then pop them out of muffin tins and transfer them to a wire rack.
6. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Then, working with just one muffin at a time, brush muffin all over with the melted butter and quickly toss to coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
7. Serve warm or return to the wire rack and let cool completely!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18 Muffins

Serving Size:

1 Muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 149mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 2g

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