Hi friends!
Happy (almost) October! I recently had churros at a restaurant after dinner and they didn’t have cinnamon/sugar on them. I was sad…WHAT IN THE HECK! Safe to say my churro craving was not satisfied but since it is October and that means all things pumpkin (obviously). So naturally, I decided to whip up my own donut holes. I baked them instead of frying and added a cinnamon sugar topping. THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
Pumpkin season is one of my favourites because pumpkins are actually SUPER nutritious (lots of Vitamin A, Fibre, Zinc), low calorie with only 15 calories per 1/2 cup and make baking so moist & flavourful.
The perfect bite and texture! This recipe for Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes is super easy to make, dairy-free and requires no frying (aka no oil splatters). If you want to make it refined sugar free, I’d suggest using coconut sugar in place of cane sugar in the topping.
I can’t wait for you guys to try this recipe! Definitely my new go-to when I’m craving a healthy donut hole.
Some tips for recipe success:
- Only coat with cinnamon sugar when ready to eat as it will absorb otherwise. The recipe makes about 18 donut holes so only coat what you’re eating. You can make ahead and refrigerate and then reheat/coat with sugar & cinnamon when ready to eat.
- Instead of coconut oil for the topping, you can also use unsalted butter. This is required to make the cinnamon/sugar topping stick to the donut as we are not frying them.
- To make the recipe refined sugar free, use coconut sugar for the topping instead of cane sugar like I used here.
- The pumpkin puree should be unsweetened and not to be confused with pumpkin pie spice!
- For the flour I used a mix of all purpose and spelt. I wouldn’t do 100% spelt or whole wheat as it will impact the taste but you can use 100% all purpose flour.
As always, please tag me in your recipe creations! I love seeing them all and they just make my day. Please tag me on socials @balancingandie.
Notes
Some tips:
- Only coat with cinnamon sugar when ready to eat as it will absorb otherwise.
- Instead of coconut oil, you can also use unsalted butter
- To make the recipe refined sugar free, use coconut sugar for the topping
- The pumpkin puree should be unsweetened and not to be confused with pumpkin pie spice!
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup spelt)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1/8 tsp fine grain salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
- 1 whole egg, room temperature
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Topping
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to bake at 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients. It's important that the egg is room temperature to avoid the coconut oil turning solid.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Using about 1 tbsp of mixture, form into balls and lay on lined baking sheet. The recipe makes about 18 donut holes. I baked 12 at a time for approximately 10 minutes until the tops are slightly firm. Repeat as needed.
- Meanwhile for the topping, melt the coconut oil in a shallow bowl and in another shallow bowl, mix the remaining topping ingredients.
- Once the donut holes have cooled enough to handle, you want to roll first in coconut oil, then in the cinnamon sugar mixture and lay on a plate. I would do this step only right before serving as the sugar will start to dissolve over time. Enjoy warm!
thank you for the receipe