Sep 23, 2020

Browned Butter Pumpkin Donuts

Updated: Jul 10

When was the last time you ate a warm pumpkin donut coated in the most heavenly browned butter glaze? If your answer isn't "today" then you need to make these ASAP! My son would eat all of these donuts if the rest of us turned our back for even a second. This delicious baked donut is so tender and full of yummy pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavors. You would never believe they are gluten free. You need a warm donut in your life, and this one is a keeper!

Browned Butter Pumpkin Donuts

Makes 2 dozen

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (1 15 oz. can)

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 cups gluten-free 1:1 flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1)

Brown Butter Glaze

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 tablespoons milk, to get desired consistency

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a standard donut pan; set aside. Beat the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder until smooth and well combined. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Fill the wells of the donut pan 3/4 full, about 1/4 cup batter per donut. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, wait a few minutes and then use a toothpick to loosen and remove the donuts from the pan and place on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter. As donuts cool, prepare the glaze by melting the butter in a saucepan and letting it cook and foam until golden brown specks appear in the bottom of the pan, swirling the pan occasionally. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk if needed to get a glaze consistency. Dip the mostly cooled donuts in the glaze and allow to sit until the glaze is set.

Step-by-step tutorial:

Gather your ingredients. You will need vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, and gluten free flour. I have found the Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour works great in this recipe.

In a mixing bowl, add 3 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree, 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon.......

......1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt,......

......and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. With paddle attachment, mix well. Add the 1 3/4 cups flour. Mix until smooth and combined.

To make it really easy, I pour the donut batter into a pancake pen. This makes putting it into the greased donut pan super easy. Fill the donut pan about 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Let the donuts cool for a few minutes in the pan, then run a toothpick around the edge until the donut starts to spin. Do this with each, then turn over onto a wire rack and dump them out.

Cool on a wire rack until you glaze them.

To make the glaze, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until it is foamy and when you swirl the butter in the pan, you can see brown specks on the bottom. This is browned butter, and it makes things AMAZING.

Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk to the butter. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk to get to desired consistency.

You want it to be a glaze, not a frosting. You're going to be dipping in it.

Using a chopstick, dunk the donuts one by one into the glaze. Let it hang out over the glaze for a bit to get the excess off before putting back on the wire rack. I place a sheet of parchment paper under the wire rack for easy clean up.