11.07.2013

The Farmhouse Kitchen {Pumpkin Doughnuts}

These doughnuts are very easy to make and taste delicious.  
They are tender and fluffy inside.
And have just the right amount of sweetness.  


I love pumpkin {as does The Weather Man™}and
I have been embracing autumnal baking lately.  
Everyone seems to adore the recipe for copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scones shared here.  


 For these doughnuts, I adapted a recipe found on King Arthur Flour's website.  


Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree {I used canned pumpkin}
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp unbleached All-Purpose flour

Coating:
1/3 c. butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease doughnut pan.
Beat together oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder until smooth.
Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

Fill the wells of the doughnut pan using 1/4 cup in each.*
Bake for 15-18 minutes.
While they are baking, prep the coating.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a ziplock bag.  Shake until combined.
Melt butter.
Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes.
Transfer to cooling rack.
After they have cooled substantially, start the coating process one doughnut at a time.
Using a pastry brush, brush on a very light coat of butter.  
Place doughnut in the bag with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  
Shake and move around until fully coated.  
Cool completely and store at room temperature.  
I made 14 doughnuts from this recipe.  

A bit of the process...









Baking notes and tips:

*I found some recipes that suggested piping the batter into the wells with a pastry bag.  I just spooned it in.  However, if you do as I did, be sure to run your spoon over the batter to smooth it down.  As you can see from the above photo of unbaked batter, I did not do that at first.  The finished doughnuts were a little rough on one side.  The subsequent batches, where I smoothed the surface, turned out perfectly. 

 The original recipe did not call for butter in the coating process.  
When I tried to coat a doughnut without butter, the cinnamon-sugar didn't stick well.  
You might have better luck. 
Brushing the butter on transfers so little, that I found it to be just right...in flavor and adhesive qualities.

I bought the doughnut pan at Michael's.  All major craft stores such as Michael's, A.C. Moore, etc. have coupons available on their websites constantly.  I always try to print them out, or pull them up on my smartphone when visiting the store.  I'm sure most of you know this, but for those who do not,
 the clerk can scan the code directly from your phone.
There is always at least coupon for 40% or 50% off a regular priced item.
I paid about $4.00 for this pan.

When storing the doughnuts, do not wrap tightly.  They will become soggy.

Lots of folks have told me they are intimidated by doughnuts...don't be.
They are just as easy to make as muffins.
And seem a bit more special.
Wouldn't these be perfect for Thanksgiving morning?

Do you have a favorite recipe for baked doughnuts?

3 comments:

  1. These look divine, Emily...I think they will definitely make it on to my Thanksgiving weekend menu...Thanks for sharing and have a lovely day! xoxo

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  2. I am definitely intimidated by them. I made them once, not by baking them though, and decided it was too much trouble. This looks easy. Plus, I want that pan. I am trying it for sure! Thanks and so glad you are back!---Lindsey

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  3. So yummy!! Found you on instagram. I hope to continue to post so you can grown your blog:)

    xxleslie

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