baked pumpkin spice donuts {yum}

Last night I posted this picture on instagram. Several people asked for the recipe. Well, ask and you shall receive, my friends! And what better day than the first day of fall? Without further ado...

variation on this recipe I found on pinterest

{ingredients}
for the DONUTS:
1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
1/8 t. ground cloves
1/3 c. applesauce
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. milk

for the COATING:
melted butter (amount dependent upon number of donuts)
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cinnamon

{how to}
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter your donut pan(s). {note: The donut pan I used makes mini donuts.}

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl (I used my electric mixer bowl), whisk oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry mixture and stir until just combined (don't overmix!). The batter will be thick. Use a gallon sized ziploc bag and clip the corner (or a pastry bag if you're fancy) to squeeze the batter into each donut cup. The cups should be full; not overflowing, but full.

Bake 9-10 minutes until donuts spring back with a gentle touch. (For full-sized donuts increase the cooking time...maybe about 15 minutes?) Turn donuts out onto a wire rack to cool a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, melt the butter in a shallow dish. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. The sugar and cinnamon amounts listed above are flexible - honestly, I just did some of each until it looked like a delicious blend to me. :) When the donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each one in butter and then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve immediately.**

**This recipe made 48 mini donuts for us. It was just the two of us, and we were not going to immediately eat 48 mini donuts (delicious though they were - but hello, bellyache!). Whatever donuts you are not going to eat, do not coat in advance, but rather right before serving. I highly recommend melting your butter in a dish where the butter will be as shallow as possible, so as not to drench your donuts before coating in cinnamon sugar. Because nobody likes a soggy donut, am I right?!

Yum.

Enjoy with your favorite warm beverage - maybe a cup of coffee, chai, or apple cider? Or a cold glass of milk if that's your thing.

Happy autumn! 

Sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin' or your favorite blogreader, and follow me on twitter & instagram.