Looking for a fast, easy fall treat? These gluten-free baked pumpkin spice donuts are exactly what you’re looking for! No messy deep frying is needed; your whole family will love these gluten-free recipes!
Confession, when I was a teenager living at home, I loved to cook, and deep frying didn’t seem like a big deal. Just pour oil into a pan, heat, and get to work, right?
But now that I’m an adult, I know that buying gallons of oil to deep fry with isn’t great for my budget – especially since I’m incredibly picky about the quality of the oil I buy.
Not only that, but OH MY GOODNESS, now that I’m a mom, I don’t have time to spend deep frying and cleaning up the mess it makes.
Now I understand why so many of my mom’s friends looked askance when I tried to give them deep-fried recipes. They’re time-consuming.
How good are these donuts?
Now, I’m not gonna say I don’t still love a good, traditionally fried donut, but truth be told, you don’t need to deep fry to make good donuts.
Crazy as it seems to someone like me who spent so many years making donuts the “right” way with a deep fryer, baked donuts are a dream. They’re easy, quick, tasty, and have far fewer calories, and that can’t hurt, right? I still do love these perfect, deep-fried gluten-free yeast donuts, but much more often, I bake yummy recipes like gluten-free banana chocolate chip donuts and gluten-free lemon-blueberry donuts. They’re just so good!
This particular gluten-free baked pumpkin spice donut recipe is a mouthful for sure, but it covers all our needs:
- Tasty, with a light, airy texture and moistness that only pumpkin purée can give you
- Allergy-friendly so my husband and your gluten-free family members can enjoy them with us
- The epitome of fall flavor. Ooooh, that pumpkin spice. It’s a keeper. So warm, so comforting. Makes you want to curl up with a book and a hot cup of cocoa, and a plate of donuts on a cold day.
- And an indulgent glaze. Vanilla glaze may seem basic, and maybe it is, but that sweet vanilla flavor paired with spicy pumpkin spice is one you don’t want to underestimate.
All around, it’s hard to believe you can make a dessert (or breakfast?) this good, this fast.
A note on baking donuts: While a donut pan and oven are a great combo, part of what makes this so quick and easy for me is our donut iron. It’s similar to a waffle iron, and it’s my favorite way to make baked donuts! So quick and easy, with so little preheating. It’s just like making waffles, and I can knock out a large batch of donuts quickly with an assembly line setup, glazing the first batch while the second cools, and the third bakes.
If you’re a donut lover and make donuts fairly frequently, I highly recommend a mini donut iron!
PrintGluten-Free Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts with vanilla glaze
Looking for a tasty breakfast treat? Give these baked pumpkin spice donuts a try!
Ingredients
Donut ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour (this is my favorite gluten-free flour mix)
- 1 Teaspoon guar or xanthan gum IF NOT ALREADY INCLUDED IN YOUR FLOUR MIX
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice)
- 1/3 cup light olive oil (or your preferred vegetable oil – melted coconut oil can be used)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or evaporated cane juice
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup milk
Vanilla Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Making the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Combine first four ingredients and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk
- Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir until combined, but try not to overtax.
- Grease a donut pan and fill each donut form 90% full
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of your donuts), or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed.
- Remove from pan to a cooling grid and let cool for several minutes before icing.
Alternatively, as I mentioned above, if you have a donut baker, which is similar to a waffle iron, that is a very fast, easy way to make your donuts. Generally, they are non-stick, so you don’t have to grease it. Simply preheat, and add a few tablespoons of batter to each form, close the lid and bake for 3-5 minutes.
To make the vanilla glaze:
- Combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beating the lumps out if necessary.
- The glaze should be slightly thicker than honey. Don’t be afraid to add more powdered sugar or milk, a drop at a time, to get the right consistency.
- Dip your cooled donuts into the glaze, and place back on a cooling grid, set over a cookie sheet to catch drips, and let crust.
- If you dip a donut and aren’t satisfied with the coverage, adjust the thickness of your glaze.
Enjoy!
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Ann says
I’ve just saved the recipe for later. I like this fast and easy fall treat. I feel like I want to bite these through my screen. The texture of these donuts is so light. Can’t wait to try the recipe. My whole family will absolutely love these. Thank you a lot for sharing such a brilliant idea. Look forward to your new awesome recipes.
p.s. I’d be grateful if you’d share with me a few gluten-free recipes for your fav desserts.
★★★★★