Healthy Pumpkin Donuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze
These are the BEST pumpkin donuts! They’re really moist with plenty of warm pumpkin and cozy spice flavors, and the sweet vanilla bean glaze adds an incredible finishing touch… that somehow makes them absolutely irresistible. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself reaching for seconds or thirds! (I know I did!) The donuts are best if eaten the same day that they’re glazed, but leftovers will keep for at least four days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
FOR THE DONUTS
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 4 ¼ tsp homemade pumpkin spice (see Notes!)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature
- ¾ cup +1 tbsp (195mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
FOR THE GLAZE
- ½ cup (72g) confectioners’ style erythritol (see Notes!)
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla bean paste
- 3-4 tsp nonfat milk (or adjusted for your desired consistency)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 31 mini donut cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the donuts, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the pumpkin and Greek yogurt. Stir ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Transfer the batter to a large zip-topped plastic bag, and cut off one corner, Pipe the batter into the prepared donut cups. Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Just before serving, prepare the glaze. Stir together the confectioners’ style erythritol, vanilla bean paste, and milk (use less milk for a thicker glaze, or use more milk for a thinner glaze). Working with one donut at a time, dip one side into the glaze, gently shake the donut to remove the excess, and return to the wire cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining donuts and glaze.
Notes
For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure your flour using this method or a kitchen scale (← that’s the one I own!). Too much flour will make your batter dry and your donuts crumbly, instead of really moist and tender!
HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE: Stir together 1 tablespoon (6g) ground cinnamon {← that’s my favorite kind!}, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves until thoroughly combined.
I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It’s my favorite sweetener, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. I buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. For sweeter donuts, increase the liquid stevia by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
If you prefer not to use the vanilla stevia in the donut batter, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, and reduce the milk to 1 tablespoon (15mL) in the batter. Alternative, substitute ¾ cup (144g) of granulated, brown, or coconut sugar, and reduce the milk to 7 tablespoons (105mL). The baking time may change with any of these substitutions.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
I buy my confectioners’ style erythritol online here, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too! If you prefer, you may substitute ½ cup (60g) of regular powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) in the glaze. However, omit the milk to start since regular powdered sugar is much more absorbent than erythritol!
I buy my vanilla bean paste online here. If you prefer not to use vanilla bean paste, then substitute 1 ½ teaspoons of regular vanilla extract.
VEGAN OPTION: If you’d like to make a vegan version, then use non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk. Replace the Greek yogurt with 6 tablespoons of your favorite non-dairy yogurt OR additional pumpkin purée, but remember… Since these don’t contain as much protein as Greek yogurt, your donuts may collapse a bit while cooling and turn out slightly denser.
If you seal leftover glazed donuts inside of an airtight container and refrigerate them, the glaze tends to dissolve, especially if made with regular powdered sugar. Hence why they’re best if served the same day they’re glazed!
These are the donut pans that I use! They’re made of silicone and a little flimsy, so I just set them on top of a large light-colored metal cookie sheet to bake.
If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized donuts. The baking temperature remains the same. Begin checking on them after about 18 minutes. The donuts will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm to the touch.
NO DONUT PAN: Don’t own a mini or standard-sized donut pan? Not to worry! You can use a mini muffin pan (you’ll get about 28 mini muffins) or a standard-sized muffin pan (you’ll get 12 muffins).
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, vegan option}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.