I’ve had the idea for these donuts rolling around in my brain for days, ya’ll. And I JUST got to making them yesterday and jeeeeez…what took me so long?! These donuts are the baked variety making them a touch less indulgent than their fried brothers, but also a little easier to execute. BONUS. They are soft and spiced and laced with delicious brown butter and the subtle-sweet maltiness of malted milk powder.
I’ve smashed pumpkin with brown butter and malt before (with these amazeballs cookies) and let me tell you, it’s a winning combination. Brown butter goes into the batter AND gets brushed onto theses babies…which makes the perfect glue for a glittering of spiced sugar. And, not to get all braggy on you, but that picture of those butter drenched donuts above makes my heart melt…donut swoon! So, basically, I urge you to make these and honor pumpkin season with donuts. It’s only the logical thing to do.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons malted milk powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
- For the Spiced Sugar + Brown Butter Coating:
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F and spray a mini donut pan lightly with cooking spray.
- Brown the butter for the donuts in a skillet over medium heat until the butter separates and the solids become a deep, toffee brown and smell nutty and fragrant. Pour the browned butter into a ramekin and set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, malt powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. Whisk to blend. In another bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture, followed by the brown butter, fold until just combined. Either spoon or pipe the batter about halfway up the donut pan molds and bake in the center of the oven for 6-7 minutes. Donuts are done when the tops are dry and spring back to the touch. Remove from oven and cool on a rack slightly before turning out. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Brown the butter for coating while the donuts bake.
- In a wide dish whisk together the sugar and spices for the coating, brush the baked donuts with browned butter and roll in the spiced sugar to coat completely.
These donuts can be baked in a standard size donut pan as well, or even a mini muffin tin. When shopping for the malt powder, I usually find it near the hot cocoa mixes or near the powdered and evaporated milk. I find it easier to brown the butter for the donuts seperately from the butter for the coating. Don’t bother to use a different skillet, just brown the butter for coating in the same skillet while the donuts bake.
Tieghan
These are incredible! I so wish I had one right now! The photo of the dipping the donuts in cinnamon sugar is just mean. I need these!
cindy
sorry, not sorry!
Megan
Girl, these freckled hotties need to be put on an ice cream sundae or in a malt immediately. Look so good!
cindy
they really need ice cream friends!
Erika
Hell to the yes!! Thanks for giving me doughnuts I can eat all day errday and not feel bad about myself in the morning..
cindy
I do what I can, ha!
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
These photos are making my heart swoon too. And I love love LOVE that they’re baked, ’cause I ain’t got no willpower when it comes to fresh donuts. I have a special place in my heart for donuts coated in cinnamon sugar.
cindy
everyone should hold a special place in their hearts for cinnamon-sugar donuts!
Danguole
Ooh, yes! They look so tender and pillowy and just completely luxurious. Why fry something when you could coat it in brown butter?
Also, I have a bunch of malted milk powder from a failed “waffles that taste just like corn flakes” experiment. These might make up for that corn+malt mess.
cindy
perfect!
Billy
AWW YEAAHH!!!I found the malt powder next to the can of pumpkin in my cupboard so it was a sign!
cindy
DESTINY!
Billy
DESTINY’S CHILD DONUTS.
Denise
For some crazy reason I have been craving malt like a mad woman for some time now. Unfortunately for me I have not had much luck finding it in my markets. Now, I must jump on the quest once again, as these doughnuts sound amazing! Love the thought of creamy pumpkin mixed with an old familiar flavor such as malt. Kind of like pure comfort food.
cindy
totally pure comfort! good luck with your hunt!
Amy | Club Narwhal
Cindy, everything about this is right. So, so right! I need to bust out my little donut baking pan 🙂
cindy
yes! give that donut pan some affection!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I made a baked pumpkin cinn-sugar donut for another project I was working on (not on my blog) and they were one of the best things I’ve EVER ate. I wish I could blog about them. I loooove the looks of yours. They are seriously perfect! Pinned!
cindy
YUM! pumpkin and spices are the best!
Rachel @ Bakerita
Mmm, I can practically taste the fall in these! They look so festive, and rolled in all that cinnamon sugar, beyond delicious.
cindy
fall to the max! thanks, Rachel!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
I definitely need these in my life. Love the malt!
cindy
Thanks Katrina!
Brittany
I need to get my pumpkin brown butter malt game on like WHOA. That combination sounds so crazy good!!
cindy
yeah you do! thanks girl!
Mercedes
These look incredibly delicious! I love that you rolled them in cinnamon and sugar!
cindy
Thanks Mercedes! Cinnamon sugar makes most things better 🙂
Laura Dembowski
Ummm … these look simply amazing! I’m rather speechless. I really just want to eat them 🙂
cindy
thanks, Laura!! They were hard to resist!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
These donuts are something else. Pumpkin malt and brown butter. My mouth is watering – gross, huh? But I can’t help it! SOO dELICIOUS.
cindy
haha! thanks, Sarah!!
Monet
Just gorgeous! I love the sprinkling of sugar too. Adds such a lovely sparkle! Thank you for sharing. I’m all about pumpkin and brown butter!
cindy
sugar sparkles forever!
Shikha @ Shikha la mode
I never thought about malted milk + pumpkin as a combo – great idea!
Marcella @ broadappetite.com
These look amazing. Brown butter and pumpkin go so well together. I just made some brown butter pumpkin steamed buns for my blog. I’m going to give this recipe a try. Thanks!
Mara
This recipe sounds amazing!! I can’t wait to make them!! I was wondering if you thought I could make these but regular sized donuts?
cindy
Thanks, Mara! You could definitely make these in a regular-sized donut pan, just bake a few extra minutes.
Liz
I don’t have a donut pan or anything..I can’t even find one in a store near me. Is there another way for me to make these?
cindy
You can make them as mini or regular sized muffins.
Isabel
Tried this out just now–this recipe is really awesome!!
cindy
YES! I am so glad! Thanks for the feedback, Isabel!