Mistake #1: Making these Baked Pumpkin Crumble Donuts at 4:30pm yesterday afternoon.
Mistake #2: Placing the cooling rack of donuts right in the middle of the kitchen counter for hungry children’s eyes to see when they strolled through the door at 5:15pm.
What ensued: Several curious finger pokes from my 5 year old insisting he was “just looking at them” and a few juicy licks from my honey badger of a 2 year old (donut licks. ha, sounds familiar!). Thank goodness I’d already taken the photos! Despite all of this…
The silver lining: My kids ate their entire dinner efficiently and peacefully knowing they’d be able to split one of these plump and doughy, albeit holey and licked, pumpkin donuts for dessert.
And while these donuts taste completely indulgent, they’re actually lightened up with better-for-you ingredients including white whole wheat flour, honey, Greek yogurt, and coconut oil.
So another bonus: the kids weren’t on a sugar high, whipping and nae nae-ing (oh yes, the stanky leg is all the rage in our house these days) off the furniture.
Adults will enjoy these donuts too. Last night, I cut one in half, popped the pieces in the microwave for 20 seconds, and topped each half with a scoop of ice cream. It was the perfect dessert for me and my husband to enjoy while getting our TGIT fix. This whole donut ordeal turned out to be a win for all!
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2½ tablespoons milk
- 1 cup toasted and finely crushed nut of any choice (I used pecans and walnuts)
- Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, Greek yogurt, and pumpkin puree. Whisk together until smooth. Add in the coconut oil and whisk again until all ingredients are combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.
- Bake the donuts: Spoon the batter into a quart sized plastic bag and seal it shut. Snip the corner of the bag off, making about a 1¼-inch cut. Squeeze the batter out of the bag into a 6 cavity donut pan. There will be enough batter to make about 7 plump donuts. Bake the donuts for about 15-18 minutes. Check the donuts at the 15 minute mark by inserting a toothpick. Once the donuts are done baking, let them cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes.
- Make the glaze and crumble: While the donuts are baking, make the glaze and nut crumble. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Add more milk if needed to thin out glaze. Using a blender or food processor, blend the nuts until they're crumbly. You could also place the nuts in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- Glaze the donuts: Set up a station for glazing and dipping. Place the bowl of maple glaze and the plate of crushed nuts next to the wire rack. Dip the top of each donut into the glaze, letting any excess glaze drip back into the bowl. Then, dip the glazed portion of each donut into the crushed nuts. Place each donut back on the rack to let the glaze set.
these donuts are incredible! I mean come on, who doesn’t want to eat healthy pumpkin donuts that have a yummy crumble on top of them?
My thoughts exactly!! Thanks for the comment 🙂
The texture of those donuts look amazing!!! Haha your kids sound adorable. 🙂
Thanks Vivian! They’re cute, but a handful 🙂