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–+ servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Cooling time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 18 minutes
Servings: 15 cupcakes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients
  

For the doughnuts:
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cups pumpkin purée
  • 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and ginger
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour I recommend King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten Free Flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
For the brown butter cream cheese frosting: (optional)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter browned and cooled, see note
  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Equipment

Instructions
 

For the doughnts:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you prefer a cupcake, you can bake these in a standard muffin pan lined with cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
  3. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
  4. Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about three-quarters full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you're making muffins, fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full; the recipe makes about 15 muffins, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).
  5. Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you're making muffins, bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  6. Remove the pumpkin doughnuts or cupcakes from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
  7. To coat: While the pumpkin doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon sugar. Only coat the number of doughnuts or cupcakes that will be consumed that same day; otherwise, they'll get soggy. You could also choose to roll doughnuts in plain powdered sugar or dip the top of the doughnut into a simple powdered sugar glaze. To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar with enough milk or water to get a syrup like consistency.
For the brown butter cream cheese frosting :
  1. Beat the cooled brown butter (see notes for how to make brown butter) and room temperature cream cheese for 2 minutes until light and smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix until smooth.

Notes

If you prefer to not use gluten free flour, you can substitute all purpose flour using the same measurement.
To make brown butter: Brown the butter: Set out a medium heatproof bowl or glass liquid measuring cup because you’ll need it at the end of this step. Place the butter in a light colored skillet or saucepan. A light-colored interior allows you to determine when the butter begins to brown. Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring or whisking constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Continue stirring/whisking, keeping a close eye on it. After about 5–7 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks forming at the bottom of the pan. The butter will have a nutty aroma. The color will gradually deepen, from yellow to golden to golden-brown; once it’s a light caramel-brown color, immediately remove from heat and pour into the bowl; be sure to scrape out and include the brown solids that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Cool completely until it is the consistency of room temperature butter.

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