These Easy Pumpkin Donuts with their pumpkin spice icing are as simple to make as they are tasty. If you love everything pumpkin, then these shortcut donuts are a must.

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Easy to make pumpkin donuts is where it is at in fall. As they bake, these amazing pumpkin donuts fill the house with the smell of fall that every Basic Chick craves: pumpkin spice.*

(*DISCLAIMER: Not responsible if a group of basic chicks clad in plaid shirts, leggings, and Uggs clutching their latest Pumpkin Spice Latte show up at your door when you make these)

These pumpkin donuts are semi-homemade. You really only need a Spiced Cake mix and a couple of other ingredients.

And the glaze is only 4 ingredients and requires only a quick mix.

So you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen making them. You’ll save so much time, you can make my Easy Apple Cider Donuts or my Easy Gingerbread Donuts the same day.

For other shortcut baking recipes, check these out: Shortcut Bailey’s Cake with Bailey’s Chocolate Frosting or Shortcut Boozy Kahlua brownies

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Spice cake mix – You could use yellow cake mix, but spice cake helps to give the donuts a bit of a fall flavor.
Pumpkin puree – Pumpkin puree helps to hydrate the spice cake and to give the donuts a bit of pumpkin flavor.
Eggs – The eggs help to hold the donuts together.
Milk – Milk helps to hydrate the cake mix.
Powdered sugar – You want to use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar since we are not heating the sugar up. This will give the glaze a smooth consistency.
Butter – Butter helps to make the glaze for on top.
Pumpkin spice coffee creamer – You could use half and half, milk, or light cream for the glaze.
Cinnamon – This gives a bit of spice to the glaze, which you could omit if you want a less pronounced taste. You could also sub in a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you like.

To get the donut shape, we highly recommend getting a donut pan.

You may also want to use a hand mixer to make it easier to combine.

How to Make Easy Pumpkin Donuts

If you do this right, you can make my Easy Pumpkin Donuts faster than you can stand in front of the bathroom mirror and say “Pumpkin Spice Latte” three times.**

(**WARNING: A basic chick will appear if you do this. She will proceed to gush over all the things she loves about fall while taking selfies in front of pumpkins and colored leaves. Proceed with caution.)

~~Pick out your favorite sweater or plaid button down shirt and tank top, leggings, and Uggs~~ Sorry, husband decided he needed to add that.
Preheat the oven to 425… cold ovens don’t cook donuts very well
Pour the cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, and milk into a medium bowl
Mix until well combined (HELPFUL TIP: A hand mixer is even faster)
Make sure to spray the donut tray with nonstick spray
Pipe the batter into the tray leaving a little room at the top
Bake
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes
Remove from pan and place on cooling rack

How to Make the Pumpkin Flavored Glaze

Here’s how to make the glaze for the pumpkin donuts:

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, and pumpkin spice creamer (TIP: If you don’t have Pumpkin Spice Creamer, don’t tell your best Basic Chick friend, she may die of a heart attack.)
Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. If glaze is too thick for your liking, add a tsp of pumpkin spice creamer at a time until you get the consistency you want.

To Finish

Once the pumpkin donuts are cool and the glaze is made, you are ready to finish the donuts up. Here are some tips and suggestions:

The easiest way is to dip the donuts one by one in the glaze and return to the cooling rack. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle on your favorite fall themed sprinkles.
Use a piping bag to add glaze to the top of each donut and add sprinkles
Use a spoon to pour and spread glaze over the donuts and then add sprinkles

And for you latte chugging, Uggs clad Basic Chicks out, check out this Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s the perfect compliment to your freshly baked donuts.

Storing

Store these donuts in a large sealed container on your counter.

They will keep for 3-4 days but taste best the first day or two.

If you plan to bring them to a party or freeze them, we recommend not glazing them until ready to serve or pack up.

To freeze, you can place the pumpkin donuts in a freezer safe bag or container.

They should stay fresh for up to 6 months.

Is this baked pumpkin donut recipe healthy?

Well, they are baked and not fried so they are a lighter version of the treat.

BUT they are still donuts and are made from cake mix and have a sweet, sugary glaze on them.

Delicious? Yes. But definitely not health food.

Do I need to use the glaze?

Nope! You can roll them in cinnamon sugar the way I do with these apple cider donuts.

They also have all the flavors of fall even if you do not glaze or dust them with cinnamon and sugar.

Other Shortcut Baking Recipes with Cake Mix

Looking for other sneaky ways to use a box of cake mix? Try these:

Other Pumpkin Treats to Try

Looking for other pumpkin sweets? Try these:

Did you make this? Let me know!

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