Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes - A Girl Defloured (2024)

I have a deep and abiding passion for fresh, hot doughnuts that are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. And I adore these gluten-free pumpkin spice doughnut holes. These spiced, bite-sized beauties are light, fluffy and delicious. I recommend serving them for breakfast, with hot coffee or cider. But, they would be equally wonderful for dessert with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

This recipe was updated on 8/26/21 with new images, an updated recipe card and updated instructions.

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Fresh Doughnuts Are the Best Doughnuts!

When I was growing up, we had hot doughnuts once a year, from a little shack at a holiday craft fair. The ladies who ran the operation, dressed in shawls and bonnets (I think they were German Baptists), would pass grease-splattered paper bags of them through the window into our eager hands. They were tender and spicy and gobbled up in a matter of moments, usually accompanied by a styrofoamcup of hot apple cider.

Later, I learned about fresh apple cider doughnuts when we went apple picking. The doughnut queue would wind all the way around the barn, where a little machine was cranking out tiny circles as fast as it could. The wait was an hour, and it was so worth it. I tried to duplicate them at home. The resulting doughnuts were large, dense and heavy with grease. Not exactly what I was going for.

Enter the French Doughnut Muffin. Wonderfully, they taste almost identical to freshly fried doughnut holes, except they are baked and no specialty pans or cutters are required, save a muffin (or mini-muffin) tin. I’ve made them plain (with cinnamon-sugar on the outside), with apple cider, and with pumpkin. They are light and fluffy and absolutely scrumptious. I’m not going to pretend that they are healthy…but at least they aren’t deep fried, right?

How to make Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes

These spiced, bite-sized beauties are light, fluffy and delicious. I serve them for breakfast, with hot coffee or cider, but they would be equally wonderful for dessert with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Dairy free? No problem! Simply swap out the milk for your favorite non-dairy version (I’m partial to gluten-free oat milk) and the melted butter for non-dairy butter.

Ingredients

For The Doughnuts

• 1¾cupsall-purpose gluten-free flour blendI prefer Bobs Red Mill 1-to-1
• 2teaspoonsbaking powder
• ½teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground allspice
• ½teaspoonxanthan gumomit if your flour blend already contains it
• ⅓cupvegetable oil
• ½cupbrown sugar
• 1egg
• 1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
• ¾cuppumpkin pureenot pumpkin pie filling
• ½cupwhole milk

For The Sugar Coating

• 9tablespoonsbuttermelted
• ⅔cupgranulated sugar
• 2teaspoonscinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 24 count (or 12 count) mini-muffin tin with gluten-free cooking spray. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and xanthan gum in a large bowl. Add the oil, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin puree, and milk and whisk until smooth.

Using a small scoop or tablespoon, fill holes in pan about ¾ full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. You will probably need to bake 2-3 batches, depending on how big your pan is.

Place sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Then, dip or brush the doughnut holes on all sides in the melted butter, then place in the bowl and use your hands or a spoon to roll the doughnut in the sugar mixture so it is evenly coated. Serve immediately. These are best when eaten the same day.

Love Doughnuts? You’ll Love These Other Recipes!

• Gluten Free Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
• Glazed Strawberry Shortcake Buttermilk Doughnuts
• Baked Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts

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