Pumpkin Spice Donuts & Muffins

I walked into the living room this afternoon and felt a little chilly.  That's when I realized the window was open.  Let me repeat that:  The window was open in the afternoon and it was chilly.  In Los Angeles, every summer it starts to feel like this day will never come.  But it has arrived, ladies and gentleman:  Fall.  So,  to welcome it, I made pumpkin donuts.

 My roommate came home from a family trip one day with this donut maker (pictured below), which use to belong to her grandmother.  These days, I could probably call this baby vintage, but it still works just fine, and if you have one of the more modern donut makers I don't see why you couldn't use this same recipe with it.

This being my first time using the donut maker, I didn't want to stray too far from the recommended recipes that came with it, but the chill in the air gave me a hankering for pumpkin, and I would not be stop until I had it.  I know pumpkin can be used as a substitute for eggs and oil to healthi-fy certain recipes, so I just took the standard donut maker recipe, cut the eggs and oil in half, added the pumpkin and a few more pumpkin pie spices, and got some pretty tasty results.

Of course, not everybody has a donut maker, so if you want to use a donut pan in the oven or just a plain old muffin pan, I've got you covered.  The donuts maker needs a pretty thin batter, and while you could use the exact same batter in the oven, I wanted my muffins to be a bit more dense, so I cut the milk in half and it worked like a charm.

Oh, and if you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice, I used the recipe from My Baking Addiction.

Pumpkin Donuts or Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups AP Flour (substituted 1 cup for white whole wheat just to make it a little healthier)
4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk for muffins or 1 cup milk for donut maker donuts

Sugar Coating
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Vanilla Glaze
2/3 cups powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

To make the batter, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and set aside.  Next, mix together the egg and two sugars until well combined.  Add pumpkin, vegetable oil, vanilla and milk, and mix until smooth.  Add dry ingredients and continue mixing until well incorporated.

For donuts:  follow the instructions on your donut maker.

For muffins or baked donuts:
Oven should be preheated to 350°F.  Grease your pan with non-stick baking spray.  Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

For sugar coating:
Mix together sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.  When donuts or muffins have cooled enough to be handled but are still warm, roll in sugar until well coated

For vanilla glaze:
Whisk together all ingredients, adding milk a little at a time until you get your preferred consistency.  Dunk the top part of the muffin or donut into the glaze and set on a wire rack to let it drip down the sides.