Donuts rank pretty high on my dessert index. I love a soft, fluffy donut that’s big on flavor. However, I don’t always love the deep-fried, sugar coated part. Often times, commercial donuts are way too sweet, and they can mean blowing an entire day of WW points – eek! So i’ve made it my mission to create healthier donuts. I’ve already made apple cider, birthday cake, lemon, cereal milk and double chocolate donuts, all of which are way lighter without sacrificing flavor. Next up, I knew I had to make a pumpkin donut for fall, and these rock. They’re baked and are full of fall flavors, in a fun little package.
Making Healthy Pumpkin Donuts
Making these is super simple and doesn’t require any complicated or messy deep frying. These donuts are baked, so you’ll mix up your batter, pour it into a donut pan, bake, and top once cooled. To make the donuts, you’ll need:
- All purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice, which you’ll combine in one bowl
- Pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, egg, almond milk (or any milk, dairy or not), canola oil, vanilla extract, which you’ll combine in another bowl
You’ll then combine your wet and dry ingredients to form your donut dough. Spray your donut pans well with cooking spray and bake at 350 for 15-16 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let donuts cool completely before topping.
For the topping you’ll combine low fat cream cheese, maple extract (can sub vanilla), and powdered sugar to create a cream-cheese-forward frosting. I put about a teaspoon on each donut and spread it on top. Finish with an extra dash of pumpkin spice and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. I prefer to store them without the topping and just add it as I eat them!
Healthy Pumpkin Donuts
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Donut Pan
- Oven
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2.5 tbsp low fat cream cheese
- 1.5 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp maple extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder, pumpkin spice, baking soda, sugar and whisk together to combine
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, Greek yogurt, oil, almond milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla until mixture is smooth
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine, until you have a uniform mixture with a consistency of cake batter
- Spray your donut pan with cooking spray and put roughly 2 tbsp of batter into each. It doesn't need to be filled to the top, as these will rise
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until they’ve risen a bit and a toothpick comes out clean. They should be light and springy.
- Allow donuts to cool to room temp on a cooling rack
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and maple extract until smooth.
- Top each donut with roughly 1 tsp of topping and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice. Enjoy!
