Fall Fun Including Pumpkin Donuts!

It's true, I've been a little behind in my blog postings, but that doesn't mean I haven't been ready (as always) for fall (and pumpkin).

One need look no further than my recent grocery store purchases to confirm my commitment to all things pumpkin once late September rolls around. As I happily shared with a fellow pumpkin-loving Facebook friend, this season I've thus far sampled: pumpkin granola, yogurt, cream cheese, cake bars, black coffee (K-cup pods from Target), Starbucks lattes, waffles, pancakes, cereals, and M&Ms (pumpkin spice LATTE flavored).

Fall-themed cereals alone!

Then my mom purchased me this assortment from Trader Joe's:

Not all of these were spot on--I'm less impressed with the Nestle chips.

But the biggest foodie plans for the season revolved around my sort of annual Halloween party get-together of former coworkers (we try to do this every year). I love putting together a menu of fall and spooky-themed items, many of which I've employed in the children's department of the library and many that I've just made up on the spot. Caramel apples were a must, seeing as how I hadn't yet made any caramel apples this fall (and it was October already), and spider cookies (made from Oreo cookies dotted with candy eyes) was a fun delight I'd tried before. Running short of time, I bought a prepackaged Duncan Hines chocolate cupcake mix (dark chocolate fudge if I remember correctly), but I couldn't skimp on something pumpkin flavored. Usually I make a nice Pumpkin Dip with cream cheese, but this time I'd had an idea to do some sort of pumpkin cake for a long time. Inspired by the MyRecipes.com Boo-tiful Pumpkin Cake, I thought I'd go a little smaller scale with Pumpkin Donuts (hey, I had a donut pan and not a bunt cake pan). With a quick Internet search, I found a four and a half-star recipe for Glazed Pumpkin Donuts on AllRecipes.com that I quickly modified for my purposes.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (sifted)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby's Canned Pumpkin)

2 eggs

1/4 cup of milk (I used Fat-Free Lactose Free Milk)

1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray your donut pan with nonstick cooking spray (you could try with a muffin pan, but it really helps to have a donut pan to make donuts).

2.) Sift the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the canned pumpkin, eggs, milk, and softened butter. Stir to combine ingredients (an electric hand mixer on low speed was especially helpful) until the batter is thoroughly combined but not overmixed (just make sure there are no large lumps of butter left. Those were the hardest parts to break down).

3.) Pour the batter into the donut pan, filling almost to the top. Wipe away any excess batter around the edges with a paper towel (this will help the donuts look more uniform later). 

4.) Bake approximately 8-10 minutes (I started with 8 minutes but the donuts were not yet firm when I took them out--they should sort of spring back when touched rather than leave an impression. I baked for an additional 2 minutes until they started to brown around the edges just a tad).

5.) Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the pan (otherwise they will stick to the pan and fall apart). Once the donuts are completely cooled, flip them over and frost them any way you like. I used Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese spooned into a plastic baggie with the tip cut off so I could draw little gourd-shaped lines on the donuts.

Optionally, you can also add a piece of green licorice (I used green apple Rips) to make a stem, though the licorice will make the rest of the donuts smell like green apple when you store them in the fridge. Yes, I learned all these the hard way.

I have to admit, despite my obvious bias to all things pumpkin, these were my favorite treats of the Halloween evening. They came out moist--even after being refrigerated overnight--paired well with the cream cheese, had a lovely flavor, and offered a nice contrast to all the chocolate on my table.

What other fall things have I baked lately and not blogged about? I admit, the list is limited to JELLO Jigglers attempted in a pan meant for cakes (miraculously, it worked!). But for me, Halloween is the big event of the season...until Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie comes along....