Pumpkin Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze & Toasted Pecans

I have eaten a lot of pumpkin treats in my day, a few were fantastic but many were not.  Mostly it’s not the pumpkin filling I am a fan of but the roasted pumpkin seeds that I find to be appetizing, however when I came across this recipe my mouth began to water!  I have a weakness for doughnuts and had to know for myself what these were like.  So, I threw a hat and coat on Mairead and drug her off to the grocery store to pick up some canned pumpkin.  She may have scored some yogurt covered raisins out of the deal.

The first time I attempted these I did not have a doughnut pan so I resorted to something I saw on another food blog that involved a muffin pan and tin foil to create a makeshift doughnut pan.  Ya, don’t do that.  It doesn’t work.  Invest in a real doughnut pan.  What a waste of time, effort and ingredients.  Not impressed other blogger (no names mentioned) 😉

My second attempt at these turned out very delicious but because I made my chocolate glaze too thin, the doughnut absorbed all the glaze and it became a giant soggy mess.  Fail #2.

So here is my third and final attempt.  These tasted even more delicious than my first and second tries and I’m so glad I didn’t throw in the towel on round two.  I really enjoyed the subtle taste of the pumpkin flavor and of course the chocolate is a nice touch.  The toasted pecans were so delicious we were picking them off the tops of other doughnuts and adding more to our own.  The only problem is now I am stuck with a dozen more doughnuts to eat!  Enjoy!

 

 

Pumpkin Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze and Toasted Pecans

Ingredients 

Doughnuts:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:

1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
chopped pecans pieces, toasted (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray your doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, brown sugar, canola oil, pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Drop spoonfuls of batter into the doughnut molds filling 3/4 way full.  Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden color.  Cool before glazing.

For the glaze, on medium-low heat, warm the milk just until steaming and remove from heat.  Add coffee granules and stir until dissolved.

Whisk in powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract and salt until desired consistency (add more milk for thinner, powdered sugar for thicker).

Dip doughnuts upside down into the glaze and drip the excess.  Press pecans into the glaze while still soft.  Enjoy!

By Three Happy Folk

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest