A Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Donut? You might wonder how on earth I came up with that one. Well let me just tell you!
One of my many gluten free mantras is that anyone can make anything deliciously gluten free with the right ingredients … even doughnuts/donuts (who’s to know which to say and why?!). So when chatter started up about some new store-bought gluten free pumpkin donuts, I was excited for what I hoped would be a delicious reunion for me with donuts (having not had one in more than a baker’s dozen years!). Sadly, it was not so.
Let me start by saying that I grew up in The South where you learn early on that if you don’t have something nice to say, you don’t say anything at all. In this case my response to the hard, dense, manufactured gluten free pumpkin donut would have gone something like, “Bless his heart, he is such a cute little donut, isn’t he?” (See how I darted around the taste issue? Very Southern.)
At times like these, I’ve learned never to give up hope. Instead, I revisited my mantra and decided that since I do, in fact, seem to make everything gluten free, why not go ahead and make a pumpkin doughnut? It couldn’t be that hard … I mean, my dad used to make doughnuts on weekend mornings out of canned refrigerator biscuits for Pete’s sake … and even they tasted good!
Turns out, it was easy to make a darned delicious gluten free pumpkin pie donut! I say pumpkin PIE donut because this recipe ended up being a happy marriage between an awesome gluten free pumpkin donut and all the spices of pumpkin pie.
In fact, it was a little too easy to make these. It might look time consuming, but most of the time is just letting the batter chill so it’s not sticky. The MAKING part is pretty dang easy.
So easy that I’m not publishing it in my recipe newsletter because I don’t want folks everywhere to start making tons of these yummy puppies and blaming me for gaining weight BEFORE Thanksgiving! Oh no – this recipe is going to be buried on my website, for only those hard-core doughnut aficionados to find!
So do us all a favor and don’t tell anyone about this recipe. It will put pre-fab gluten free doughnuts to shame (no microwaving necessary!) and it’s too easy and delicious not to make again and again and again (as in, every weekend), and that could get really boring … at some point, years from now.
Bake these or fry them, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar, a dusting of confectioner’s sugar or a heavenly donut glaze. Any way you make them, it’s true gluten free donut love.
You don’t even need a special donut pan (although you can use one) — just roll out in more of my light gfJules Flour and press the ends together. It’s like playing with playdough, only way more satisfying because you can eat it!
(P.S. If you’re hankerin’ for MORE great gluten free donut recipes, just use the search bar at the top of every page. I have 8 gluten free donut recipes on my site already … if you count gluten free beignets, gluten free churros and gluten free apple fritters!)
Gluten Free Pumpkin Donut Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Donut Recipe
These gluten free pumpkin pie donuts are the stuff fall baking dreams are made of! Yummy pumpkin pie spices, cake-like donuts, happy tasters!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative (Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- ½ cup granulated cane sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh, roasted)
- 1/3 cup sour cream, dairy or non-dairy (Tofutti® or Follow Your Heart®) or coconut yogurt (So Delicious®)
- 1 egg (or egg substitute like 1 Tbs. vegetable oil + 2 Tbs. water + 2 tsp. baking powder OR 2 Tbs. aquafaba)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups gfJules™ Gluten Free All- Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 heaping tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- non-GMO canola or vegetable oil, if frying
topping:
- ½ cup granulated cane sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or ½ tsp. ginger + ½ tsp. nutmeg)
- confectioner’s sugar
glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) confectioners' sugar, whisked or sifted smooth
- 3 - 4 Tbs. milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy) - only add enough milk to make glaze thin enough to dip doughnuts
- gluten free sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Whip butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, if possible, until light. Add pumpkin, sour cream, egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, beating until there are no lumps.
Cover and refrigerate dough until cold and no longer sticky, at least 2 hours.
Lightly dust a pastry mat or clean counter with gfJules™All Purpose Flour. Scoop 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of dough out onto the dusted surface and gently roll into a 7-inch log to make doughnuts, or a heaping tablespoon to make a doughnut hole. Score the ends with a fork and dab with water, then press together to form a ring. Set aside and continue with remaining dough.
To Fry:
Prepare a large pot by filling at least 1 inch deep with oil. Heat to medium-high (no more than 350°F).
When the dough is heated, drop doughnuts or doughnut holes into the hot oil, boiling and flipping as necessary to cook until lightly browned on all sides – approximately 1 ½ minutes. Do not allow the donuts to get too browned. Once cooked, immediately remove with a skimmer or slotted spoon to a plate covered with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Quickly transfer to a bowl containing the topping mixture and roll over the donuts to completely coat, or cool and dip in glaze. Remove to another plate and repeat with remaining dough.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 325° F. Place doughnuts or doughnut holes onto parchment-lined baking sheets or simply scoop dough into doughnut pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture, if desired.
Bake for 10-14 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness (when inserted toothpick comes out clean, doughnuts are fully cooked). Remove to cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then gently roll in confectioner’s sugar or sugar and cinnamon mixture, or allow to cool, then dip in glaze.
Recommended Products
I may earn a small amount from qualifying affiliate purchases; this amount goes to fund this blog and does not cost you anything additional.
How’s that for a recipe that keeps on giving?
Pin for later!
Made these this morning (actually made dough last night) and they were a HUGE hit! My youngest hasn’t had donuts in almost 3 years. She said they were the best she’s ever had. Coming from her THAT’s sayin’ somethin’. Thanks, Jules!
ok i want to make these….today… so what could i use in place of sour cream?? thoughts??? DS is craving them. i even have a deep fryer that i dig out once a year.
Hi Amy,
If you want a sub for sour cream, try yogurt (dairy or non-dairy). Vanilla flavor would be yummy!
Thanks for the recipe Jules. I made them yesterday and they were not only easy to make but also delicious. I kept the dough in the fridge for 6 hours and they were still sticky. I just put flour on the mat and my hands and problem solved. I have been meaning to make donuts since my son’s diagnosis 7 months ago. I saw your recipe and well, since it is pumpkin season, I gave yours a try first. My son was very happy and said he is no longer missing anything. That is a huge compliment since he is a picky eater. He also loves your pop tart recipe. Thank you so much.
OH MY!! I messed up! I was curious how my mayo substitution compared to sour cream in terms of fat content etc and as I was reading the two labels I looked down and saw that the main ingredient in the mayo is SOYBEAN OIL! So much for me dairy free/soy free substitiution! My only explanation is that I had been reading labels incessantly that day at the grocery store and I probably picked up the mayo and saw ‘gluten free’ and mistakenly thought I had already read the ingredients. Soy is a lesser issue for me than dairy and gluten, so I’m not that concerned. But I hate to think that I might have sent some soy intollerant person down a dangerous path with my recommendation for a soy substitute! The mayo idea would still be a good option for dairy free bakers, just not soy free folks. SORRY! As for me, I’m going to keep my eyes open for a mayo that isn’t made with soybean oil, if there is such a thing.
There is a soy free version of Best Foods/Hellman’s mayonaise!!! It is made with canola oil I believe. It is not carried in all markets but I found it in an Hispanic market.
Good luck!
Safeway carries “Just Mayo” it is nonGMO. Vegan, egg free, dairy free, soy free, lactose free, gluten free and kosher.
And quite tasty, too!
Yay! There is now a printer-friendly button so you can just print the recipe portion of each blog entry! Problem solved! Thanks for everyone’s input!
Just wanted to share that I made these donuts with some motifications that worked for me. I can’t use dairy or soy sour cream, and I live in a small town with no access to coconut or rice yoghurt. So I had this epiphany. I have seen cake recipes before that called for mayonaise. I got out my Hellman’s light mayo (which says ‘gluten free’ on the side) and used that in place of the sour cream. I reasoned that it is a similar consistency and flavor to sour cream, and if worst came to worse there were enough spices in the recipe to cover up any ‘odd’ flavor anyway. It worked! Of course, I don’t know how they would compare to Jules’ version because I’ve never had them, but mine were certainly delish so I was satisfied! After 2 hours in the fridge my dough was still sticky and I admit that i just added a little flour and went ahead and made donut holes. The dough was still sticky but it worked. I’m wondering if I should cut back on the mayo next time and see if that reduces the stickiness (and also reduces the fat content). Also, with my digestive issues, cinammon is not my friend (it burns), so I used all the spices in the dough but rolled the holes in plain sugar and skipped the additional spices in the topping. They were still plenty tasty. It was a joy to have donut holes for Fall in Michigan again!
I love your spirit of ingenuity! You’d really enjoy my new book that just came out this month – “Free for All Cooking.” It’s all about making those kinds of substitutions to make recipes work for you!
As for the stickiness issue, longer refrigeration would help, as would rolling more liberally in GF flour, but you could try reducing the mayo by a tiny bit as well.
If the consistency and moisture was good for you though, and you don’t care how the donuts look, just scoop heaping tablespoons of dough directly into the oil without bothering to roll and messing with the stickiness.
Thanks for sharing your dairy-free, soy-free substitution!
To print Jules’ recipes, you can do the following:
Hold down the left mouse button. Drag it down the full length of the recipe to ‘highlight’ it. Right click on the highlighted text and select ‘copy’ from the menu that drops down. Open a blank page in your word processing software (ie. Microsoft Word). Right click on the blank page and select ‘paste’ from the menu that drops down. To conserve space (and ink, if you’re going to print the recipe) you can delete the photos by right clicking on them and then selecting ‘cut’ from the menu that drops down. Save and print the recipe as you would normally do using your particular software.
thanks for the tips on printing!
Ignore my earlier question as I just saw someone already asked it. When I have time, I’m going to make this, fry some and bake some and see how they compare.
Jules: Is there a way I can bake these instead of fry them? I have a pan to bake donuts (Sur La Table) but don’t have a good GF recipe. Thanks!
Hi Jules-
Great looking recipe! I also was never a donut person but do miss one every once in a while. If I wanted to make a chocolate cake donut, could I use the applesauce for the pumpkin and use some cocoa powder in place of some of the flour? Thanks so much!
To make them chocolate instead, I’d suggest the applesauce sub. + 1/4 cup cocoa, then increase the sour cream by at least an 1/8 cup.
The best way to try substitutions like these is always to make it the way the recipe is written first, then change it up next time so that you know what the consistency should be. Once you know that, you’ll know if you need even more or less sour cream to compensate for the cocoa.
The cocoa itself won’t act like flour, so I would’t suggest replacing any flour with cocoa.
Let me know how it turns out!
Thanks for the recipe adaptation. Will have to try it.
Will you be having a sale on flour soon?? I am almost out!!
These look delicious! I, like Jill, would like to print the recipe…any suggestions?
Thanks so much for pointing out that little design flaw! We’ll start working on that right away! : )
Just print that particular page. Go to print preview and find out what page the recipe is on and just print that. Otherwise, do what I did and write it on paper. Then once you know it is a keeper, type it on a word document.
Jules,
Although I love your new blog I do have to share that I miss you having your recipes in a print friendly recipe card format. I hope this feature will be added once everything settles with the new sight.
Could you bake them?
Baking them? Hmmm… I haven’t tried that yet. They would certainly not be as crispy (like a donut) on the outside, but they would probably bake up to be a tasty cake-like treat in the shape of a donut, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
perhaps i am missing it but this recipe has no print version and i do not want to print 8 pages to have a copy…some seem to have that and some don’t, less likely to make these donuts then..thanks, jill
OMG…my son and I had fun making these, and better yet EATING them!! I have not had a donut in over a year, and they were so good!!!!!! Could I change this recipe to make regular donuts, or chocolate donuts?
These look great! Im so excited to make them. If I dont want to use pumpkin can i use another puree? maybe blueberry or a maple flavoring instead?
There is 1/2 cup of pumpkin in this recipe, so you’d need more than just flavoring, although maple and blueberry sound yummy! Try unsweetened applesauce instead and let us know how it turns out!
These were awesome! My Daughter has celiac’s and she was sooooo happy that she could enjoy a doughnut again!!
oh my feakin YUM!!! will have to try these soon!
We can’t have dairy, soy or coconut. Is there something else we can sub for the sour cream? Vanilla rice yogurt maybe?
Yes, rice yogurt would be a good option for you. Depending on how thin your brand is though, you may need to add a bit more flour to compensate.
Leaping tablespoons of dough? That could be messy. hehehe
These look fabulous and I love that they don’t contain yeast, which scares me. LOL
I’ll be making these this week-end for sure! YUM!!