Pumpkin Spice Latte Donuts
Ok, so I know I’m not the only one who has at some point marked the start of fall based on when Starbucks would release the PSL. To be honest, I’ve never even been much of a Starbucks fan. Sure when I was in high school I used to enjoy a frozen Frapuccino every now and then, but those poor excuses for coffee impersonators would hardly do the trick in satisfying my grown up coffee needs. In college I started drinking my coffee black and there’s almost nothing worse to me than the taste of black Starbucks coffee on its own—I imagine gasoline mixed with mud would taste very similar. No shade. But because of my lifelong love for all things pumpkin and my earlier fondness of their frozen concoctions, years ago I decided to give one of these infamous Pumpkin Spice Lattes a whirl… Instant Addiction. The coffee, the pumpkin, the flavors oozing with fall just had me hooked right away. But a person can only take so much of spending just shy of $5 for a cup of coffee that almost makes you more tired after drinking it than energized before it becomes intolerable. So I’ve broken myself of that habit and drink Starbucks PSLs no more, but this fall I was inspired to create something to honor my once favorite drink—The Pumpkin Spice Latte Donut. The pumpkin cake donut is seasoned with pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and espresso and slathered in an espresso-cinnamon glaze, giving this donut the perfect ratio of pumpkin to coffee to spice—resulting in a Pumpkin Spice Latte in the form of a donut.
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 10 mins. | 20 mins. | 30 mins. |
Ingredients:
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted + more for greasing the pan
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds + 6 tablespoons of water
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons ground espresso
- 4 tablespoons boiling water
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease donut pans with melted coconut oil.
- Combine chia seeds in 6 tablespoons of water and allow to rest for about ten minutes.
- Combine espresso grounds in 4 tablespoons of boiling water and mix together until espresso grounds are dissolved. 2 tablespoons of the mixture will be incorporated into the batter and another 2 will be reserved for the glaze.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer, or handheld electric mixer, beat together the coconut oil and sugar on medium speed until combined. Add chia seed mixture, pumpkin puree, and 2 tablespoons of espresso. Beat everything together on medium speed until combined.
- Slowly add the dry flour mixture to the wet mixture in the stand mixer in batches of three. Stir on low speed between each batch until everything is just incorporated.
- Spoon batter into the donut pans and bake for about 20 minutes. You can test to see if the donuts are done by lightly touching them with your finger. If they spring back to their shape after being touched, they are done.
- Remove donuts from the oven and transfer them in the pans to a cooling rack until they are cool enough to handle. Then remove them from the pans and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the donuts are cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons espresso and remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a shallow bowl. One by one, dip top half of each donut into the bowl of glaze, allowing the excess glaze to drip back into the bowl. Set donuts back on the cooling rack until the glaze sets. Serve and Enjoy!
Toddler Tip:
Let your toddler get involved in making the donuts by whisking together the glaze and decorating the donuts by dipping the top half of each one into a bowl full of the glaze!
