Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour and Spiced Maple Glaze

Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour & Spiced Maple Glaze – a recipe when you crave a doughnut but want a low-carb, gluten-free solution!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

As soon as the no-knead bread and quick-bread baking marathon began in the early part of quarantine last spring, I was quick to break into a can of pumpkin puree and bake a loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

It’s been nearly non-stop baking ever since. Now that we’re knee-deep in October, I’m back to all the pumpkin, but I thought it might be a good time to maybe lighten things up a bit, at least when it comes to the carbs.

I’m not willing to let go of my baked goods, but I’ve been experimenting more with almond flour and some low-carb solutions. Don’t worry, I haven’t banished regular wheat flour — quite the contrary, there’s quite a stock in our second freezer — but when you can have a low-carb, gluten-free pumpkin donut that is just as satisfying, I think it’s worth sharing.

Fall Baking with Safeway

While I’m baking up a pumpkin storm in my kitchen, it’s also definitely pumpkin season at my local Safeway! From their Signature SELECT™ Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches (obsessed!) and Spooky Graveyard Cookie Kits (the kids had a blast with these!) to the Open Nature® Seasons Apple Streusel Granola (the hubby managed to eat this all on his own) to the O Organics® Pumpkin Puree (which I use in this recipe), we’ve been celebrating all things fall!

And while pumpkin is the current star, I love that I am able to find everything I need for fall baking at Safeway from Open Nature Almond Flour to O Organics Almond Milk (which you know I love — remember those amazing vegan milkshakes?).

By the way, did you know that Safeway also offers Grocery Delivery and Drive Up & Go™ for convenient ways to shop – I use this service at least once a week, and it’s such a timesaver to shop on my app or online and drive up and go!

I shopped at Safeway in my local area, but you can also find O Organics® and Open Nature® plant-based products at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, and Tom Thumb.

How to Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts

I love baked donuts, and these baked pumpkin donuts are quite a breeze to throw together. You don’t need a mixer, just a bowl or two and a whisk.

Start by whisking together the dry ingredients. The pumpkin spice adds flavor to the almond flour, which has a light, but not at all overwhelming nutty flavor. The wet ingredients include pumpkin puree, egg, sugar, and almond milk. It takes just a few stirs to combine it into the batter.

I use a decorating bag to transfer the batter into my doughnut pan. You can also use a resealable plastic bag or simply spoon it in.

The key to these doughnuts is patience once they come out of the oven. Using almond flour makes these extremely moist and tender, which is delicious. But if you dig right in too quickly, they could fall apart. Resist as long as possible before turning them out. They will firm up in the pan, as well as while they cool.

Baking with Almond Flour

If you’ve never baked with almond flour before, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. There is a difference between almond flour and almond meal. When baking this recipe, look for almond flour, which is finer and has been produced from blanched almonds that have had the skins removed. In contrast, almond meal is courser and retains its skins, giving it a darker color. The texture of your baked goods will vary greatly if you use one over the other.
   
2. Because there is no gluten, you can expect baked goods to be more tender and moist. Letting things cool completely (first in the pan, then on a cooling rack) helps things come together and firm up. If you can wait about 15-25 minutes, you will see the difference.
   
3. The addition of xanthan gum to the almond flour makes up for the lack of gluten to help give the baked goods more body. If you leave out the xanthan gum, just be sure to give the donut time to rest before handling.
   
4. Because of the higher moisture content, when storing leftovers, use parchment paper rather than plastic wrap.

More Baked Donut Recipes

Coffee-Glazed Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
Baked Coconut Doughnuts
Blueberry Lemon Glazed Baked Donuts
Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with Safeway. Thank you for supporting brands that matter to me; sponsored posts such as this help behind the scenes at Kitchen Confidante. All opinions in this post are, as always, my own.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour and Spiced Maple Glaze

Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour and Spiced Maple Glaze – a recipe when you crave a doughnut but want a low-carb, gluten-free solution!

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5 from 1 vote

Course Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American, Gluten-free

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 16 servings

Calories 184kcal

Author Liren Baker

Ingredients

For the Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour

• ▢ 2 cups unblanched almond flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• ▢ 1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• ▢ 2 tablespoons almond milk

For the Spiced Maple Glaze

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons almond milk

COOK MODEPrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For the Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Almond Flour

• Preheat the oven to 350° F with a rack placed in the center of the oven.
• Whisk the almond flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, xantham gum, and baking powder in a bowl until combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, egg, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and almond milk until blended.
• Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, whisking until just combined.
• Fill the doughnut pan about 2/3 full. Bake for about 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool for at least 5-10 minutes before carefully removing the doughnuts from the pan.

For the Spiced Maple Glaze:

• Make the glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and almond milk until smooth.
• Drizzle onto the donuts and garnish with chopped pecans. Enjoy!

Notes

Tips for baking with almond flour:

1. There is a difference between almond flour and almond meal. When baking this recipe, look for almond flour, which is finer and has been produced from blanched almonds that have had the skins removed. In contrast, almond meal is courser and retains its skins, giving it a darker color. The texture of your baked goods will vary greatly if you use one over the other.
2. Because there is no gluten, you can expect baked goods to be more tender and moist. Letting things cool completely (first in the pan, then on a cooling rack) helps things come together and firm up (if you can wait about 15-25 minutes, you will see the difference).
3. The addition of xanthan gum to the almond flour makes up for the lack of gluten to help give the baked goods more body. If you leave out the xanthan gum, just be sure to give the donut time to rest before handling.
4. Because of the higher moisture content, when storing leftovers, use parchment paper rather than plastic wrap.

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 2417IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see! Tag @kitchconfidante on Instagram and hashtag it #kitchenconfidante