Pumpkin Donut Holes

What a BANNER WEEKEND it was!

Here’s my weekend cliffs notes:

1) It was the most perfect fall weather, the kind that you dream about in the throws of winter, when it’s dark at 4:30 and the snow starts to pile up outside your window. Sunny, blue skies, big puffy clouds, and just the right temp to blow the dust off your favorite fleece jacket.

2) An outside beer festival – 3 blocks from our apartment – and a truck with beer taps attached to it. Nuf said.

3) An ENGAGEMENT! Now, it should be said that I get excited for random strangers when they get engaged. Being able to relive that feeling of excitement that you only get to experience once in your entire life, why it might be almost MORE exciting than when it happens to you! And it couldn’t be more true than for Dave and I, and two of our bestest friends, Meghan and Adam, who took a weekend off from home renovations and got engaged on Saturday afternoon, under a willow tree in the public gardens after a quick swan boat ride. Move over William Shakespeare.

4) A brunch with my best friends from High School. We grew up together in a small town, shared the ups and downs of our adolescence together, went off and did our own things through college and post-college, and now, 10+ years later, it’s like picking up where we left off in homeroom. Only people have babies now. Minor detail 🙂

All week, I thought to myself “Ooooh so many amazing fall recipes to make for brunch! Which will I choose?” And after tossing in my sleep trying to nail down the perfect one, I decided on these Pumpkin Donut Holes. I went out and bought all the stuff. I couldn’t WAIT to show up on Natalie’s doorstep with them Saturday morning…

But, I showed up with store-bought muffins instead.

You know those weeks where the days just get away from you? Welp – it was one of those – and the store bought muffins were delish – but not as good as these bad boys. The recipe looked so good that I couldn’t not try them, even if I missed my brunch deadline.

If you don’t have the ingredients for this, run – don’t walk – to get them – because these donut holes are like crack – dipped in butter and coated with cinnamon and sugar.

Pumpkin Donut Holes
From Domestically Speaking

INGREDIENTS

1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 pumpkin puree

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1) Preheat your oven to 350 and spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2) Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk till combined.

3) In another bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix till it’s just combined (you don’t want to over mix).

4) Fill your mini tins with about 1/2 tbsp. of batter.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes.

6) While they’re baking, melt your butter and in a small bowl combine your sugar and cinnamon.

7) Once the donuts have cooled a bit, dunk them in the butter and then the cinnamon/sugar mixture. If you want to make them a little less sugary, you can just dip the top in the butter and cinnamon/sugar.