Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Butter Glaze

It is officially my favorite time of the year, perfect for baking, cooking and sharing with friends and family.  If you haven’t noticed, I have been quite smitten with donuts lately, maybe it’s because it took me forever to get a donut pan or because of all the different combinations that can be made into these delicious clouds of yumminess.

I promise to post a savory, non donut related recipe next, but for now, bask in these scrumptious pumpkin donuts with the ohh so ahh-mazing cinnamon (almond) butter glaze.

Ingredients
For the donuts:(makes 12 donuts)
one donut pan
1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 large eggs
1½ cup of light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of all spice
pinch of salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 cups all purpose flour

For the glaze: (makes enough glaze for 12 donuts)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup roasted, crunchy almond butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For the donuts:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans, if you do not have two pans, like me, you will have to do 6 at a time. In a medium bowl whisk together the applesauce, melted butter, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Add the flour into the ingredients and mix just until the batter is well combined. With a spoon fill each ring of the donut pan with the batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the donuts to a cooling rack as soon as they are cool enough to touch.

For the glaze:
In a small saucepan melt the butter on low heat and remove as soon as it is melted. Mix in the remaining ingredients into the melted butter and a smooth glaze will form. Pour the glaze into a small bowl and let cool so that it will thicken and the donuts will cool. With a spoon drizzle the glaze over the donuts and serve.

Notes

• Pumpkin spice can be made by mixing together 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon all spice and a pinch of  ground cloves.
• If you don’t want to wait for the donut pan to be ready for the second batch you can prepare a muffin tin and make 6 muffins.

Enjoy!♥