Pumpkin Cheesecake Donuts

Name: Pumpkin Cheesecake Donuts
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tsp pumpkin spice; 2 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 cup pumpkin puree; 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast; 2 tsp sugar for yeast; 1 1/2 tbsp sugar for donut dough; 1/2 cup warm milk of choice (110 F); 3 tbsp melted butter; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp salt; Neutral oil for frying; Cinnamon sticks or apple fruit leather strips for the pumpkin stems; 8 oz cream cheese, room temp; 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste; 1/4 cup powdered sugar; 1 tbsp pumpkin puree; 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice; 1/4 cup finely ground graham crackers; 1/4 cup white sugar; 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

11 steps

Fluffy, soft spiced pumpkin donuts tossed in a graham cracker sugar and filled with pumpkin cream cheese. Pumpkin puree also just happens to work perfectly as an egg replacement in this fall dessert, so this is great for any plant based friends!

Updated at: Tue, 12 Sep 2023 23:21:16 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

High

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories335.5 kcal (17%)

Total Fat15.2 g (22%)

Carbs43.8 g (17%)

Sugars16.8 g (19%)

Protein6 g (12%)

Sodium182.1 mg (9%)

Fiber1.8 g (6%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Instructions

Step 1

In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, yeast, sugar and let sit 5-10 minutes until bubbly and foaming.

Step 2

Add in the rest of the sugar, pumpkin puree, cooled butter, pumpkin spice, and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until evenly combined. Move the dough to a clean lightly floured surface, and knead the dough: by hand, about 10 minutes by hand, or about 5 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook. The dough is ready to rest when it is slightly sticky and bounces back slowly when poked. If the dough is too wet, you can add a bit of additional flour, and if it is too floury and dry, add a bit more pumpkin puree.

Step 3

Let the dough rise covered in a warm spot for at least 2 hours. The dough should double in size if done correctly.

Prepare the cheesecake filling

Step 4

In a large bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk together cream cheese, vanilla bean paste, powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice until fluffy and evenly combined. Spoon mixture into a piping bag and let chill in fridge.

Assemble and finishing steps

Step 5

Punch dough down to release air, and roll out onto floured surface.

Step 6

Roll the dough into 8 equally sized balls. Flatten them slightly with a clean palm. Cover dough and let rest again for 30 more minutes.

Step 7

Take a very long piece of foodsafe twine and wrap it around the ball VERY loosely, knotting it in alternating directions. You’ll want to make sure the string is tied extremely loose as the donut will not cook and expand fully if tied tight, leaving you with a dense and raw donut. Tie, and cut off extra twine with scissors. Cut out squares of heatsafe parchment paper about the size of the donut and place one wrapped donut on each square.

Step 8

In a large, deep pot, heat at least 2 inches of oil until 350 F. Keep a careful eye on the temp to make sure it doesn’t go much higher than that. Gently drop a few donuts at a time into the pot, making sure not to crowd them. Fry for about 3 min on each side. If the oil gets too hot, you may end up with a burnt exterior and raw, doughy inside.

Step 9

Toss the hot donuts in toss in the graham cracker sugar mixture while hot.

Step 10

Poke a hole in either the top of the donut or between the cracks of the pumpkin with a chopstick or other narrow utensil. Insert piping bag with cream cheese, and pipe as much cheesecake filling as you would like.

Step 11

Top pumpkins with stems. Enjoy! These are best consumed fresh, day they are made. I don’t recommend making these ahead of time and refrigerating as they can get hard and the cream cheese can make the donuts soggy.