{Mini} Pumpkin Doughnuts

The best Father's Day gift my husband ever received was a Babycakes mini-doughnut maker.  A gift for the whole family!  And whenever my nieces and nephews (there are twenty-eight grandkids on my side of the family, with one on the way as of this post) come for a visit, they beg Aunt Becca to get out the doughnut maker.  It's all you need to be the most popular aunt in town!

I've discovered that you can pretty much use any muffin recipe for the doughnut-maker--but some are more delectable than others.  Pumpkin doughnuts are my favorite so far. (In fact, I'm going to try to post nothing but pumpkin recipes this month.  Because there's no better flavor in October and November, as far as I'm concerned).

This recipe makes about 36 mini pumpkin doughnuts, and they are delightful with a cinnamon-sugar topping, but I'm betting they might be even better with cream cheese frosting . . . which I will try next time I whip up a batch.  One-and-a-half cups of pumpkin puree is the whole can (the regular-sized can, not the giant Thanksgiving one), so that makes it easy to make these in a hurry.

It only takes about four minutes to cook these sweet babies!

Miss Mollie, my favorite helper!

Welcome, October!  Don't mind if I do . . .

Sour Cream Doughnuts

***This recipe is for use in a doughnut maker (the kind that works like a waffle-iron).  They are not deep fried and cannot be cooked successfully that way.***

I got my husband, Allen, a Babycakes mini-doughnut maker for Father's Day in 2011.  It's the gift that keeps on giving!  My kids love these doughnuts because I always let them decorate their own, and I love them because they're not nearly as unhealthy as real doughnuts, and about ten times easier to make (they're basically cupcakes in the shape of douhgnuts).

The doughnut-maker came with a recipe book and the little fork-gadget that helps you remove them neatly from the pan.  I love getting it out especially when my kids have friends over, or when nephews and nieces come to visit.  It's party food, but not the kind that keeps you on your feet in the kitchen all day.

Slide the fork in to lift the doughnut out

You can barely see the little holes
after you remove the fork

You can buy doughnut mixes for this kind of appliance, but I have found some great recipes that work well and are even tastier.  My first recipe is my favorite: Sour Cream Doughnuts.  The thing I like about them the most is that you can easily add fruit (or mini chocolate chips) to the batter.  I added huckleberries for my daughter's fourth birthday party--it was the grown-up dessert and we all ate them without any frosting.  Delicious.

It's easy to get the batter in if you pipe it with a plastic bag . . . 

 . . . or you can just use your smallest measuring cup
and pour it into each hole

I usually give each kid their own plate and knife, then let them go to town with frosting and sprinkles.  My favorite combo is a sour cream doughnut with chocolate frosting and peppermint sprinkles.

This was our first time using the Babycakes
with cousins in 2011!

My son Brig, sprinkle-shaking

Just think of how much was on the doughnuts . . .

Baby Cal loves plain sour cream baby doughnuts!

You can always dust with powdered sugar
if you don't feel like making frosting