Pumpkin Cake Doughnut Holes with Two Toppings

Today was a good day. Our house has been in desperate need of a good scrub down. So Chad and I got up pretty early (well, early for a Saturday) and cleaned until our hands were wrinkly and our foreheads were beaded with sweat.

After showering and relaxing on the couch, I remembered a candle I bought on clearance last January. It's a large orange tinged candle with the scent of pumpkin spice. Perfect for the beautiful autumn day we were having. While the candle burned for a while the entire house smelled like pumpkin pie. This is the sole reason for my baking experience this evening.

I browsed through some online recipes for pumpkin desserts, but nothing was getting my attention. So then I started to browse some of my favorite blogs. Usually when I am in the mood for baking I will check Peabody's blog. As I have said before, she is brilliant when it comes to baking and desserts.

I came across her recipe for plain cake doughnuts. Not pumpkin, I know, but plain doughnuts are a favorite of mine. I read the ingredients and decided that I could probably incorporate pumpkin into the batter. I wouldn't usually challenge a baking/dessert recipe, but I was willing to take the risk. I thought to myself, the least that could happened is they don't turn out. Given the fact that I wasn't changing much I was confident they were going to be fine. And they were more than fine. They were incredible!

Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 quart oil for frying optional - powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar mixture

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 degrees F.Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Mix in pumpkin then stir in milk and egg. With floured hands, lightly knead the smooth dough. Turn onto area prepared with flour. Pat dough into 1/4 inch thickness. Dip either doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters (one 1-inch and one 3 or 4-inch) in flour. Use to cut-out doughnuts. Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, only a few at a time. Fry, turning once, for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on prepared paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.

I also made a glaze of powder sugar, butter, a bit of vanilla and some milk. Here are my approximate amounts.

• 1 1/2 cup powder sugar
• 1 tbs. unsalted butter softened
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbs. milk
• Mix all ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over holes and let sit 10 minutes.

Note: The dough is very sticky. Don't let that discourage you. And if they aren't perfectly round it doesn't matter, it's the flavor that's important!