It's no secret that fall is my favorite season. Here in Portland, the smoke has finally cleared from the air and we've got sunny, crisp mornings meandering into warm afternoons.

It's also no secret that the world is a bit topsy turvy right now, so every day I'm searching for things that ground me. One of my go-tos is baking, and with Halloween coming up, I'm really excited to try out these baked pumpkin doughnuts from King Arthur Baking Company. They look delicious, easy, and the house will smell amazing. The recipe is below (with link to the original).

Happy fall. Wishing you all a day of grounding and peace.

- Mary

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups (198g to 298g) granulated sugar*
1 1/2 cups (340g) pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons (227g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour**
 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

2. Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.

3. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

4. Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you're making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

5. Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you're making muffins, they'll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

6. Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

7. While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.

8. Cool completely, and store (not wrapped tight) at room temperature for several days.