I Saw This Thing on Pinterest: Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

I saw the same ads you all did a while back; the ones for the baked donut pans and accompanying paraphernalia for making a 'healthy' alternative to the fat-laden breakfast treats. I thought it looked cool but wasn't willing to pay $19.99 for them because nothing EVER works like it does in those infomercials. My Momma's so proud she din't raise up no fool!  But then I found the whole kit and caboodle, still in the box, a couple of summers ago for $1 at a yard sale. Well now. I won't ruin $20 worth of ingredients on a $19.99 pan but for a $1..... Maybe my Momma should reconsider,

They've just been sitting in my pan cupboard since then. I KNEW they would be awful so why bother! (I know, don't try to figure out the wonky thought process. I've long since given up.) But then I poked around Pinterest. Dog help me, but some of my greatest successes AND failures have started with the phrase 'I saw this thing on Pinterest'; a phrase that's the female equivalent to 'Here, hold my beer and watch this!' Anyway, there was a recipe for 'Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Sea Salt Caramel Glaze'. And since nothing screams 'Healthy Alternative' like a baked doughnut slathered in a cream, butter and sugar sauce, I knew I had to try it.

The batter was a basic pumpkin muffin one. It had copious amounts of sugar and veg oil, Trying to get the fairly thick batter around the rings in the pan was a little futzy and challenging, but not so bad. 

They smelled heavenly baking. Below is a scratch and sniff photo. (If you fell for that my Momma isn't the only one raisin' up fools!)

Even though these were for others, I just couldn't see covering them in that caramel glaze, as scrumptious as it sounds, so I just waited until the were a little warm still and shook them in a little sugar mixed with a little pumpkin pie spice.

They were delish! Were they a Krispy Kreme or a Dunkin'? No. Were they just a round muffin with a hole in the middle. No, surprisingly, not really. They were some magical combination of both. I had one and my company and neighbors scarfed the rest. I am of the opinion that they would be best served fresh but there were no leftovers on which to test that theory.  

I'm anxious to try one or two more of the 8 gigabillion recipes for different flavors on Pinterest. If they are as successful as these, I will start scouring garage sales and Goodwill for more pans. I only have the one regular sized pan so it took a couple of hours to bake the entire batch off- 6 at a time. But they would be great for brunch or to take in to work.  So bottom line, if you've wanted to try them and haven't because you think they won't be good, you're wrong!  Give them a try.  If you try the gooey sauce, let me know how they are!