These pumpkin donuts are classing fall treat with nice warm Thai or pumpkin spice latte. You can serve them as a sweet afternoon dessert or quick sweet breakfast. Either way they are delicious.
In a large bowl of standing mixer, add lukewarm milk and dry active yeast. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar and whisk with hand whisker and let stand for 5 minutes.
Add to the milk cooled melted butter, egg, pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Whisk until all ingredients are well combined.
Place the large bowl onto the standing mixer with attached dough hook and start adding slowly flour (cup by cup). Once the dough is formed, continue kneading in the mixer for another 5 minutes or until the dough is soft. The dough will be slightly sticky.
Leave the dough in the mixing bowl, cover with kitchen towel and let it prove in a warm place, for 1 and 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled.
Once the dough has proofed, remove it from the bowl on flour dusted working surface and roll the dough with rolling pin, about 1/3 inch thick. Cut out round shapes using classic doughnut cutter or 3" circle cutter.
To make the middle hole, use the other end of large piping tip or small cookie cutter around 1 inch large. When all the donuts are cut out, collect the rest of the dough, knead and reuse. Place the shaped donuts on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with kitchen towel and let proof for another 20 minutes.
For frying
In the meanwhile, prepare the coating (sugar and cinnamon) and reheat the oil. In a deep medium pan reheat the oil until it reaches 350F / 177C. Use candy thermometer to determine the temperature. It is important, that the oil has to reach exactly this temperature. Otherwise, donuts with be either too oily or will get burned.
Carefully drop the donuts in preheated oil and fry until golden brown, then turn on the other side. Use two forks or chopsticks to help you to turn the donuts. It usually takes 2-3 minutes from one side and 1-2 minutes from the other side. All depends on the temperature of the preheated oil.
Sugar coating
Remove the donuts from the oil and place them on the paper towels to absorb the excess oil and after few seconds (when they are not too hot, but still warm) gently dip the donuts into the cinnamon sugar coating. Place them onto a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.