Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease donut pan(s) with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Donuts: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the batter into the donut cavities (don’t overfill).  I take 2 small silverware spoons and drop 4-5 little spoonfuls in each cavity; spread out evenly with back of spoon or tip. You can also transfer the batter into a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling each about halfway. I find you can’t use all the batter that way. 

Bake for 10–11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done.

Cool donuts in the pan for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Wipe out the donut pan, re-grease and bake the remaining donut batter (6 donuts).

Cool donuts for at least 10 minutes before icing them.

Brown Sugar Icing: Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and sifted confectioners’ sugar until smooth and combined. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if desired.  Let the icing cool for 5 minutes to slightly thicken.

Dip the tops of the pumpkin donuts into the warm icing. If the icing is getting too thick as you’re dipping, whisk in a little more milk to thin it out.

Top with toppings of your choice, if desired (you’ll need to add right away on each one individually because frosting will harden fast.  

Place dipped donuts on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet to allow excess icing to drip off.

The icing will fully set in about 1 hour so you can stack or transport the donuts.

Cover leftover donuts tightly and store at room temperature for 1–2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 16 donuts.

You can freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator and warm to your liking in microwave if desired.

You can make your own pumpkin pie spice: 1/4 t. each of ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground allspice. This is in addition to the 1-1/2 t. cinnamon listed in recipe ingredients.