These Pumpkin Bites are moist, soft in the center, covered with cinnamon sugar, and crispy on the edges. It’s a delicious almond pumpkin recipe to celebrate fall.
When the fall season starts, I love to make everything pumpkin in my kitchen. I generally buy several cans of pumpkin puree to allow me to make all my favorite pumpkin desserts, like my 5-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Donut Holes, or No-Bake Pumpkin Cookies.
These pumpkin bites are something new, something different. They are a bit like mini donuts, but they are slightly moister with a borderline cakey texture inside. It’s a great simple dessert or snack that goes very well with a tea or coffee.
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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Pumpkin Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond Flour - (note 1)
- 3 tablespoons Pumpkin Puree - (note 2)
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup - (note 3)
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice - (note 5) optional
Optional Pumpkin Spice Coating
- ½ cup Unrefined Sugar - (note 4)
- 1-2 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice - (note 5)
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a mini-muffin pan with mini paper liners, or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease them using cooking oil spray. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, stir almond flour, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and pumpkin spice, if used (recommended if you don't coat them with pumpkin spice sugar). Stir until it forms a sticky, firm dough.
- Roll it into small balls and place it on the prepared baking sheet or tray.
- Bake the bites for 12-14 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) until the edges are golden and dry.
- Let the bites cool down on the tray for 5 minutes, then gently transfer them to a cooling rack. I used a teaspoon to remove them gently from the muffin pan without breaking. They are still a bit soft and firm up as they cool down.
- Cool them down for 30 minutes and eat them plain or use the optional coating in the next steps.
- In a small bowl, stir sugar and pumpkin spices.
- Lightly brush all the sides of a pumpkin bite with maple syrup and roll it into the pumpkin spice sugar. Repeat until all bites are coated.
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond Flour – Use finely ground blanched almond flour for the best texture. Almond meal can be used but will result in a darker color and grittier texture.
- Pumpkin Puree Use pure pumpkin puree, either canned or homemade. Ensure it’s not pumpkin pie filling as that is loaded with sugar.
- Maple Syrup – Choose pure maple syrup. Any liquid sweetener like agave nectar or date syrup can be substituted.
- Sugar (for coating) – Use any granulated sweetener such as raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, or even sugar-free alternatives like allulose.
- Pumpkin Spice (for coating) – Use a pre-made pumpkin spice mix or create your own with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Ground cinnamon also works well on its own.
How to Make Pumpkin Bites
This is a super easy recipe as it consists pretty much into combining the dough and rolling it in the sugar coating.
Pour all the dough ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Work the dough with a spatula until it form a large sticky ball.
Roll small balls and place them in an oiled mini muffin tray. Bake the balls for 12 minutes.
Brush the balls with maple syrup and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Carine’s Baking Tips
- Ensure your pumpkin puree is well-drained to prevent excess moisture in the dough.
- For uniformly sized bites, use a small cookie scoop or measuring spoon to portion the dough.
- If the dough is too sticky to roll, refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes before shaping.
- Watch the baking time closely, as almond flour can brown quickly. The edges should be golden but not dark.
- Allow the bites to cool completely before coating to ensure the sugar mixture adheres well.
- For a protein boost, add a tablespoon of vanilla or pumpkin spice protein powder to the dough.
Thankyou for sharing.
Sandra Australia
My pleasure! Thanks for baking my recipes.
Can these be rolled in the cinnamon sugar mixture before baking?
You can but the sugar is gonna melt in the bites, it will intensity the sweetness, and crisp the outside more.
How many calories with the substitutes like Truvia
This recipe won’t bind together with Truvia.
Can these be frozen if I make several batches at a time? How are they when thawed and warmed up? Thank you.
I do freeze all my recipes in airtight zip bags. Thaw them at room temperature the day before, then rewarm if needed. They will taste good.
Can these be no bake?
They are safe to eat raw as all the ingredients here are safe to eat without baking them.
Needed something I could make quick to take to a Halloween party. These sounded good. Made a double batch. Quick and easy to put together. Of course, I had to do a taste test first and they are really good – even for someone like me who isn’t a huge pumpkin fan. The pumpkin flavor is just a nice light touch, not overwhelming. So good. Can’t wait to see how everyone else likes them. I will be making these again. I may try adding some finely chopped walnuts to them next time too.
Thank you so much! I hope everyone like them.
Hi! thanks for so much enjoyment. Big fan
I want to ask two questions. one is just curiosity: why are they called donut holes if you’re not making donuts. Or are you?
Next quetion: could I use dates paste instead of sugar in the mixture? will it affect the texture? I want to make these for my granddaughters but they’re toddlers and not really allowed sugar.
Thanks for your help
can you use different flour or just almond
The only other flours that will create the same texture are sesame flour, and sunflower seed flour. Oat flour could work but you will need a bit less as it’s more liquid absorbent. It will also make the bites gritty and dryer.
They are called pumpkin bites, no donut holes 🙂 Also, you can’t swap crystal sweetener for date paste or any liquid sweetener, the batter will be gummy and moist. In baking, you can swap a crystal sweetener for another crystal sweetener like sugar for coconut sugar, and a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, for another liquid sweetener like agave syrup. Date paste is a very specific ingredient, it won’t crystalize like sugar or melt, nor firm up. The recipe must be developed for this ingredient specifically.
can I substitute pumpkin pureé for applesauce?
I haven’ t tried, but applesauce often work well, it’s a bit more wet tho, so maybe you will need a little more almond flour to put the dough together.
love this and my husband did as well…
That’s amazing, thank you!
can you add chocolate chips, and if yes, how much for the batch?
Hi! I made this recipe but added mini chocolate chips- just eyeballed to the amount we like, and yummmmmy! So delicious!
Thanks !
Probably but since it’s a small batch I would go for 3 tablespoons and use small chocolate chips, or each bites will be too full of chocolate flavors.