I’m so excited to share this recipe for Pumpkin Mochi Donut Holes, mostly because I absolutely love anything mochi 🙂 I made them for a chill Halloween get-together this past weekend at a friend’s house, hence the sPoOky eyes! But you can definitely make these any time of the year.
The texture is so divine, it’s crispy on the outside from being deep-fried and the inside is chewy tender (like mochi). I know you guys will like this recipe too!
What you’ll need for Pumpkin Mochi Donut Holes:
- pumpkin puree
- glutinous sweet rice flour
- bread flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- boiled water
How to make Pumpkin Mochi Donut Holes:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the glutinous sweet rice flour, sugar, baking powder. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir to combine all the ingredients.
2. Add pumpkin puree. Continue to mix the dry ingredients with pumpkin puree. You’ll start to see that the dough will become crumbly and shaggy.
3. Add hot boiled water. Adding boiled water to the flour mixture will partially cook the dough. This also helps bring the dough together. Continue to mix until all the ingredients are completely combined. There is no need to knead this dough.
4. Cover and chill the dough. Transfer the dough out of the bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Stick the dough in the fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes or even overnight. This will make the dough a lot easier to work with and not too sticky.
5. Divide the dough and roll it into balls. Using a food scale, form balls that weigh 45 grams each, you should get about 13 balls.
6. Heat the oil. Fill a heavy bottomed pot (I like to use my dutch oven) of about 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 330-350 degrees fahrenheit. Use a instant-read thermometer or infrared thermometer to check the temperature. Additionally, adjust your heat to keep the oil temperature at this range.
7. Fry the pumpkin mochi donuts. Using a slotted spoon, carefully drop the dough balls into the heated oil. I recommend frying about 3-4 balls at a time for even cooking, for about 8 minutes each batch. You’ll see that the dough balls will float to the top as they are frying. The donut holes are done once they start to flip/rotate around on their own and are golden brown. The internal temperature should be around 185ºF-190ºF.
8. Roll the donut holes in cinnamon-sugar. Drop the fried donut holes into a cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat well, until they are completely coated.
9. Enjoy immediately OR store in a paper bag or bakery box. This keeps the donuts crispy for 3-4 days on the counter OR freezes for up to 2 weeks. To enjoy frozen donut holes, I recommend air-frying or refreshing in the oven @ 350ºF or refreshing in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Pumpkin Mochi Donut Holes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Mochi Donut Dough
- 1½ cup glutinous sweet rice flour 200 grams
- ½ cup bread flour 69 grams
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar 51 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder 4 grams
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree 143 grams
- ¾ cup water boiled
Cinnamon Sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the glutinous sweet rice flour, bread flour, sugar, baking powder. Using a wooden spoon/rubber spatula, stir the dry ingredients to mix well.
- Add pumpkin puree to the flour mixture and stir well to combine. The flour mixture should start to appear crumbly and shaggy.
- Add the hot water to the flour mixture and continue to stir to combine. It will start to become a dough as you continue to mix.
- Transfer the dough out of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. (You can make the dough a day before and chill in the fridge overnight too!)
- Once the dough has been chilled for 30 minutes, use a food scale to weigh out dough pieces of 45 grams. Rolls the dough into balls and set aside.
- Fill a heavy bottomed pot with about 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 330-350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Using a slotted spoon, carefully drop the dough balls into the heated oil and fry for about 8 minutes. Donut holes are done when they are golden brown and start to float to the top of the oil. The internal temperature should be 185-190 degrees fahrenheit. TIP: I recommend frying about 3-4 dough balls at a time, for even cooking.
- Drop the fried donut holes into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat well. Enjoy!
