Doughnut Muffins
These are exactly what they sound like – muffins that taste like doughnuts! At first glance they seem kind of plain. There are no add-ins (although I’m sure you could come up with some great additions!), no outstanding flavor combinations – they are just simple little vanilla muffins with a hint of nutmeg. And yet, even in all their plainness, these muffins are very, very good. Sometimes it’s the simple things that taste the best.
They have a cake-like texture, and the cinnamon sugar topping is just like icing on the cake. You really can’t go wrong when something is dipped first in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. The topping takes the taste from good, but plain, to “wow this tastes just like a doughnut!” (which might have been the exact words Mike used when he ate his first muffin). These would be delicious as mini-muffins, or you could even get fancy and top them with a powdered sugar glaze. With so many options, there’s really no reason not to make these muffins. They’re sweet, and kind of old fashioned, and they make a great breakfast addition.
Doughnut Muffins
Yield: Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
Batter:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup milk
Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp cinnamon)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. If using paper muffin cups, spray the cups with cooking spray to ensure that they peel off the muffins easily.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the butter, oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.
Starting and ending with the flour, alternately stir the flour and milk into the butter mixture. Make sure everything is thoroughly combined. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.
Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and, using a fork, tip the muffins sideways in the pan to keep the bottoms from steaming. (See picture) Let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them.
While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping. Dip the top of each muffin in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.
adapted, slightly, from King Arthur Flour