I love the idea of donuts but hate thinking about all that greasy frying. These Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Muffins give all the satisfaction of a doughnut without the mess and hassle because they are baked, not fried.
These little muffins bake up with a nice high golden dome top and the inside is dense and flavorful, just like a cake-style doughnut from the local doughnut shop. After these little guys get dunked in melted butter then rolled in cinnamon-sugar they are the perfect sweet and spicy accompaniment to a nice cup of coffee or hot cocoa.
You can easily pop them into your mouth, one after the other, after the other… so it’s best to package some of them up and give them to your friends, fast! Here is how you can make your own:
You can find the entire recipe here. This recipe makes 12 standard size muffins but I made them into 41 mini muffins.
To make the minis start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees instead of the 425 degrees called for in the original recipe. Generously spray a mini muffin tin with Pam and set aside. No need for muffin papers with the minis as they will be completely covered with cinnamon-sugar after they cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, vegetable oil and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time beating well to combine. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, freshly grated nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the flour by hand alternating with the milk until everything is well combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin so that each cup is 3/4 full.
Bake the mini muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on a rack.
While the muffins are cooling, melt a stick of butter in the microwave and set aside. Whisk together 2 Tbls. cinnamon with 6 Tbls. granulated sugar and pour into a plastic resealable food baggie.
When the muffins have cooled dunk each one completely into the melted butter, shake off excess, then drop into the bag of cinnamon sugar and shake to coat. Serve with your favorite beverage!
