You know by now of my love of cheese, but we have not yet spoken of doughnuts. Why is it so easy to love the things that are bad for us? (That truth seems to extend beyond the kitchen.) If I could, I would eat a doughnut every morning. That might kill me, and so instead I treat myself to a doughnut very occasionally. But I think about them often. I kept coming across recipes for Doughnut Muffins and they really piqued my interest. Could something you bake really taste like a doughnut? Is this the solution to all of our problems? No, probably not. But these muffins are a real good thing. They have both the texture and taste of a cake doughnut- minus the time spent frying in oil, which is at least a step in the right direction.
Doughnut Muffins (adapted from a recipe by Kathleen Stewart)
The original recipe made 24 muffins, which seemed a little extreme—unless you were hosting a party. I cut that in half, but feel free to double if needed. The batter can keep in the fridge for a couple of days- so you could make them as you need them. I think it would also be worth experimenting with this recipe, could you fill them with jelly? glaze them?
Muffins:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
Topping:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don’t overmix. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 30-35 minutes.
For the topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, brush them all over with melted butter and roll them in the cinnamon sugar.
***The muffins are best the day they are made when they taste most doughnut-y and delicious, although that didn’t stop us from happily eating the leftovers the next day.