donut muffins

donut muffins

• 3.12.2013

First of all, I will start by saying I don't have a picture of the final product. Just trust me that they look like muffins. A muffin is a muffin folks. When I remake these little cinnamon gems, I'll update this post ... maybe. But don't hold your breath.

Now for the color commentary.

I first heard about this "donut muffin" phenomenon from my friend Marilyn. They seemed like an intriguing concept but I wasn't quite sure what they would end up being. Donuts can vary pretty significantly in their consistency and so a donut muffin left me wondering.

Being as I've never actually had an official donut muffin, I'm not sure how accurate this rendition is fact. However, they are easy like a sunny day and crazy addictive when fresh out of the oven. Sometimes when I make things I never even taste them before sending them out the door. But, when these babes came out of the oven, I cracked one in half and was in heaven.

The secret ingredient? The cinnamon roll stuffing inside the muffin. Truth be told, it was a last minute add while I waited for the oven to warm up and my batter was all prepped and ready to go. I used to never let the oven warm up. Ever. It just seemed like a waste of time. Now, I let the oven warm up. I'm a grown-up these days.

I'm not sure how many variations are really feasible of this recipe. Theoretically, I guess endless amounts ... but I think the cinnamon sugar angle is a slam dunk and that is what is most important. In the next month or so I'm going to try and get a batch of these babes over to my friend Marilyn for a taste test. The hiccup? Her hubs is gluten free ... We'll see how this goes.

In the meantime, whip yourself up some of the gems. While they are amazing  fresh out of the oven... I also know they are still great after being mailed to NYC or eaten post-Blizzard Nemo in a freezing cold house.

Go for it.

(Step 1) Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray, butter, whatever.

(Step 2) In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.

(Step 3) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Add in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

(Step 4) Divide batter evenly into muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

(Step 5) Melt or soften butter in a separate dish and combine with brown sugar and cinnamon. This is essentially the same stuffing that you'd find in a cinnamon roll.

(Step 6) Spoon the stuffing onto the top of each muffin cup. Using another spoon cover the stuffing with a bit of the batter. You can ever swirl the stuffing in a bit. Use your judgement.

(Step 7) Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

(Step 8) I skipped this step but you can add some additional sugar and donut like characteristics if you'd like. When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

adapted from this recipe

Shopping List
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon for batter, 1 tsp for stuffing
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar