Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts

All of these recipes include nutmeg as a spice. If you make them for my mother, she will tell you these recipes aren't keepers... "Maybe if you'd used cinnamon instead?" When I was little, I didn't like the taste of nutmeg either, but I've since grown to like eggnog and other things with this warm spice, which is best when freshly ground.

If you prefer cinnamon to nutmeg, substitute it, and definitely do this if you are bringing homemade muffins to Nama.

Mini-Muffins

This recipe makes about 3 dozen mini-muffins, a good size for children.

If you want to leave half of them plain, reduce the amount of topping mixture ingredients by half. 

Use miniature muffin or small tart baking pans.

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 large beaten egg
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped nuts or chocolate chips or oatmeal or Grape Nuts cereal
• 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine + 1/2 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp cinnamon for topping

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cream 1/3 cup butter and1/2 cup sugar.
3. Mix in beaten egg.
4. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients: 1-1/2 cups flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp  nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
5. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture.
6. Add 1/2 cup milk.
7. Stir in raisins or nuts, or a combination of the suggested ingredients to equal a half cup.
8. Spoon into greased and floured miniature muffin tins.
9. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes
10. Muffins should be golden in colour (lightly browned.
11. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes.
12. Meanwhile, melt 1/2 cup butter in a microwave-safe bowl on low power setting.
13. In a separate bowl combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon.
14. While still warm, dip muffin tops in melted butter and then in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12 full-size muffins. Dipping them in butter and sugar/cinnamon makes them taste like old-fashioned doughnuts. Use cardboard muffin cups that will stand up on a baking sheet. This recipe uses a hand-mixer.

Notes: I really like these. The first one I tried didn't have the sugar on top yet (couldn't wait till they cooled to try one) and I had it while still warm, with strawberry preserves...delicious. Then Lauren ate one, then Norm...so no wonder I didn't need all the butter and sugar suggested for the topping, only 9 muffins made it to that stage.

I used 2 x 3" muffin cups and there wasn't enough batter to fill a dozen muffins 2/3 full, so some didn't peak as high. Next time I'd make only eleven. 

With the oven rack in the bottom third (I usually bake in the centre of the oven) they took 30 minutes at 350 degrees F to bake plus I had to put my oven on convection for the last 3-5 minutes more to get a golden top.

The muffins had a peak in the centre instead of a domed top, next time I will see what happens if I increase the oven heat to 400 degrees F for the first 7 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees for the rest of the baking time. These muffins rise to look like cupcakes, not with big mushroom-like muffin tops.

 I didn't need the 1/2 cup melted butter for the topping, had leftovers using 1/4 cup, and I used less than half of the sugar for the topping too, so don't melt all that butter right away.

My other changes: I had  2% milk, salted butter, and I soured milk with vinegar (1 cup milk to 1 Tbsp white vinegar) instead of buying buttermilk for just the 2 tablespoons required. I also used a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer, because my bad knee makes it hard to dig out the hand mixer from a bottom cupboard. Using a stand mixer there might be a risk of over-mixing. But the recipe turned out well. A guest said they tasted like the cake she used to get for dessert at summer camp, a good memory.

This is the original recipe from Baking for Breakfast by Cheryl Day and Griffin Day, former owners of The Back in the Day Bakery.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (I used cinnamon)
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp homogenized milk
• 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp or 1 stick) room temperature unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 8 Tbsp butter, melted (for dipping)
• 1 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon (for dipping)

1. Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F
2. Lightly grease 12 large muffin cups.
3. Sift together: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
4. In a medium bowl, combine milk and buttermilk.
5. Use a large mixing bowl and handheld mixer on medium speed. Cream butter 2-3 minutes.
6. On low speed, gradually add sugar to butter and mix until light in colour.
7. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined.
8. Add dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture, mixing just until smooth. Don't overmix.
9. Use a large ice cream scoop or spoon to scoop batter into muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Place on a baking sheet.
10. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven when tops are firm to the top and slightly golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool in muffin cups on a wire rack.
11. Put melted butter for dipping and cinnamon sugar for dipping in two separate small bowls.
12. Dunk tops of cooled muffins first in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.
13. Keeps up to 2 days in an airtight container.

Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts

Sandra gave me a copy of the Canadian bestseller Muffin Mania and we baked these often when the kids were small. I used 3/4 tsp cinnamon instead of nutmeg and cinnamon in the batter.

• 1- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk

Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl, combine thoroughly oil, sugar, egg, and milk.
4. Make a well and pour liquid ingredients into dry. Stir only till just combined.
5. Put muffin liners in muffin pan, spray lightly with baking spray.
6. Fill liners two-thirds full.
7. Bake 20-35 minutes.
8. Take muffins out of pan and while still warm, dip in melted butter, then in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Cool on rack.