This recipe is by Kathleen Stewart of the Downtown Bakery & Creamery in Healdsburg,
CA. The recipe appeared in Fine Cooking Magazine, January 2001. Photo by
Steve Hunter.
This
recipe caught my eye because I love sugar doughnuts and I do not deep fry foods.
In fact, I never deep fry foods! These sugar doughnut muffins are just what the
doctor ordered as you bake them! They have the mixture of a doughnut without all
the calories, fat, and mess of deep frying. This makes a large batch of muffins,
but the recipe may be cut in half very easily.
Check out my
Bread Recipes and
Brunch Recipes for more great breakfast and brunch ideas.
Sugar Doughnut Muffins Recipe
Recipe Type:
Cake,
Quick Breads,
Muffins
Yields: 24 medium-size muffins or 52 mini-muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated
sugar
4 large
eggs
6 cups all-purpose
flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk*
Sugar/Cinnamon Topping (see recipe below)
* If you find yourself short of buttermilk for your recipe, you can make your own by
adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 1/4 cup of whole milk.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in middle of the oven. Generously
grease and flour muffin tins. NOTE: Also grease the surface
between the muffin cups to prevent the muffin tops from sticking to the pan.
Using your mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until
mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated into the batter; set aside.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and
nutmeg; set aside. In another bowl, combine the milk and buttermilk; set aside.
Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture to
the egg batter, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix until all ingredients are fully combined and batter is
smooth. Don't over mix.
Scoop enough batter into each muffin tin so that the batter is even with the rim
of the cup. For regular-size muffin tins, about 1/2 cup - for mini-size muffin tins, about 1 heaping tablespoon.
Regular-size Muffin Pans:
Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the muffins are firm to the touch. A good check is to use an instant
digital thermometer to test your muffins. The temperature of the bread should be
at 200 degrees F. when done. Remove from the oven and let cool just enough to be able to handle.
This
is the type of cooking and meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking. I get many readers
asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking and baking. I, personally, use the
Thermapen Thermometer shown in the photo on the right. Originally designed for professional users, the
Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is used by chefs all over the world.
Mini-size Muffin Pans: Bake 12 to 15 minutes until the muffins are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let
cool just enough to be able to handle.
When muffins from cool enough to handle, carefully remove them from the muffin tins,
dip them into the melted butter (or brush them all over), and then roll them in
the Sugar/Cinnamon mixture.
Make-Ahead Directions: Fully bake and cool these
muffins without adding the toppings. Store them in a plastic freezer bag in the
freezer for up to 1 month. To serve, thaw muffins to room temperature before
applying the toppings.
Makes 24 medium-size muffins or 52 mini-muffins.
