Doughnut Muffins & Premium Bakeware Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Sweet, cake-like and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, these muffins taste remarkably like doughnuts. Kids love them because they’re deliciously plain, and adults love them because they’re just plain delicious. Unlike doughnuts, they’re baked not deep-fried. And if you need one more reason to try them, they’re easy to make with ingredients you probably have on hand.

To go along with the muffins, I’m giving away all the bakeware you need to make them. The set – which includes 2 standard muffin pans, 1 mini muffin pan, a cooling rack, measuring cups, measuring spoons, an ice-cream scoop, a spatula and a spoonula – is from Chicago Metallic, the premium bakeware known for its sturdy construction. To enter, simply leave a comment below. The winner will be chosen September 27th by a random number generator. (You must be a Once Upon a Chef email subscriber and resident of the contiguous US to participate – click here to subscribe.)

Now, let’s make some muffins, shall we?

Begin by combining the milk and lemon juice. This essentially makes buttermilk, which reacts with the baking soda to give these muffins a nice open crumb.

Next, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in your eggs, one at a time, until well combined.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients. All that nutmeg is what makes these muffins taste like doughnuts.

Next, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately to the butter mixture.

Mix until well combined, but don’t overmix. The batter will be very thick.

Scoop the batter into a muffin pan, filling the tins to the rim.

Bake until firm to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Finally, brush the muffins with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Serve warm out of the oven or reheated in the microwave. I especially love them slathered with jam. Enjoy!

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Doughnut Muffins
Printable Recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

For Batter
1 cup milk (lowfat is fine)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with knife)
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

For Topping
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

1. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Spray a standard-size muffin pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup and set aside.

3. In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Stir in the vanilla.

5. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir with a whisk until well combined.

6. Using a rubber spatula, 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. The batter will be very thick.

7. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup. (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a wire scraper for this.) Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 25-30 minutes. Set pan on rack to cool for a few minutes.

8. In the meantime, prepare the topping: melt the butter in a small dish and combine the cinnamon and sugar in another small dish.

9. When the muffins are cool enough to handle, use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with butter, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar. If you have cinnamon-sugar left over, sprinkle muffins again.  Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store at room temperature. Reheat muffins briefly in microwave for that fresh out of the oven taste.