Doughnut Flavored Muffins

I made these today and they are really good. It’s like having a doughnut
with your coffee. The recipe is an adaptation of the Cook’s Illustrated basic muffin recipe.

Doughnut Flavored Muffins

Makes 12-14 standard size muffins (1/3 cup of batter each).

INGREDIENTS

For the muffins:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (to taste. I use 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar, less 1 tablespoon
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the top coating:

4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

For the muffins:

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375-F degrees.

  2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and mace in medium
    bowl; set aside.

  3. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until
    light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well
    after each addition. Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-
    third of yogurt. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches,
    alternating with yogurt, until incorporated. Add and Beat in vanilla
    extract.

  4. Spray twelve-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or coat
    lightly with butter. Use ice cream scoop to add batter evenly
    among cups (about 1/3 cup of batter each - fill muffin cups to top and
    level them off).
    Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center
    of one comes out clean - about 25 to 30 minutes.
    Allow to cool about 5 minutes before adding topping.

For the top coating:

  1. Combine 4 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well and set aside.

  2. Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the melted
    butter, then sprinkle each muffin with a teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar.
    Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the
    cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.