Glazed Donut Muffins

I had to travel to Baltimore last week for a conference so I had been out of the kitchen for too long! My whirlwind trip was tiring but it was a good conference so it was worth it. I unfortunately didn’t have much time at all to explore Baltimore and I came home without any new recipe ideas. Oh well, I guess I will have to go back because the little bit of the city I did see, it seemed like a nice place.

I didn’t bring any treats to work last week since I was only there one day. Thankfully one of my great coworkers brought in something one day so the library staff did get a little sugar boost for the week. The weekend was very busy, seeing old friends and other errands, so I got to the end of the weekend knowing that I wanted to make something, but I sure didn’t feel like making the multi-stage coffee cake that I had planned. Muffins sounded much easier and more appealing. And glazed donut muffins sounded even better.

I’ve made a cinnamon sugar mini donut muffin before but these were different. I love old fashioned donuts and I think these have a lot in common with those. The muffins are flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, and I also used buttermilk to add an extra tang. They are then double glazed while warm with a buttery vanilla glaze. I doubled this recipe which ended up making about 3 dozen, so unless you want a bunch of these sitting on your kitchen counter, I’d just stick with the single recipe. Do fill the muffin cups fairly full so that you’ll get a nice domed muffin. These are quick, easy, and very tasty!

Glazed Donut Muffins

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups flour
1 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon hot water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12-18 muffin cups with muffin liners.

In a large mixer bowl, beat together butter, vegetable oil, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and flour. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon batter into cups, filling until the cups are just about full. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.

To make the glaze, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and hot water; whisk until smooth. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip in the glaze a second time and allow to fully harden before serving.

Recipe from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen