Doughnut muffins: a recipe

Doughnut muffins with cinnamon sugar

I love doughnuts.

That's not to say that I eat them all the time because, let's face it, I'd weigh 800 pounds if I did, right? But if there's a box sitting in the break room, I cannot say no.

Now, I'm just going to put it out there and wait for the hater comments to arrive:

I don't like Krispy Kreme.

And yes, I have had them warm, straight from the oven, blah blah blah.

Sorry, kids, but I love me some Dunkin' Donuts and not just because I'm from New England where it's mandated by law or something that there be a DD every 13 feet.

Honeyglazed or just plain old cake doughnuts are my faves.

Yet, doughnut lover that I am, I have never tried to make them. Something about recipes that start out with "add 5 inches of oil to a large pot" just turn me off: too fatty, too messy, too much effort.

Especially when I could just walk 13 feet and buy some.

So I got pretty excited when I came across a recipe promising doughnut muffins. I was hoping simply for a little doughnuttyish taste.

But no.

These muffins taste just like cake doughnuts, I swear! Even the consistency is pretty close -- a little fluffier, a little less dense, but still very doughnutty.

Not to mention that the recipe is wicked simple; it doesn't even require you to break out your mixer, just one big bowl.

Here's the best part: compared to doughnuts, these muffins are a much better breakfast choice. To prove it, I calculated the nutritional info per muffin and also researched the same info for both Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme:

Item	Calories	Fat
Dunkin' Donuts cake doughnut	320	22 g
Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut	200	12 g
The Ninj's doughnut muffin	200	6 g

I'd say we have a winner here, folks. And just in time for breakfast.

Time to make the doughnut muffins.

Doughnut Muffins (adapted from All Recipes)
Note: Since you'll be rolling the hot muffin in cinnamon sugar, you do not want to use any kind of muffin tin liners for these.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted*
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 cup skim milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, for finishing the muffins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well blended. Add the milk and mix thoroughly. Add the baking powder and flour and still until combined.

Pour the batter into a 12-cup greased muffin tin (fill each cup about 3/4 full). Bake until set and beginning to turn golden at the edges, about 15 minutes. One at a time, remove each muffin from the tin and roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Cool on a wire rack.

* Tip: When I melt butter in the microwave, I put a paper towel on top of the bowl and secure it with a rubber band. Then, when the butter pops and splatters, as it often does, it will be end up on the paper towel, not all over your microwave.