Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

Downtown Bakery and Creamery’s Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

Yield: 24 standard size muffins  (52-56 mini muffins)

For the muffins:
12 oz. (24 Tbs.) unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 lb. 11 oz. (6 cups) all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1-2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk

For dipping:
8 oz. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more as needed
2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. ground cinnamon

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, 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 is very thick.  Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. (A #16 ice-cream scoop gives you the perfect amount.) Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes.

Melt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter (I recommend the brush method- I did both and found that the dip method lead to them absorbing too much butter and got greasy).  Then roll them- top, bottom, and sides- in the cinnamon sugar.

Make ahead: You don’t have to bake all the muffins right away; the batter will keep, covered and chilled, for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Mini muffins:  I baked mine in a mini muffin tin. I made a half recipe and got 28 mini muffins.  They took about 18 minutes to bake, but I would start checking at about 14 minutes.

Source:Fine Cooking

Helpful Hints:

• Cinnamon sugar is delicious, but powdered sugar, plain sugar, or vanilla sugar would be delicious too.
• Do not overmix, or you will not get fluffy, tender muffins.
• I added a splash of vanilla to the batter, as I can’t imagine any baked good without it

Classic Bran Muffins

photo courtesy of allrecipes

So, living in the "country" definitely has it's benefits, but also it's drawbacks.  Last night we ran out of propane, and no propane = no heat or hot water.  This morning our house was 53 degrees.  Brrr!  Outside it is 19 degrees and it is supposed to snow today.  I was craving something warm for breakfast, so I was happy to find this bran muffin recipe.  I made it vegan by substituting rice milk for the buttermilk, and it turned out delicious!

Classic Bran Muffins
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups wheat bran (I used bran flakes)
1 cup buttermilk (substitute rice milk or any other milk)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin cups or spray with cooking spray.  Mix together wheat bran and milk.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Beat together oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla and add to milk/bran mixture.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir flour mixture into bran mixture, just until blended.  Fold in raisins and spoon into muffin cups.

Bake 15-20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

I pinned this as soon as I saw it on Mel's Kitchen Cafe (my fave cooking blog) because it looked so yummy and healthy too! I'm not a big muffin person- I'd rather have a cupcake! But, these looked justifiable. So, this morning, I had some bananas that were getting brown so I whipped up a quick batch. And, they were SO good! And, I felt okay about eating them for breakfast because they were 100% whole wheat!

Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

*Note: You can sub the equivalent amount of wheat germ for the oats, if you like. Also, I prefer white whole wheat to red whole wheat due to it’s lightness, but either kind of whole wheat flour can be used here.
*Makes 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cups quick or regular oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 teaspoons flour
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric stand mixer), beat together the butter, yogurt and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. In a blender or food processor, process the oats until they are finely ground. Add the wheat flour, baking soda and salt and pulse one or two times until the dry ingredients are lightly combined. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. Mix in the lightly mashed bananas. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Toss the blueberries with the 2 teaspoons flour and then gently fold them into the muffin batter. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (watch the muffins carefully since each oven may vary slightly in temperature affecting exact baking time). Let the muffins rest in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple Fritter Muffins

photo from chasingsomebluesky.blogspot.com

These were really, really good!  I thought the process was a bit lengthy, but I guess that's what it takes! 

Apple Fritter Muffins  

From chasingsomebluesky.blogspot.com

For the Apples:
2 large granny smith apples, 1/4 inch dice
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

1/3 cup flour

For the Muffins:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Glaze: 
2 tbsp butter melted 
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tbsp hot water 

Directions: 

1.            Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

2.            Line 14 muffin cups with muffin liners 

3.            In a skillet add add apple ingredients except flour and cook over medium heat until apples are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour to coat apples (this prevents apples from sinking to bottom of muffins)

4.            In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

5.            In a large bowl beat together applesauce, oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix thouroughly  

6.            Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. 

7.            Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.

8.            Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing. 

9.            To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth. 

10.          When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin top into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden before serving.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins

Pic courtesy How Sweet It Is

I saw these a few weeks ago and instantly knew I had to make them. A way to feel good about eating chocolate chip cookies? I'm sold. And, they were every bit as good as they sound. They almost tasted healthy. Christian went nuts over them.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins

from How Sweet It Is

makes 12 muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose) (I used all-purpose)

1 cup rolled oats (I used quick oats)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup milk (any kind will do)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Add oats to a bowl and add 1/2 cup of milk. Let soak for 5-10 minutes, while you prepare the first few steps of the muffins.

In a large bowl, combine egg and brown sugar and whisk until smooth and caramel in color. Add in vanilla and butter, whisking well. Try to smooth the batter as much as possible – there still may be some small butter chunks. Add flour, oat mixture, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix. Add remaining milk and combine until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Line a muffin tin with lines and pour about 1/4 cup batter into each line. Optional: Sprinkle the tops with raw turbinado sugar. (I didn't do this and I loved them plain.) Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with butter!

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

photo from alexandracooks.com

Oh, these are so, so good!  Let me say that again, these are so good.  These beat out blueberry muffin boxes any day!

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake  alexandracooks.com

Serves 6-8

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 T. sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Sweet Fruit Muffin

Photo from Tasty Sensations blog

Super yummy!  I made these with a mixed frozen fruit from Costco...super good and nutritious feeling!

Sweet Fruit Muffins

Recipe from tastysensations.blogspot.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
2 c. fresh blueberries - rinsed, drained and patted dry
1 c. chopped strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk and almond extract, mixing just until incorporated. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries and stawberries, and stir into the batter. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries and chopped strawberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, and fold into the batter. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar. Makes a dozen very large muffins, or 24 mini muffins + 6 large muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped (about 18-20 minutes for mini muffins)

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Photo from tastykitchen.com

These seemed a little high maintenance, but they were easier than I thought they would be and they were really delicious.  The dough seemed to runny to roll in cinnamon but it actually worked well.  

Snickerdoodle Muffins

From tasty kitchen blog

Ingredients

• 1 cup Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 2-¼ cups Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¾ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• ¼ cups Buttermilk
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ⅔ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. (I learned the hard way that they are too fragile for just cooking spray.)
In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.
Use scooper and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.
When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.
Bake the muffins at 350ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Cream Cheese Muffins

Photo from yourhomebasedmom.com

Yep, I loved these.  I just love cream cheese--you can't go wrong.  And the topping on these.  Yum, yum.
 
Cream Cheese Muffins
Recipe from yourhomebasedmom.com
3 C  flour
1 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 C sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Mix together the flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl stir together milk, oil, and eggs.  Combine with the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened.
Combine cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar.  Gently mix half of this mixture into the muffin batter.
Fill muffin tins about 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter. Spoon the remaining cream cheese mixture onto the muffins, with the back of a spoon push the mixture  into each muffin.

Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
Combine ingredients. Sprinkle generously over muffins. Bake 24 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Butter Puffs

I made these muffins for a bridal shower. They were all gone within minutes. I made them as mini muffins and they turned out perfect for a social gathering. Yummy!




Mini Butter Puffs/Muffins
recipe & picture by Confessions of a Bake-aholic

Muffins
4 cups flour
2 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cup sour cream
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) warm melted butter

Cinnamon Coating
1-2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Coat mini muffin pan with baking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-mix. The batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into one or two muffins comes out clean (about 10 minutes for mini muffins, 12 minutes for standard size muffins). Don't over bake.

Coating
Melt butter in a small bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl. While muffins are still quite warm, remove from muffin pan. Dip the entire muffin (one at a time) in melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar. Set on a wire rack to cool.

(My mini muffins looked better then the picture above)!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

I just made this recipe for the first time yesterday! I had a giant zucchini from my garden, so I grated it up made these delicious babies for my family to devour. And devour they did....

I choose to make muffins, but the recipe works for bread, too!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

adapted from a friend, Glaya Douglas

3 Eggs

1 cup Oil

2 cups Sugar

2 cups grated Zucchini

1 Tbs. Vanilla

3 cups Flour

2 tsp. Baking soda

2 tsp. Cinnamon

3 Tbs. Cocoa

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 cup chocolate chips

brown sugar

Mix sugar and oil. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Then add zucchini and chocolate chips. Sprinkle brown sugar on top to give a little crunch. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes for muffins.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I've been making this recipe for years, and can't believe that I haven't shared it with you all yet!! It's the best way to get rid of those too-ripe-too-fast bananas that are sitting on your kitchen counter collecting fruit flies. Keep in mind...the riper the banana, the better it tastes in your bread!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

adapted from my sis-in-law, Monica

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup milk

5 ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (I always add way more--the more chocolate the better, in my opinion!)

Cream butter and sugar. Add bananas and then eggs and mix slightly. Add vanilla and milk and stir in dry ingredients.

Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes at 350. Makes 2 loaves.

French Breakfast Puffs

AMAZING!  These were sumptuous and delicious!

French Breakfast Puffs

recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks Blog

French Breakfast Puffs
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 sticks butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside. Pray. In a different bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening, then add eggs and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden. In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Eat. Faint.

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

I made these this weekend because we just love homemade bread around here. I also love blueberries and was really looking forward to finding a great recipe because I absolutely adore the Betty Crocker box mix but am trying to eliminate processed foods from our family's diet. These muffins are just as fluffy and light as the box mix- though not as sweet, which is probably a good thing. I doubled the recipe and it made 3 dozen muffins (I froze the left-overs for quick snacks). Do NOT use your Bosch/Kitchenaid to mix these- the less you mix, the better. I really, really enjoyed these.

picture courtesy of Sisters Cafe

Blueberry Muffins
The Sisters Cafe

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of one lemon (optional- I used this, but could not taste it at all)

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shortening (or butter*)

1 cup frozen blueberries

Topping (this makes extra - you can try cutting it down if you want):

(I didn't make this- saved some calories...you don't need it, but I'm sure it tastes great!)
1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tb lemon juice (juice of one lemon)

1/2 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs, milk and butter/shortening with a hand mixer. Add dry ingredients and stir gently to combine- batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries gently. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 12 muffins.

*I substitute butter because I love the taste! It works great either way.