Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
Buttery, sweet muffin tops are the best part of these simple but ever so delicious cinnamon sugar doughnut muffins. Perfect for breakfast or snack!
Growing up, my mom used to make these tasty little muffins all the time. They are a classic!
Definitely more of a muffin and less of a doughnut, the “doughnut” in the recipe name is a nod to the delightful buttery cinnamon and sugar top.
Super Simple Muffin Batter
The batter for these muffins is very straightforward. Dry ingredients + wet ingredients = muffin magic.
Lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, the fairly basic vanilla muffin is as simple as you can get. And that’s a good thing!
If you’re looking for a whole grain variation, these muffins work quite well using whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour. I recommend using white whole wheat flour for a lighter texture. See the note in the recipe for a few more details!
No Muffin Liners
For these cinnamon sugar doughnut muffins, it’s best to bake them right in the muffin tin sans any paper liners.
Because the tops of the muffins get a dunk in butter and cinn-sugar goodness after they bake, the liner makes it harder to get full coverage of the topping. It just makes everything messy and complicated.
So. No liner. More peace. Better muffin topping. K?
It’s All About the Topping
These muffins would be tasty but average without the cinnamon and sugar topping.
After the muffins have baked and cooled (mostly), dip the top of the muffin in melted butter and then roll it around in the cinnamon and sugar.
If you want to go full-out-glutton, you can dip the entire muffin in butter and then plaster cinnamon and sugar to the whole of the exterior. {This approach, while enticing, gets a little messy for me and my house, so I stick with just sugaring the tops to save me and my floors some anxiety.}
Tasty Little Muffin
These cinnamon sugar doughnut muffins stand the test of time. They were a favorite of mine growing up, and now my kids love them, too.
There’s nothing fancy, frilly, or fussy about them. But they are a testament that sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring the most happiness. Try one of these warm with a glass of cold milk and that’s basically after school snack heaven.
Mini Muffin Note: if you have a hankering for mini muffins, this muffin batter works great baked in a mini muffin tin. The baked and dipped muffins end up like little doughnut holes. Irresistible! It’s impossible to eat just one!
One Year Ago: The Most Amazing Fresh Peach Pie {No Bake Filling}
Two Years Ago: Perfect Oreo Rice Krispie Treats
Three Years Ago: Bruschetta Chicken and Bacon Pasta
Four Years Ago: Cheesy Baked Ziti {Make-Ahead/Freezer Meal}
Five Years Ago: The Best Homemade Salsa {Fresh or For Canning}
Six Years Ago: Portillo’s Chopped Salad with Sweet Italian Dressing
Seven Years Ago: Monster Cookie Bars
Eight Years Ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
Nine Years Ago: Succulent Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Ten Years Ago: Breaded Garlic Chicken in Lemon-Butter Sauce
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (53 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vegetable/canola oil or melted butter (see note)
Topping:
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside. (See note for mini muffin tin.)
- For the muffins: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, milk (or buttermilk), oil (or melted butter).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Don't over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing them from the muffin tin to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the topping: in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Dip the top of the muffins in the melted butter. Roll the top of each muffin in the cinnamon and sugar until evenly coated with cinnamon and sugar.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
When you are measuring freshly ground whole wheat flour, does it weigh the same as all purpose? So for example, when you call for 249g of all purpose flour, can I measure 249g freshly ground wheat flour?
It kind of depends on the variety of wheat flour. I use the same weight measures for all-purpose flour if using freshly ground white whole wheat (hard or soft spring wheat) or einkhorn wheat.
Hi, baker in the UK here. These muffins came out very well. I doubled the spice in the recipe and got a more cinnamon flavoured plain muffin. I didn’t use melted butter for the topping. Instead I made up a slack icing with icing sugar, boiled water and a dash of lemon juice. I brushed that on the tops and then dipped them in cinnamon sugar as suggested. This resulted in a thin cinnamon sugar crust.
Very well received at an event I took them to, thank you.
Thank you for the gram equivalents. Regarding the liquid cup measurements –
1 American cup of milk is 240ml. 1/3 cup of oil or melted butter is 79ml.
350°F is 180°C Fan oven.