Doughtnut Muffins

 

What is a doughnut muffin you ask?  Well, it is part doughnut, part muffin, and all delicious!  It could be described as a doughnut trying to be healthier or a muffin with a penchant for the naughty.  Think of a dense cake doughnut with just a hint of nutmeg but slightly fluffier and buttery-er rolled in cinnamon sugar.  The great thing is that like a muffin there are kind of two textures going on.  The bottom is denser and a little drier (like a muffin) and is perfect with the first couple sips of coffee.  The top has a little crisp to it. It is light and airy, since it had a chance to rise up over the muffin tin a bit. 

These are simple to make and are a really lovely breakfast or brunch treat.  Kids will have a great time painting melted butter on the warm muffin and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar.  I can picture them licking their little, sticky, cinnamony fingers already.

This recipe is from the Jimtown Cookbook which is a magical, funky general store meets best lunch stop EVER on Alexander Valley Road in Sonoma, CA.  I can say with full confidence that I have made almost every recipe (some a dozen plus times) in that book and it is always delicious and always gets raves.  That is high praise for a cookbook.  I have given the cookbook as gifts to at least 20 people over the years and is in my top three favorite cookbooks - hands down!   The recipe is credited to Kathleen Stewart's Bakery and Creamery in Healdsburg, CA.

Kathleen's Doughnut Muffins
by Carrie Brown, John Werner, and Michael McLaughlin
from The Jimtown Store Cookbook (HarperCollins)
Makes 24 muffins
Muffins
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
Muffin Coating
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and lightly flour the cups of two standard muffin tins (12 muffins each).
2. For the muffins, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Mix together the milk and buttermilk.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer using the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream the butter. Gradually mix in the sugar and beat until the mixture lightens in color and increases in volume. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition no more than necessary to blend. By hand, alternately add the dry ingredients in four additions and the milk in three additions, starting and ending with dry ingredients and mixing no more than necessary to blend after each addition. The batter should be smooth but should not be overmixed.
4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins, filling the cups level with about 1/2 cup batter per muffin (at the bakery Kathleen uses a number 16 ice-cream scoop, available in restaurant-supply houses).
5. Bake until the muffins have risen and are firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the tins on a rack for a few minutes.
6. To coat the muffins, in a bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tins. One at a time, brush them, all over with the butter, then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar, covering them thoroughly. Enjoy the muffins immediately or let them stand on a rack until cool.