Donut Muffins

  I was recently browsing through a bunch of sites, looking for brunch recipes, and I happened upon these little gems. They're just exactly what you think. Muffins that taste like donuts! What could be better? And they're SO easy, you can just whip up a batch in no time flat. You don't even need a mixer! You just stir everything together, spoon them into your mini muffin tin and you're good to go. The only problem is that the recipe only makes 2 dozen mini muffins, so you may have to double or triple the recipe. Wait, actually that's not really a bad thing, is it? ....When I brought some to Chris and Claire, Chris said he popped 5 of them before I even explained what they were! Claire decided they should be called Muffnuts. 'You know, like Muffin Donuts, get it?" Um, No, Claire, I'm not calling them muffnuts..... LOL (shaking my head) Anyway, you should definitely give 'em a try!

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 cup all-purpose flour   

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
Grease 24 mini-muffin cups. 
Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the sifted baking powder and flour until just combined. Divide the batter equally among 2 dozen mini muffin cups (about half full). Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are lightly golden, 15 minute.
  
While muffins are baking, place 1/4 cup of melted butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon. Remove muffins from their cups, dip each muffin in the melted butter, then roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Let cool and serve.

Tips:
You'd think that the key to making the muffins taste like donuts is the cinnamon sugar, right? Nope! It's the nutmeg! Who knew?
The original recipe said to bake them at 375F for 15-20 minutes. They turned out far too dark, so I tried it again at 350F for 15 minutes and they turned out perfectly. Best to just keep an eye on them and bake them until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
Just thinking.....wouldn't they be awesome if you dip them in chocolate or fill them with jelly??  YUM.