About This Recipe

Cinnamon sugar muffins, sometimes called donut muffins, are among the most comforting and most ingenious muffins in this collection. The technique of dipping the warm, freshly baked muffin first into melted butter and then rolling it in cinnamon sugar produces a caramelised, fragrant exterior shell that is the closest thing to a freshly made cinnamon doughnut that a home oven can produce without deep frying.

The muffin base for this recipe is deliberately simple and slightly drier than most muffin batters, which makes it more practical to dip and roll after baking. A muffin that is too moist or too delicate will fall apart during the dipping process.

The cinnamon sugar ratio is important. A mixture of two parts sugar to one part cinnamon by volume produces a coating that is visually dramatic, intensely fragrant, and sweet enough to satisfy without being overwhelming. The sugar caramelises slightly on the surface of the warm muffin as it cools, producing a texture somewhere between sugar and caramel that is immediately addictive.

History and Origins

Donut muffins, as they are sometimes called, are a distinctly American creation that emerged from the tradition of coffee shop baking in the late 20th century. They were developed as a way of producing the flavour experience of a fresh cinnamon donut without the requirement for deep frying. The format became popular in American home baking in the 2000s through food blogs.

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Recipe by By butter u0026 berriesCourse: Cupcakes

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

17

minutes

Calories

3360

kcal

Ingredients

• •t280g plain flour

• •t150g white sugar

• •t2 tsp baking powder

• •t0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• •t1 tsp cinnamon

• •t0.5 tsp nutmeg

• •t0.5 tsp salt

• •t2 large eggs

• •t180ml whole milk

• •t120ml melted butter plus 80g extra melted butter for dipping

• •t1 tsp vanilla extract

• •tFor rolling: 150g white sugar mixed with 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 190C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin.
• Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• Whisk eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla.
• Fold wet into dry until just combined.
• Divide between cases filling two thirds full.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
• While still warm brush each muffin all over with melted butter.
• Roll each buttered muffin generously in cinnamon sugar until completely coated.
• Eat warm.

Notes

• Dip and roll the muffins while they are still warm from the oven but cool enough to handle safely. The warmth allows the butter to soak slightly into the surface before the sugar adheres. Cool muffins do not absorb the coating properly.
  Be very generous with both the butter coating and the cinnamon sugar. A light coating produces a pale, less impressive result. A heavy coating produces the dramatic, caramelised sugar shell that makes these muffins worth making.
  Fill the cases only two thirds full for this recipe, slightly less than for standard muffins. A taller muffin is harder to coat evenly with the sugar rolling technique.
  These are at their absolute best within 30 minutes of the cinnamon sugar coating while the sugar is still slightly soft and fragrant. They are still excellent for several hours but the exterior slowly loses its crunch as the sugar absorbs moisture.
  For the most dramatic cinnamon sugar shell, roll each muffin twice: once immediately after the butter dip and once again after the first sugar coat has had 2 minutes to set.
  Adding a quarter teaspoon of cardamom to the cinnamon sugar rolling mixture adds a floral, slightly exotic warmth that makes these muffins taste considerably more complex.
  If you find dipping individual muffins too time-consuming brush them with butter using a pastry brush and then use a spoon to pile cinnamon sugar liberally over each one while holding it over the sugar bowl.

Make Ahead Tips

The plain muffins can be baked ahead and rewarmed in a 160C oven for 5 minutes before dipping and rolling. The coating should always be applied fresh.

Storage and Serving

Best eaten within an hour of the cinnamon sugar coating. The sugar coating softens and the muffins lose their crisp exterior over time. The plain baked muffins keep at room temperature for 2 days and can be dipped and rolled fresh when needed.

Variations and Substitutions

Add a cardamom and orange sugar coating instead of plain cinnamon. Fill each muffin with a teaspoon of jam or custard before baking for a filled doughnut version. Replace the milk in the batter with eggnog during the holiday season for a festive spiced version. Add lemon zest to the batter and use lemon sugar in the coating for a citrus version. Make a chocolate donut muffin by replacing 30g of flour with cocoa powder and coating in a chocolate and cinnamon sugar mixture. Use a combination of cinnamon and chai spice mix in the coating for a more complex, aromatic version.

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