Happy National Doughnut Day!

I enjoy doughnuts every now and then, but I try to limit my consumption of them to rare occasions, like after I’ve run a race and feel entitled to a few extra calories. I also think of them as a “moving food,” (in other words, for when you are in the process of packing and moving and don’t have time or kitchen equipment) but I don’t think I’m going anywhere for a while. And unfortunately, I didn’t find out until lunchtime today, while I was reading the “news,” that today is National Doughnut Day, which would have been a great excuse to have one for breakfast. Tomorrow is Saturday, though, so I will have an opportunity to make doughnut muffins for breakfast.



I found a fantastic recipe for doughnut muffins on Baking Bites a few months ago and it quickly became our favorite weekend breakfast treat. (So far I’ve made two recipes from Baking Bites and they’ve both been superb. I also appreciate that in the FAQ section of the site, Nicole says that she does not mind if her recipes are shared on other blogs, as long as they are attributed back, which is really nice!) You see, our local market used to carry these treats called Cinnamon Bombs, which were essentially doughnuts re-shaped into muffin form in a transparent attempt to trick people into considering them a more acceptable breakfast option, but they soon disappeared. There were probably a lot of people like me who realized, much to their boyfriends’ chagrin, how wholly unhealthy these delightful treats were and stopped buying them. I forgot about them for about six months, but then I remembered how much Mr. Penpen liked them and decided I should try to replicate them. The Sugar Donut Muffins (I add cinnamon to half of them for Mr. Penpen) on Baking Bites are not as dense or rich as the original, but they don’t feel like a bomb in your stomach afterwards either. I think it’s the nutmeg that really gives these muffins that yummy doughnut taste. And not only are they scrumptious, they are super-easy and you can make them with pantry staples. This recipe gets an 8 for Deliciousness and a 2 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 4.

Sugar Donut Muffins from Baking Bites
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling (plus about a teaspoon of cinnamon, if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease (I say generously) a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract. Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl. When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 10 muffins.