Cinnamon/Sugar Doughnut Mini-Muffins

Do you remember the mini cinnamon/sugar doughnuts made by the Morton frozen food company?  You took them out of the freezer, popped them into the oven, and soon you had a tray of warm, fluffy-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-outside little pieces of yumminess.

I can still see the little brown bag they were packaged in, with the orange and yellow lettering on it.  Or maybe I'm just imagining that's what the bag looked like.  Those were the colors of the seventies, weren't they?  Everything was brown, orange and gold. The Brady Bunch's kitchen.  My parents' basement...and kitchen...and bathroom.   I even had a pair of shoes that were brown, orange and gold.  As usual, I digress.  Back to the doughnuts....

This mini-muffin recipe reminds me of the Morton doughnuts; these muffins are good when they are fresh out of the oven, but they turn into something entirely other (a good kind of other) if you freeze the leftovers.  Pretend that the frozen leftovers are Morton mini-donuts as you reheat them.

Today's Playlist

• "Troublemaker"......Weezer
• "I'm Not Over".........Carolina Liar
• "We're Going To Be Friends".....The White Stripes
• "Mr. Brightside".........The Killers
• "Uprising"......Muse
• "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker".......The Ramones
• "Last Night"........The Strokes
• "Buddy Holly"........Weezer

Cinnamon/Sugar Mini-Muffins (makes 24 mini muffins)

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg

For the sugar topping:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Gather your ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a mini-muffin tin (or use non-stick cooking spray).

Combine the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine the flour........

baking powder

sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Whisk to combine.

Done.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil.......

egg and milk.

Whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Stir only enough to moisten the ingredients.

Fill each mini-muffin cup with about 2 tablespoons of the batter.

Yeah, I overfilled them and ended up with 21 instead of 24.  I'm okay with that.

Place your muffins in your preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the tops spring back when lightly touched.

While your muffins are baking, prepare the topping.  You will need two small cups to dip the muffins in. 

 I used two ramekins; they were just the right size--not too wide, so that the sugar mixture and the butter will be deep enough to dip your muffins into.  A wide cup would not be good because then the toppings will spread out and be too shallow to dip.

In one cup, place the sugar....

and cinnamon.  Stir to combine.

In the other cup, place your butter.  Microwave on HIGH for about 45 seconds, until melted.

You are really only going to need about half of this butter, but you need to melt enough so that it is deep enough to dip the top of the muffins into.  

When your muffins are done, immediately remove them from the pan.

Dip the tops into the butter, and then into the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Enjoy them while they're warm!

(And if you're feeling nostalgic for Morton mini-donuts, freeze your leftover muffins so you can reheat them and pretend they're the mini-donuts!)