Donut Muffins
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Sweet, cake-like and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, these muffins taste remarkably like donuts.
Sweet, cake-like, and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, these muffins taste remarkably like donuts. Kids love them because they’re deliciously plain, and adults love them because they’re just plain delicious. Unlike donuts, they’re baked not deep-fried so you can feel more virtuous eating them. They’re a perfect accompaniment to coffee, tea, or milk and if you need one more reason to try them, they’re easy to make with ingredients you probably have on hand. If these are a hit with your family and you want to mix things up a bit, give this powdered donut cake a try. It’s sure to vanish in no time.
Table of Contents
“These muffins were perfect! Loved how easy they were to make and that they taste like a doughnut and a muffin at the same time!”
What You’ll Need To Make Donut Muffins
- Milk: Provides moisture and richness to the muffins’ batter. Low-fat milk is fine.
- Lemon Juice: Adds acidity to react with the baking soda, helping the muffins rise.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the muffin batter, providing structure.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Leavens the muffins, causing them to rise and become light and fluffy.
- Nutmeg: Infuses the batter with warm, aromatic flavor reminiscent of classic donuts.
- Butter: Incorporates richness and flavor into both the batter and the topping.
- Sugar: Sweetens the muffin batter and creates a delicate, slightly crisp topping.
- Eggs: Act as a binding agent, holding the muffin batter together and providing structure.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile with its aromatic sweetness.
- Cinnamon: Adds a warm, spicy flavor to the muffin topping, reminiscent of cinnamon-sugar donuts.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the milk and lemon juice. This is essentially making your own buttermilk (since you only need 1 cup), which reacts with the baking soda in this recipe to give these muffins a nice, open crumb.
Next, combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. All that nutmeg is what makes these muffins taste like donuts.
Whisk to combine and then set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, a few minutes.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add a third of the dry ingredients.
Mix well, then add half of the milk mixture.
Continue alternating the dry and wet ingredients until the batter is well combined. It will be quite thick.
Scoop the batter into a greased muffin pan, filling the tins to the rim.
Bake until firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings: melt the butter and whisk the cinnamon and sugar together.
When cool enough to handle, brush the muffins with melted butter and roll in the cinnamon-sugar.
Serve warm out of the oven or reheated in the microwave. I especially love them slathered with jam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, these would be great as minis! The baking temperature will remain the same, but the baking time shorter. Start checking them for doneness at about 12 minutes. All ovens are different though, so keep a close eye on them.
Definitely! The donut muffins will work with any kind of non-dairy milk like soy, almond, or oat milk.
For sure — the muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
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Donut Muffins
Sweet, cake-like and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, these muffins taste remarkably like donuts.
Ingredients
For Muffin Batter
- 1 cup milk (low-fat is fine)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
For Muffin Topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup or bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the vanilla.
- Add a third of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix on low speed to combine. Add half of the milk mixture and mix well. Mix in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Mix until evenly combined but don't over-mix. The batter will be very thick.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to the rim. (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a wire scraper for this.) Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 25-30 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
- In the meantime, prepare the toppings: Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, whisk the cinnamon and sugar together.
- When the muffins are cool enough to handle, working one by one, use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar. If you have cinnamon-sugar left over, sprinkle muffins again. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store at room temperature. Reheat muffins briefly in microwave for that fresh out of the oven taste.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: the muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 342
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Sugar: 21 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 234 mg
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Absolutely delish! I followed the recipe exactly and the texture turned out amazing. I think the taste of nutmeg was just a smidge strong so I might try 1.5 teaspoons instead of 2 teaspoons next time. Thanks for another winner, Jenn!
Another great recipe! Followed exactly and had no issues. Good size, great texture and overall yummy! A glaze topping would be delicious too! Thanks for another winner Jenn!,
Hi, my family is not a fan of butter (I know, what’s wrong with them?!). Could I sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon on before baking? or substitute oil for butter (which seems weird here), or maybe just use less butter and see if I can get away with it?
Hi Rachel, are you just referring to the butter that tops the muffins? If so, you could probably get away with just sprinkling with them cinnamon and sugar. Hope that helps!
Just pulled mine out of the oven and I, too, had an overflow problem with a few of the muffins. It was not bad, just a few drips, but I think it is simply from overfilling. The yield says 12, but I think it’s more like 12-14, depending on how much batter you end up with. I made these GF using King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. Works perfectly, but I recommend weighing it (375g for this recipe).
The mixing step is very important and I followed the instructions precisely – ended up with very tender muffins. Sublime! I think these would be wonderful in the mini size as it is a decadent and rich muffin – maybe too much so for standard size.
I also ended up with pooled butter in the muffin tins and I did not grease the pan! I do not recommend leaving the muffins in the muffin pan, and these are not ‘pretty’ muffins. Like the pictures on this blog, there are inconsistencies in shape. Some came out domed, some a little flatter and expanded. These would be amazing with a light drizzle of vanilla or maple glaze.
Hi! Can you make the dough in the evening and make it the next morning?
Hi Emma, Unfortunately, it won’t work to refrigerate the batter as the muffins won’t rise well when you go to bake them. If you’d like, you can mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another and then combine them and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake it.
I usually love your recipes. I made these over the weekend. Followed the directions except made into 48 minis and baked for 12 minutes. They were beautiful, the topping delish but muffin rather bland and flour taste. Texture was nice. Mixed reviews from guests. Have gone over the recipe to see where I went wrong but it was followed to a T. Other “donut muffin” recipes have you sugar the entire muffin but liked yours because it didn’t seem as messy. But thank you for your blog and excellent recipes.
I am not sure what happened…I followed the recipe but after about 10 min of baking they overflowed the muffin pan onto the bottom of the oven so I pulled them out to avoid smoking up my entire apartment. I was really looking forward to eating these!
Oh my goodness, Christie – I’m so sorry you had trouble with these! They should not overflow. Did you by chance make any substitutions? Did you use a standard size muffin pan?
Hi! Can these be made as mini muffins?
Sure!
Easy to make and tastes like doughnuts!
Nice! My mother and daughter thought the topping looked too dark and not appetizing. I thought the taste was perfect. To each there own. Next time I may adjust the ratio of cinnamon to sugar to make them happy. Thanks for the recipe!