Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins taste like a fried donut hole with a soft spiced inside and a firm exterior covered in cinnamon sugar. You can customize the spices in the batter to suit your preferences or the season.
These Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins taste like fried cake donuts, but they are baked!
The muffin batter is spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can use any spices you prefer such as cloves, ginger, allspice, apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice.
The baked muffins are dipped in melted butter and then rolled in cinnamon sugar. The texture reminds me of my favorite Apple Cider Doughnuts, but they require a lot less work and no deep frying.
Make Batter and Bake Muffins
Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray.
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Combine the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients.
Use a large or medium sized scoop to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans.
Make the topping while the muffins bake.
Add Cinnamon Sugar Topping
Melt the butter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Dip each muffin in the butter then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with all of the muffins.
Serve warm.
Variations
For a vegan option, use coconut oil in place of the butter and use coconut milk or apple cider in place of the milk.
Spiced apple cider is a nice substitute for the milk to add a bit more flavor to the batter. Eggnog should work as well.
Try using other spices in the batter or in the cinnamon sugar mixture, like cloves, allspice or ginger.
Gluten Free Option
Gluten free flour blend, like Bob's Red Mill, works great in this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
For the Topping:
- ¾ cup melted butter (or more if needed)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Instructions
Make the Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard size muffin pan or mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Stir in the milk. The butter will clump a little if the milk is cold; this is ok.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Bake the Muffins:
- Scoop the batter into each well of the muffin pan using a large batter scoop.
- Bake until lightly golden and set, about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins.
Make the Topping:
- Melt the butter in a small bowl.
- Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl.
Add the Topping:
- Once the muffins are baked, allow to cool slightly and remove from the muffin pan.
- Dip each muffin in the melted butter, making sure to coat the whole muffin. Then immediately roll the muffin in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Serve immediately while warm.
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