Snickerdoodle Muffins

I love the weekends. Sleeping in. (5:30 a.m. is sleeping in, right?) Free time to do whatever you want. And breakfast. (Or brunch. Depending on what time you get up.) I try to make some sort of delicious breakfast new breakfast recipe each weekend. Normally, I like to make a new flavor of pancakes. This weekend I went for something a bit different.

coating ingredients.

• 2/3 c. granulated sugar
• 1 T. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. butter

muffin ingredients.

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. (5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing muffin cups
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

directions.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 12 standard size muffin cups. Make sure to completely coat the insides of the muffin cups or your muffins will stick when removing.
2. Prepare coatings. In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat and continue to cook it, stirring frequently, until brown bits form on the bottom and it smells nutty. Immediately remove from heat and set aside. In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Prepare muffins. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of buttermilk, repeating again and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix only until combined. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly. (Batter will be sticky.)
4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. When finished, muffins will feel springy to the touch and a tester inserted into the center will come out clean.
5. Transfer them in their pan to a wire rack. As soon as you feel you’re able to pick one up, take your first muffin and immerse in the browned butter. Let any excess butter drip off for a second before gently rolling the butter-soaked puff in cinnamon-sugar. Try to evenly coat the muffins so there are no ‘wet’ spots.
6. Transfer muffin to wire rack to set and repeat with remaining muffins. Eat warm. These are best within hours after they are baked. They can be made it advance and stored in a freezer bag until needed, too. Simply reheat them in the oven until warm.

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can replace it with regular milk and omit the baking soda. Or you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice per cup of milk. (Let the mixture stand about 10 minutes until it curdles.)

These reminded me of a cross between a muffin and a doughnut. Dipping them in the warm butter and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar gives the puff a bit of a crust – like doughnut might have. They’re so good right out of the oven I almost don’t even want to try them cold. Alas, I have a ton left over so I’m going to have to either eat them cold or reheat.

Recipe rating: 