Sugar Donut Muffins

I admit, I mostly wanted to make these because they're sooooooooo cute!!

See, I usually prefer airy donuts (not sure what they're officially called), not cake donuts (with the exception of a glazed old fashioned, I don't know why). But these were so cute I could not resist. Especially since I had the excuse of bringing them to my cousin's eldest's 5th birthday party, so I could pretend that that was why I had made them.



They were a huge hit. The muffins were being double fisted and crammed into little mouths. Okay, 5-year-olds probably don't have the most discerning of palates, but I didn't think they'd go over that well because the muffins aren't actually all that sweet. I mean, they're sweet, but they're not SWEET. My cousin's husband said later that he was trying to hoard some from the kids because he liked them a lot and wanted to have them later. I know, how shameful. On the other hand, there you have an adult's opinion of them!

I love how flexible these little muffins are, too. Breakfast? Sure! Dessert? Sure! Snack? Sure!

This is one of those recipes that's easy and a blast to make. You do need a mini-muffin tin, though. Well, you can also make regular-sized muffins from the batter, but what's the fun in that?! After they're baked, you dip the tops in butter and press them into a cinnamon sugar mixture. They end up looking like little mushrooms. :D Note: The original recipe calls for an amount of melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon for this last step that is supposed to be good for 24 mini muffins. I was able to 'frost' 48 mini muffins using this amount. Your mileage may vary, though. Still, if you are only making 24, you might want to cut the amounts in half.

Sugar Donut Muffins (recipe adapted from Baking Bites)

Makes 24 mini muffins or 10 regular muffins.

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking power
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup milk (any kind)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For 'frosted' tops:

• 2 tbsps melted butter, for dipping
• 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon, for rolling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
3. In small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Stir until well combined.
5. Add in canola oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
6. Distribute batter into muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. While the muffins are baking, melt the butter in a small bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl.
9. When the muffins are cool enough to handle easily, dunk the tops into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ready to be Crushed

It's Restaurant Week here in Seattle and that means plenty of eating out. 3-course dinners for $25 at some of the area's finest restaurants? There aren't enough days in a Week! I've been to Mistral Kitchen, Canlis, and just last night, Crush. I had such a great experience at Crush the only other time I've been there that it had a lot to live up to for my second visit -- and it was again wonderful.

My friend S. and I had our server give us recommendations, and I thought she generally did a very nice job. S. also ordered the Crush wine pairings to go with his meal, while I had a cucumber Dry soda (and an Americano during dessert).


Amuse bouche: Warm gougeres (French cheese puffs).


First course: Crisped pork belly on a bed of creamy white grits and drizzled with a bourbon sauce. The couple next to us were exclaiming over the deliciousness of the stinging nettle soup they both got. The pork belly was amazing, but fairly similar to the second course I chose, so in that sense I wished I'd gotten the soup or salad to start.


Second course: Painted Hills flat iron steak cooked medium rare, on a bed of Yukon potato puree, with baby carrots and a parsley truffle oil sauce.


Dessert: Crispy buttermilk donuts with a Spanish coffee sauce and powdered sugar.


Mignardises: Bite-sized madeline cookies and nut brittle. Unfortunately the sun was going down toward the end of dinner so the light wasn't as good for this or the last photos, hence the blur and grain. :/

Crush, never change!