Featured Recipe: Sugar Crisp Muffins

This recipe from Zingerman’s Bakehouse’s cookbook – Celebrate Every Day: A Year’s Worth of Favorite Recipes for Festive Occasions, Big & Small – combines a buttermilk nutmeg muffin and a cinnamon sugar doughnut.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

Muffins

• 2 cups [280 g] all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅔ cup [125 g] granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup [145 g] unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup [80 g] whole milk, room temperature
• 2½ Tbsp buttermilk, room temperature

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• 6 Tbsp [75 g] granulated sugar
• 1½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup [110 g] unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners or, if you prefer, lightly coat the cups with butter or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.
3. In another medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with a wooden spoon until the color lightens. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed. Add the eggs to the creamed mixture, mixing until combined, followed by the vanilla extract.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and buttermilk.
5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture to the creamed butter, one-third at a time, mixing well after each addition. Start with one-third dry, mix well, then add one-third of the milk mixture, and repeat two more times with the remaining ingredients. Mix on low speed, if using a stand mixer.
6. Spoon equal amounts of muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and the center of each muffin springs back when touched. Let cool completely in the pan.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

1. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Dip the tops of the cooled muffins in melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar.
2. These are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container and enjoyed the next day. For longer storage, freeze muffins prior to dipping in butter and cinnamon sugar in an airtight container for up to 3 months, and complete the final step once they have thawed.