This is a guest post from my wife, whose January recipe for baked potato soup garnered rave reviews.

March in our part of Oregon means rain, rain, rain. I’d like to be out working in the yard, but the cold and wind keep me inside where I work off my frustration by baking.

This easy and frugal recipe is nice for a brunch or family breakfast. Cinnamon Spice Muffins don’t call for any exotic ingredients or fancy equipment, but they disappear in a flash. Reminiscent of warm doughnuts and drenched in butter and cinnamon-sugar, they’re anything but healthy. But what the heck, fill out the rest of your brunch with lowfat yogurt, turkey bacon and fresh fruit and you’ll survive the splurge.

Be sure to use real butter, not margarine, and don’t overbeat the batter or they’ll turn out tough. I’ve also made these as mini-muffins for a donut-hole-type treat. If you don’t have nutmeg on hand, you can substitute cinnamon in the batter; either way is nice. The ingredients for one 12-muffin batch run about $4.

Cinnamon Spice Muffins

Muffins

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup butter at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup milk

Sugar & spice coating

  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar mixed with
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup muffin tin (or coat with non-stick spray).

Sift together flour, salt, nutmeg & baking powder. Set aside. Beat together 2/3 cup butter and 1 cup sugar, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time and beat in. Add dry ingredients in three portions, alternately with milk, combining just until well mixed. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly golden. Cool about 3 minutes, then remove from pan.

While still warm, use a pastry brush to brush muffins with melted butter and then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture until the muffins are well coated on all sides.

Save any extra cinnamon-sugar for toast later in the week. These muffins are best served warm. You can make them a day ahead and reheat them in the oven, in a dish covered with foil.

J.D.’s note: Uh, having these muffins around is not going to help me get fit! Kris is right — they are vaguely like donuts. Yum.