Pumpkin Donut Muffins

I love mini-muffins. They are the perfect size for popping into your mouth and, let's face it, anything mini is cute! :)

These pumpkin muffins are fantastic. The texture is very much like a cake donut and when rolled in cinnamon-sugar and powdered sugar, they taste almost identical. Plus, they are baked and not fried, so that makes them healthier than a donut!

I wanted to mention one change I made. The recipe calls for dipping the muffins in butter then rolling them in the sugar. I do this with another muffin I make, but didn't feel like melting the butter when I made these. If you pop them straight out of the muffin tin and put right into the sugar, the sugar will stay and you won't have to use the extra butter.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Recipe from Cassie Craves

For the pumpkin batter:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 large eggs

For the sugar coating:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions pumpkin mixture and beat to combine.

2. Spoon batter into each mini muffin cup and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let muffins cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Working with one at a time, remove muffins from pan, roll in butter, then toss to coat in sugar mixture. Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack.