Cinnamon Donut Muffins

Learn how to make Cinnamon Donut Muffins from scratch. Sky-high muffins covered in sweet cinnamon sugar that taste JUST like a hot cinnamon donut.

Hello Cinnamon Donut Muffins!

You’ll adore these sweet cinnamon muffins. Baked in the oven, they don’t require any dough-making or deep-frying but the’re guaranteed to satisfy your cinnamon donut cravings.

Not only that, but LOOK 👆🏻 at those sky-high muffin tops!

Muffins are a delicious treat or snack-on-the-go. But muffins that taste like donuts? Now we’re talking. I love these donut muffins.

I have sweet memories of getting a cinnamon donut while shopping with my mum when I was little. I remember watching it come out from the donut machine and then flip its way through the cinnamon sugar.  We would then eat it while it was still warm.

Recently, I’ve been obsessed with my Cinnamon Tea Cake (which also tastes somewhat like a donut) and NOW I’m moving onto to homemade, bakery-style Cinnamon Muffins.

THESE gorgeous muffins are simple to make but are sure to become a family favourite. Just make sure you eat a few fresh – they’re absolutely delightful when they’re warm!

How to make bakery-style muffins

There’s nothing like making a batch of homemade muffins that have those beautiful domed muffins tops – just like in your favourite bakery.

To achieve those sky-high muffin tops, you’ll need to fill each hole of your muffin pan almost to the top. I know it feels counter-intuitive (especially if you’re used to making cupcakes) as you may think they will overflow, but they won’t as long as you have the oven on a high temperature for the first 5 minutes of cooking time.

After the initial 5 minutes, we then turn the oven down slightly for the reminder of the cooking time. That initial burst of high heat causes the muffins to rise quickly in the beginning, create those high-rise muffins.

Making cinnamon donut muffins

There’s a little cinnamon IN the muffin batter but most of that sweet cinnamon flavour comes from the cinnamon sugar coating.

While the muffins are still warm and fresh from the oven, you’ll need to brush the muffins with melted butter and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Not only will this help the topping stick better but if you get to eat one while they are still warm, it will taste even more like a sweet cinnamon donut.

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Let’s Bake

Cinnamon Donut Muffins

Yield Makes 12 muffins 1x

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5 from 15 reviews

Prep: 40 minutesCook: 17 minutesTotal: 57 minutes

Baked Cinnamon Donut Muffins covered in sweet cinnamon sugar.

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Ingredients

• 350 grams (2 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour 
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar 
• 115 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk*

Cinnamon topping

• 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar 
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, melted

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F) standard / 180 C (350 F) fan-forced. Grease your 12-hole muffin pan well with butter or use cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugars and mix together briefly.
3. In a separate bowl, add melted butter, vanilla and eggs. Whisk gently just to break up the egg yolks. Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and begin to gently fold.
4.  Add buttermilk and fold until the mixture is just combined – be careful not to over mix or your muffins will be tough.
5. Spoon out the muffin mixture into your prepared tin. Bake muffins for 5 minutes before turning down the heat to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced and baking for a further 10-12 minutes.
6. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. While the muffins are still warm brush the tops and sides with melted butter and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mix. Leave muffins to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Notes

Buttermilk: If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can use your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 1 cup of full fat or whole milk. Leave for a few minutes before using as normal. 

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 muffin Calories: 317 Sugar: 20.9 g Sodium: 40.3 mg Fat: 13.6 g Carbohydrates: 44.9 g Protein: 4.9 g Cholesterol: 64.6 mg

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: DessertCuisine: American

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This recipe was first published on Sweetest Menu in February 2017.

Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.