Kelli RR, Legally Blonde: Glazed Doughnut Muffins

I saw this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and was really interested because the recipe was simple and used ingredients that I always have on hand. I'm not the kind of person to spontaneously toss a box of doughnuts in the cart at the grocery store, but every once and a while they taste pretty good with coffee after church. Also, my husband is basically a goat: I figured even if these were terrible, he'd still eat them, so my efforts would not be in vain.

They were NOT terrible! They were pretty darn good! And they tasted suprisingly like those lightly glazed cake doughnuts. You know, the ones that aren't coated in powder sugar or dipped in chocolate, but that are forced to sit sadly next to those in the box. Well, this recipe helps them shine!

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze: (NOTE: make only a few minutes before dipping as it hardens-read ahead in recipe to see wait time until dipping)
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
With an electric mixer, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, add baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!
Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. This will go against your baking instinct, but make sure the cups are full so you get a nice crown when baked (see photo below). Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.

NOTE: I left the muffin liners on and dipped only the crowns, per the instructions. If I were to do it again, I'd remove the liners and dip the entire muffin. The muffins aren't very sweet on their own, and the glaze makes only the top tasty. Just a thought.
To make the glaze, In a medium bowl whisk together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden (about 5 minutes). Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.