Guests and Goodies

Jon and I have some more visitors coming to see us this weekend!  In fact, I pick up the gang from the airport tonight.  My sister, her hubby and step-son and my mom will be making the trip to the Great Plains, and I'm so excited!  We have them with us until Sunday.
To greet them, I am making a new recipe courtesy of my sweet friend Mindy who gave me a Pampered Chef mini muffin pan and the ingredients and recipe for doughnut muffins for my birthday!  

Isn't that the cutest gift?!  And she'd already done the measuring and sifting for me!  A girl after my own heart.

They look delicious don't they?  Let's hope I do them justice!  They are baking as we "speak."

If you'd like to try them out yourself, here's the recipe:

For the muffins:
12 oz. (24 Tbs.) unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature 
1-3/4 cups sugar 
4 large eggs 
1 lb. 11 oz. (6 cups) all-purpose flour 
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. baking soda 
1-3/4 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. ground nutmeg 
1-2/3 cups milk 
1/4 cup buttermilk 

For dipping:
8 oz. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more as needed 
2 cups sugar 
2 Tbs. ground cinnamon 

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To make the muffins

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don't overmix. Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. (A #16 ice-cream scoop gives you the perfect amount.) Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 min.

To finish
Melt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

make ahead tips

You don't have to bake all the muffins right away; the batter will keep, covered and chilled, for up to three days in the refrigerator.