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mini muffin tin doughnut holes
What’s better than one big doughnut? A whole bunch of mini doughnut holes! (Get it?!)
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Prepare Ingredients
Doughnuts
Topping
Gather Baking Equipment
For the doughnuts: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 24-cup mini muffin tin well with vegetable oil spray.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ½ cup sugar.
In large bowl, whisk buttermilk, 4 tablespoons melted butter, egg, and egg yolk until well combined.
Add flour mixture and use rubber spatula to stir until just combined and no dry flour is visible. Do not overmix.
Spray 1-tablespoon measuring spoon with vegetable oil spray. Use greased measuring spoon to scoop 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin tin cup.
Place muffin tin in oven. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of 1 doughnut hole comes out clean, about 10 minutes.
Use oven mitts to remove muffin tin from oven (ask an adult for help). Place muffin tin on cooling rack and let doughnut holes cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes.
For the topping: In small microwave-safe bowl, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter. In second medium bowl, use clean rubber spatula to stir together cinnamon and remaining ½ cup sugar.
Carefully remove doughnut holes from muffin tin and transfer directly to cooling rack (ask an adult for help—muffin tin will be hot). Place cooling rack in rimmed baking sheet. Use pastry brush to paint doughnut holes all over with melted butter (use all of butter). Then, roll each doughnut hole in cinnamon sugar to coat all over. Serve.
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Food for Thought
Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?
Rumor has it that a ship captain in the mid-1800s was the first to create ring-shaped doughnuts with holes in the centers. Some say he did it so he could keep them skewered on the spikes of his ship’s wheel and snack while steering! Whatever the reason, most doughnuts have holes. And for almost as long as there have been doughnuts, bakers have been turning the dough removed from the centers into doughnut holes. We wanted to make doughnut holes…but without the rest of the doughnut. A muffin tin made it easy. And brushing the doughnut holes with melted butter after baking and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar while they were still warm gave them a delicious, sweet coating.
How to Melt Butter
Butter can be melted in a small saucepan on the stove (use medium-low heat), but we think the microwave is easier.
Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces. Place butter in microwave-safe bowl.
Place bowl in microwave and cover bowl with small plate. Use 50 percent power to heat butter until melted, 30 to 60 seconds (longer if melting a lot of butter). Watch butter and stop microwave as soon as butter has melted. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave.
How to Crack and Separate Eggs
Follow these three easy steps to crack eggs and separate the egg white from the egg yolk:
Gently hit side of egg against flat surface of counter or cutting board.
Pull shell apart into 2 pieces over bowl. Let yolk and white drop into bowl. Discard shell
Use your hand to very gently transfer yolk to second bowl.
