Mini Doughnut Muffins

Dieters, avert your gaze.

I shouldn’t have done it. I need these muffins like I need another 10 pounds on my thighs. But in a moment of motherly guilt, I made a rash promise to E. to make “donut holes,” and she was with me when I bought the mini muffin pan, so I couldn’t back out. Yesterday, when she had a friend sleeping over, seemed like the perfect time to live up to my promise. After all, the girls would eat most of them. And I could control myself around the rest. Right?

Wrong! Of course I had to test them to see how the recipe tasted…and then again, to make sure. And just one more to consider what I might change. Though they’re tiny, the three I ate were still too many for my conscience and my waistline. But they were delicious…tender, moist, lightly sweet, glistening with sugary glaze. I’d better stop thinking about them before I grab one of the ones reserved for E. and her friend’s breakfast!

I made three varieties: glazed, glazed with sprinkles, and maple-glazed. I wish I’d made cinnamon sugar ones, but then I would have eaten more than three! E. liked the maple-glazed ones best, and I had to agree with her.

I’m sorry to say that they weren’t fat-free, weren’t made with whole wheat (or gluten-free) flour, and weren’t low in sugar. And I’m even sorrier to say that I won’t be giving you the recipe today. I still have some tweaking to do, and then—it pains me to say this—I’m going to save the recipe for the cookbook. I know, I know—I feel like slapping myself as I write that! But I do promise that once I perfect the recipe, it will be as close to the taste of doughnuts as you can get in a muffin. And, of course, I’ll provide a fat-free version.

If all this talk has left you with doughnut muffin cravings, there are some options open to you. This article and recipe, found via a post at Orangette, were the basis for my veganized, lower-fat goodies. But if you’re looking for already veganized decadence, go immediately to Vegan YumYum’s Mini Baked Donuts (some with chocolate coating!) But again, dieters avert your eyes. I swear you can gain weight just from looking at the photos!