Doughnut Muffins

Doughnut Muffins
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup evaporated (or fresh) milk
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon  salt
3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

2 cups grated apple

Topping:
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
In a separate small bowl, mix the milk and yogurt. 
Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 cup of the flour to the butter mixture. Stir in half of the milk and yogurt mixture, followed by another cup of flour, the other half of the milk and yogurt mixture, and the remaining cup of flour. Stir in the apple.
Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm muffin tops into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

These doughnut muffins get their name from the cinnamon sugar coating they are rolled in after being dipped in butter. They are certainly much healthier than doughnuts,as they are baked, not deep fried. They also contain yogurt, which contributes to their moistness. These doughnut muffins are made with grated apple, probably not a very common doughnut choice, but it adds a nice flavor to the muffins. Chocolate or plain or Boston cream muffins might be more reminiscent of doughnuts, especially with a nice glaze and lots of sprinkles! I did not use all of the sugar called for in the topping, I actually only used about half a cup. Then again, I didn't remove the wrappers from my muffins and roll the entire muffin in butter and then cinnamon sugar, I just coated the tops of the muffins. To do this, you need to make sure the muffins are big enough and high enough to coat. I got 18 muffins even though the recipe yields only 12, and they rose nice and high and had a uniform round shape. Coating the entire muffin isn't necessary, but will make the muffins taste more like doughnuts (and will make their sugar and fat contents more similar to that of doughnuts as well).