#2,012: Pumpkin Cake Muffins (or Doughnuts)

I had a bag of self-rising flour that I wanted to try and use up, so when I found this recipe for pumpkin muffins, I knew they would be perfect to make for breakfast for my kids this time of year.  The original recipe is for pumpkin doughnuts, but I don't have a doughnut pan.  Thankfully, the recipe said to just bake them in muffin tins instead.  So I got 48 mini muffins out of this recipe instead of the dougnuts.  I think I need to ask for doughnut pans for Christmas!  I let my kids try these for dessert tonight, and they loved them!  They are very excited for breakfast tomorrow.  :)

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of sugar, which, in my opinion is WAY too much.  So I cut that back to 2/3 cup of sugar which was still plenty!  They aren't overly sweet, but sweet enough for my kids to enjoy them. 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I only used 2/3 cup)

1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (I used a 15 oz of canned pumpkin)

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups self-rising flour

COATING

3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, and salt until smooth.

Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well.

If you're making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

Bake the doughnuts for about 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you're making muffins, they'll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.  (My mini muffins needed about 16 minutes to fully bake).

Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

(The faster you do this step, the more coated with cinnamon-sugar it will be.  I let them cool for 3 minutes, and the cinnamon-sugar just barely coated them...I preferred that though).  While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.

Cool completely, and store (not wrapped tight) at room temperature for several days.

Yield: 12 doughnuts or 15 muffins (or 48 mini muffins).

NOTE: 

Don't wrap leftover doughnuts tightly in plastic; they'll become soggy. If you're not going to consume all of the doughnuts at one sitting, add the final coating of cinnamon-sugar only to those you'll eat; store the rest, without their sugar, on a plate covered with a cake cover; or in a plastic bag that's not fastened shut. Add cinnamon-sugar coating just before serving.