Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

These muffins are actually a FAIL. Well, a fail as donuts. I tried making them in my donut pan, but didn’t love the result. The next time I tried them, I put them in mini muffin pans, and … well, you can see how they are! Yum!

You can certainly make LESS muffins (but why on earth would you want to do that?) but these are so good for sharing, especially around the holidays.

I love to have baked goods hanging about for whenever people drop by. Granted, we live a fairly hermit lifestyle, but the intentions are good. Want to come over and drink coffee with me?

If you want ACTUAL donuts, try my mini baked donuts recipe. If you love Cinnamon Sugar, you’ll love these Pie Crust Cookies, too!

Step-by-step photos and instructions are below, but you can jump right to the recipe card if you wish!

• This is a great recipe for making a lot of muffins. They’re SO easy to make, and you’ll get around 48 mini muffins.
• Easy to make with kids (fun to eat, too!)
• Common ingredients. Nothing fancy, this recipe uses easily sourced ingredients.

I have included step-by-step photos and instructions, as well as tips and tricks in the post. If you’d rather skip all that, scoot right on down to the full recipe card located at the bottom of the post.

How to make Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

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This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. The full list of ingredients, quantities and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.

Get prepped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a mini muffin tin with paper liners.

Make the batter

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla extract.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients
4. Fold in until JUST combined.

Bake

1. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, about 2/3 full.
2. Bake for 15 minutes, until they spring back when lightly touched. Place on a rack to cool while you prepare the topping

For the topping

Add the melted butter to a small bowl. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. 

1. Dip each muffin first in the butter
2. Dip in the cinnamon sugar.

Kylee’s Notes & FAQs

When adding the wet mixture to the flour mixture, mix until JUST combined. Overmixing will result in tough muffins. No good at all.

Instead of just dipping the top of the muffin in the topping, you could dip the entire muffin in the topping. YUM! Just peel the linters off and dip. You could also not use muffin liners at all – just be sure to grease the muffin tin really well.

How to store doughnut muffins

Store in a covered container at room temperature. They’ll be good for about 2-3 days.

Freezing muffins

You can freeze these muffins for up to 3 months. I recommend not doing the butter/cinnamon sugar topping until the day you plan to eat them though.

Substitutions/Additions

You can sub white sugar for cane sugar (like I did in the pictures), if you prefer.

More muffin recipes to love:

• Raspberry Crumb Muffins. Delicate, vanilla-y muffins, with a buttery crumb topping, and a sweet jammy surprise inside, these won’t last long.
• Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins. Moist, fluffy, and loaded with chocolate chips, they feature perfect tall muffin tops for a delightful treat.
• Easy Applesauce Muffins. These muffins are great for lunchboxes, after-school snacks, or lazy weekend mornings.
• Fresh Cranberry Muffins. I love how easy these cranberry muffins are to make in just one bowl, so they’re perfect for busy mornings when you still want bakery vibes at home!

4.73 from 11 votes

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

Author Kylee Ayotte

Servings 48 mini muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

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A delicious little cross between a donut and a muffin – these Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins are sweet, fluffy and… Perfect with coffee!

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ pinch nutmeg
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup milk
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter melted
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:

• ▢ 1 stick butter melted
• ▢ 1 cup white sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

Get prepared

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners.

Make the batter

• Mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in one bowl.

   
• In another bowl, whisk together 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
• Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and fold in until JUST combined.

Bake

• Spoon the batter into the muffin tin wells, about 2/3 full.
• Bake for 15 minutes, until they spring back when lightly touched.
• Place on a rack to cool while you prepare the topping.

For the topping

• Add 1 stick butter (melted) to a small bowl.
• Mix together 1 cup white sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a another bowl. 
• Dip each muffin first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar.
• Devour.

Notes

Note: I used MyFitnessPal to calculate the nutrition. I may use different products than you, so please be aware of that if you are on a specific diet.

⭐️ Don’t Forget! I love to hear how this turned out for you! Share your thoughts by leaving a review and rating below.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 60kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Did you make this recipe?

Make sure to follow @kyleecooks on Instagram for more and tag me #kyleecooks so I can see!

Update: This recipe was originally published in May of 2017. It was republished with updated photos in March of 2026.

About Kylee Ayotte

I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Meet Kylee