Blueberry Donut Muffins

Every time we go on vacation, a box of Franz blueberry donuts makes its way into the grocery cart and ultimately to the breakfast table. I can’t remember when the tradition started, but for years now, anytime we leave town, the box of donuts inevitably appears. Are there (much) better donut options out there? Yes, absolutely. Are the blueberry donuts somehow criminally good and oddly nostalgic? Also, yes.

My family and I picked about 10 gallons worth of fresh blueberries last week, and with that much goodness to enjoy, a sweet treat was very much the next order of business. If you haven’t had a chance to pick blueberries yet this summer, get yourself over to Cowiche Creek Blueberries on Naches Heights. They have a plethora of berries still ripe for picking, but time is running out, so get yourself out there this week.

With those blueberry donuts in mind, I set out to make a blueberry muffin that sort of reminded me of a donut. Flipping through a few cookbooks and magazines, I stumbled across a muffin recipe where you dip the baked muffin in melted butter and roll it in sugar. That was all the inspiration I needed to head for the kitchen.

These donut muffins bridge the gap between a traditional muffin and a donut. Scooped into a muffin tin, the not-too-sweet dough bakes up light and fluffy like a muffin. But, rolled in sugar while still warm? Suddenly these muffins are very donut like and over the top sweet and flavorful; a ten out of ten.

My kids inhaled the entire batch of muffins in about a day and a half and requests have been made to make another batch. I could see dicing up peaches or apples to use instead of the blueberries as summer gives way to fall. Whatever fruit you decide to use, you can’t go wrong with these tender donut muffins. Enjoy!

Blueberry Donut Muffins

• 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons salted butter, divided

• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided

• 1 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• Pinch of nutmeg

• 1 cup fresh blueberries

• Zest of a lemon, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside (you are going to roll the muffins in sugar at the end, so you don’t need liners for this recipe).

Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a small glass dish in the microwave. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, greek yogurt, vegetable oil, honey, granulated sugar, zest of half a lemon and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pinch of nutmeg. Stir to combine and then add half the flour to the wet ingredients. Gently stir to start combining, add the 1/2 cup buttermilk and the rest of the flour mixture. Stir just until a batter forms. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins, about three fourths of the way full. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about five minutes. While the muffins cool, melt the remaining 1/2 cup butter in a shallow bowl. On a separate plate, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the rest of the lemon zest from the lemon.

Once the muffins are cool enough to handle (but still warm), dip the muffin in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar. Place on a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat until all the muffins are sugared. Recipe makes 16 to 18 muffins.