One of my favorite types of donuts are old fashioned donuts. They are dense and moist, which is what I prefer. I’ve never been a huge fan of raised donuts because I feel like I am eating sweet air that still adds inches to my rear end. If I’m going to indulge, I want to feel like I actually ate something.
These doughnut muffins look and taste just like their name sake, especially with their crinkly tops and the thick glaze. With the cinnamon and nutmeg, they make a great fall muffin too. I think next time, I will even try adding a cup of diced apple to them to make them even more perfect for the fall. However, that would require me to rename them “Apple Fritter Donut Muffins” instead….
Old Fashioned Donut Muffin Video
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Old Fashioned Donut Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you love an Old Fashioned Donut, you will adore these muffins. This recipe turns out perfectly dense and rich every time and is an easy breakfast muffin recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 C butter, room temperature
- 1/3 C vegetable oil
- 1/2 C white sugar
- 1/3 C brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 C flour
- 1 C milk
Glaze
-
2 Tb butter, melted
-
1 C powdered sugar
-
3/4 tsp vanilla
-
2 Tb hot water
Instructions
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 259
- Sugar: 34 g
- Sodium: 255 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 47 mg
Keywords: easy muffin recipes
Step by Step Directions for Old Fashioned Donut Muffins
Cara Jones says
Andrew was looking at this with me, drooling over the though of donut muffins. I think we will make them soon!!!
Angela Garcia says
Awesome! My husband and boys are in the kitchen as I type! This is perfect for today, thanks!!!
And I’m with your Dad on this, sharing donuts is way better. 🙂
Anonymous says
Hiya! I made your donut muffins yesterday and they were delightful! Thanks for sharing!
Liz says
I just tried out this recipe; they are so good! I made two substitutions (whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil) and they still turned out great! Thank you for sharing – I had been looking for an old fashioned donut recipe, and this muffin is a really cool (and easier!) option!
Carole says
Thanks so much Liz for letting me know and I love your healthy substitutions! -Carole
Brooke says
Did you use the exact same amount of coconut oil as the vegetable oil? Also, did you melt the coconut oil first?
Shelby says
I just made these muffins and my entire family adored them! I will definitely be making these again! 🙂
Carole says
You just made my morning Shelby 🙂
Kayla says
Salted or unsalted butter? CANT WAIT TO TRY THIS.
Carole says
I used salted butter Kayla!
Hope Marks says
To me there was a bit too much nutmeg and too much vanilla in the icing.
I also used a darker pan when baking and had to turn the heat down to 325 so I didn’t completely smoke out my house.
I might try to reduce the nutmeg and vanilla my second time around.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Carole says
Hey Hope! Thanks so much for sharing your experience and recommendations 🙂
Mackenzie says
What temperature and how long should they cook for mini muffins?
Carole says
Hey Mackenzie! I’ve never made this recipe as mini muffins so I don’t know for sure. I would reduce the heat by 25 degrees and I’d start checking them at 10 minutes. You can tell they are done when you touch the top and they spring back.
Jessie says
These muffins are getting rave reviews in my household! I only used 1/3 of a teaspoon of nutmeg and about half the glaze. Baked for 19 mins and they were perfect.
Thank you for sharing this! It was a nice departure from my regular baking, and everyone’s tips in the comments were helpful.
★★★★★
Carole says
Thank you so much Jessie for coming back and letting us know how they worked out for you!
Dee Anne says
Any suggestions for making these Gluten free?
Carole says
Hi Dee Anne! You can try using a gluten free flour mix in place but I know the texture will be different. I’ve only ever done a few gluten free baking recipes.
dayla stapleton says
what is the best say to store them? how long can they last out?
Carole says
Hey Dayla! You want to store them in an airtight container. They will be best within the first couple days.
Kerri Cowie says
Hi there,
I just wanted to say thank you for this amazing recipe. I made it last night and both of my boys enjoyed it. My oldest son said it was better than any donut he’s ever tasted and would prefer the muffins over the donuts. HUGE compliment!
Again thank you,
Kerri – Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Carole says
I’m so glad Kerri! They are definitely a favorite with my kiddos as well. Btw, thanks for sharing your location 🙂 I had a great friend in college that was from Lethbridge and brought back some great memories for me.
Cassie says
Hi there can’t wait to try them however maybe I’m missing it lol but it says Both sugars I see the brown sugar amount but how much of the other sugar?
Carole says
Howdy Cassie! Thanks for your question. In the recipe, it lists amounts for both the brown sugar and the white sugar. There is a powdered sugar listed, but that is under the recipe for the glaze.
Monica says
These were absolutely delicious! I did reduce the amount of nutmeg because I have made a cobbler before with nutmeg and it was an overpowering taste, so I reduced it. But they came out perfectly! I doubled the recipe and only used one and one quarter teaspoon of nutmeg put a little more cinnamon than called for Kama because I like the taste of cinnamon. A lot. These were absolutely grand. I made minis and regular sized muffins. The minis wee perfect at 10 minutes @400 degrees. I forgot to time my regular sized muffins but the Sprint top a perfect indicator. They were browned around the edges but perfect and soft on the inside. I think i made my icing too thin at first but still dipped them twice. I thickened it up as i ran out with more icing sugar and milk this time plus vanilla. That way allowed me to do one dip (i was in a rush). I liked the original icing better, but when you lack time all sugar is sugar!
The recipe is great as is. I think the nutmeg amount may depend on your tolerance for that strong nutty flavor.
Carole says
Thank you so much Monica for sharing your variations with us!
Jessica says
Hi,
I live in Colorado, Do you know what type of ajustments,if any, need to be made for high altitude?
Thanks
Carole says
Hey there Jessica! Unfortunately, I am from Minnesota and have no experience with higher altitude adjustments for baking. I’m sure a simple google search could help you there.
Mandy says
I have made these before, and they are DIVINE! I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing them, then dipping in glaze? I would love to make them for an event but I will be in a time crunch the morning of it. Thanks!
Carole says
Hey Mandy! I’ve never frozen them before, but like you mentioned, I would do it before glazing them.
Lily says
I would like to make 4 dozens. Can I quadruple the recipe or should I make 4 separate batches?
Carole says
For me, I never like to make more than a double batch when baking. Especially with muffins, it will require too much mixing to get that many ingredient incorporated and too much mixing with muffins makes them dense and hard.
Kim Tataru says
I was really excited to try these. They turned out a very nice consistency but I think they need more spice to taste like old fashioned donuts. I added pumpkin pie spice to the glaze and re-dipped.
★★★
Carole says
Glad you liked them Kim and I like the idea of the pumpkin pie spice in the glaze!
Sonya says
I’m going to try this recipe for our donut munch at church! It sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
Carole says
Awesome Sonya! I would love for you to come back and let me know how they turned out 🙂
Bess says
Trying these now!
I’m new to baking, so this may be a dumb question. But can you explain the reason for the wooden spoon/ rubber spatula? What significance does this bare on the recipe?
Carole says
Great question Bess! The wooden spoon is a stronger, heftier tool for beating the first ingredients. Now, when it comes time to add the flour and milk, you want to be more gentle and stir as little as possible to create a tender muffin, which is why you should switch to a rubber spatula.
Robin says
I made a test batch of mini’s the other day because I want to serve them at our safety meeting tomorrow. The flavore was great, but mine turned out dry, they weren’t tough just dry.. Any tips on them being moist?
★★★★★
Carole says
Thanks Robin! My only thought is that they may have over baked a bit since they were mini muffins. Try reducing the oven temp by 25 degrees and watch them closely.
stitchinsweetsue says
Used 2 1/2 teasp almond extract instead of vanilla, filled muffin liner nearly to top and they rose to a nice high dome, got 12 total from single batch. Glazed and sprinkled sliced almonds over top. Yes, dense like a donut, I liked that they didn’t crumble all apart like some muffins, but also tender, just as you promised. Delish, def make again. TY for recipe:)
Carole says
I like your variations Sue!
Emma P says
Would these still hold up the same with almond milk? It’s usually all I have in my fridge. Thanks!
Carole says
Hi Emma! Since I’ve never made them with almond milk, I can’t guarantee anything but I believe it would work fine.
Talia says
Tried the recipe tonight and they turned out amazing The flavors work well together. Just like mama use to make. The only issue was that they didnt rise like a dome. Any idea what went wrong?
Carole says
Hi Talia! It sounds like you over-mixed them. You want to gently mix the wet and dry together just until it is about 75% combined.
James says
I heard about a bakery that made cake donut madeleines. I’m thinking of trying this recipe with recipe with a madeleines pan. Wish me luck!
Carole says
Good luck James!
Sunny says
Just made these this morning, they are wonderful thanks for sharing , definitely a save.
Carole says
So glad you loved them Sunny!
ChrisS says
I’d like to add apples to the muffins. Would I have to make any adjustments to the recipe?
Carole says
Hi Chris! I would try adding some very small diced apples without changing anything first. Don’t go crazy because they do hold quite a bit of water and you could end up with heavy hockey pucks instead 🙂
Celeste Barta says
Thank you for the recipe, but when I clicked on print, at the bottom of the ingredients list flour as 5 1/2 cups and 2 cups of milk. I’m glad I went back to the recipe itself which gave the correct amounts. Thanks again Celeste b
Carole says
Thanks Celeste for letting me know about the glitch. I”ll look into it!
E.T. in Texas says
We love the deep fried, old fashioned buttermilk donut dunking sticks/bars. I’d like to try these to avoid frying, and was wondering if you thought replacing the milk with buttermilk would work okay?
Carole says
It would work ok but the buttermilk really does amazing things for both the flavor and the texture of the muffins.
Judy says
These were delicious! I needed to use up some buttermilk I has so used that. It required another 1/4 cup of buttermilk as it was too thick.
★★★★★
Carole says
Thanks Judy for coming back and sharing!
Kelly says
Hi, could I add cocoa powder to the recipe and how much if so?
Carole says
Hi Kelly! If you are looking to make a chocolate version, I would use a dutch processed cocoa powder. Having never tried it, I really can’t give you an exact amount.
Leslie says
Replace the 2/3 cup of flour with cocoa powder. It will work very well.
★★★★★
Carole says
Love this idea Leslie! Glad it worked well for you!
Roxanne says
Could you make these as 6 jumbo muffins instead of 6 regular or would they be too dry?
Carole says
Hi Roxanne! I think it would work. Obviously, you will need to extend the baking time.
Clarice says
I would like to try this recipe in a loaf pan..Any suggestions?
Carole says
Hi Clarice! It should work well in a loaf pan. I would reduce the oven temperature by 50 degrees and increase your bake time until the center springs back when lightly touched. Let me know how it goes!
Christine Hord says
This was a good recipe. I actually baked the muffins at 375 and they rose more and were less dense, I think next time I’m going to put a bit of maple syrup in the glaze and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
★★★★★
Carole says
I’m so glad Christine that you loved them and i love the idea of maple syrup and bacon!! Thank you for coming back and leaving a review because they help so much 🙂
Tracy Griffin says
I have a quick question! The recipe calls for regular milk, correct? I was a bit confused because in a comment it seemed like for response implied using buttermilk. Can you use buttermilk, instead? I have a lot that I need to use up! Thanks!
Carole says
Hi Tracy! Yes, you can absolutely use buttermilk! It will make for a bit more dense muffin with a bit of tang but I think it would be a delicious version. I hope you come back and leave a review once you give them a try!
Jacqueline Snow says
holy CRAP THESE TASTE AMAZING!! Best muffin recipe I’ve ever made and thankful for your tip about not over mixing because they turned out PERFECT! I used GF flour because my bf has celiac disease and we used almond milk instead of regular milk and everything worked just fine! I also added a bit of almond extract. YUM X100
★★★★★
Carole says
I’m so glad to hear it and thank you for coming back to leave a review!
Christine K says
Made these last weekend, and hubby LOVED them. So much so, he’s wanting to make them for Christmas dessert, but in a Bundt pan, any tips or suggestions on how to accomplish that?
★★★★★
Carole says
Hi Christine! I think it would work well in a bundt but since I haven’t made it that way, I can’t give you specifics as far as temperature and time.
Eva says
I baked this in a glass loaf pan that I buttered and floured first! 350 for about 55-60 minutes until a toothpick went in and came out clean. Amazing!
★★★★★
Carole says
Thanks so much Eva for coming back and leaving your review….as well as your option for baking it in a loaf pan 🙂
Marihah Shah says
Is there a freeze and bake option for the muffin batter?
Carole says
Hello Marihah! If it were me, I wouldn’t freeze the unbaked batter. They do freeze very well though. Bake them and let them cool. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and into the freezer until hard. Then into a freezer bag for 3 months. Freezing them individually keeps them from sticking together once in the bag.