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Old Fashioned Donut Muffins – these easy to make treats have a big vanilla flavor, a moist, fluffy crumb and a light glaze for a touch of added sweetness.
It’s no big secret that I love baked donuts. The chocolate cake donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts are my nemesis and like kryptonite to me. SO impossible to resist! However, I’m not so crazy about fried donuts (i.e. Krispy Kreme.) Deep fried donuts get a hard pass from me every time I’m offered one. I’m so grateful that there’s something in this world I don’t like to eat!
These old fashioned donut muffins remind me of a great cake donut complete with a sweet vanilla glaze. We’ve shared a few great recipes for homemade doughnuts over the years. One of my all-time favorites is these Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts covered in cinnamon and sugar. For the chocolate lover like me, try our Baked Chocolate Doughnuts with a simple glaze or rich chocolate icing. Yum!
We have a fool-proof recipe for sour cream donut muffins with beautiful domed tops.
This is an easy recipe with just two steps, and no mixer required. First combine the dry ingredients, then in a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. The two mixtures are combined and blended just until moistened. Use a heaping large ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin with batter then allow it to rest for 15 minutes before baking. If you don’t mess with the thick batter too much, and leave it in a mound, you’ll get beautiful domed tops every time!
Allow the donut muffins to cool a while before dipping in the glaze.
The muffins need to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before dipping in the glaze, but may be iced while slightly warm. If you’re not serving these immediately, the glaze will harden making the donut muffins easier to carry to their new home. You don’t have to share however, because these donut muffins will keep well for up to 3 days at room temperature. This recipe makes a dozen donut muffins, so probably enough to share, just saying.
The glaze should be thick enough to stay on top of the donut muffin, with minimal dripping down the sides.
Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a small, deep bowl. Dip the entire top of the muffin down into the glaze, taking care to stop just before the paper liner. Allow the excess glaze to drip back into the bowl then set the donut muffin upright on a cooling rack. If the glaze is the right consistency you’ll have just a few drips down the side. If there are a lot of runny drips, add a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to thicken it up. The glaze will harden after about 30 to 45 minutes.
Can you freeze these donut muffins?
Yes you can! I recommend freezing them before adding the glaze, however. Make sure they are fully thawed before dipping in the icing.
Try these variations and change it up!
- Skip the vanilla glaze and brush the muffin top with melted butter. Immediately dip or sprinkle the muffin with a mixture of cinnamon and coarse sugar. Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon with the dry ingredients for more cinnamon flavor.
- This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Substitute 1 teaspoon of almond extract for 1 teaspoon of vanilla and sprinkle sliced almonds on top. So good!
- You’re going to love this one – using a piping bag and small round decorating tip, fill the muffin with a teaspoon of your favorite jam. Instant jelly donut! If you don’t want to mess with a piping bag and tip, cut a cone shaped circle out of the top of the muffins. Fill with jam, then replace the cone on top. Use a knife to ice the top instead of dipping upside down.
- Add sprinkles to the glaze before it sets for a nice birthday or celebration treat.
- Mini chocolate chips work well in these muffins too! Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter, plus sprinkle a few on top of the muffins before baking. The addition of coarse sugar on top is very nice as well.
Can this recipe be used to make regular baked donuts in a doughnut pan?
Yes indeed! Scoop the batter into a piping bag or large ziplock baggie with a 1-inch hole cut in the corner. Pipe the batter into the doughnut pan wells and allow them to rest for 10-15 minutes. This recipe will make about 24 baked doughnuts instead of 12 donut muffins.
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Old-Fashioned Doughnut Muffins
Equipment
- 12-well muffin pan
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (298g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (173g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream (8-ounces)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (113g)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (156g)
- 2 ½ tablespoons milk or cream
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To prepare the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or cupcake liners with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Make a well in the center.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk the eggs until blended. Add the sour cream, melted butter and vanilla. Fold together with a spatula until blended. Pour the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture. Fold with the spatula until the dry ingredients are just moistened.
- Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin wells. I use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter taking care to leave it mounded so the muffins will have nice round tops. Set the unbaked muffins aside for 15-20 minutes before baking.
- Bake at 400°F for 16 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter. Cool the muffins in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. The muffins can be slightly warm when glazed.
To prepare the glaze:
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients and place in a small deep bowl. Dip the tops of the muffins into glaze, covering the muffin top completely. Allow the glaze to dry until just set. This won’t take long.
Recipe Notes
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Muffins can be frozen before adding the glaze. Thaw completely before applying the icing.
- OPTIONAL: Omit the glaze and brush the tops of the muffins with melted butter then sprinkle or dip the tops into a mixture cinnamon and sugar.
Nutrition
Here are a few more recipes you might also enjoy:
Chocolate Muffins
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Classic Blueberry Muffins
Thanks so much for stopping by! Tricia
Carol
Wonderful light option for our mid morning (or anytime) treat with either coffee or tea! These were so fast and easy to make -our grandkids will love them on their next visit!
Tricia Buice
❤️ Thank you Carol! My grands love these and I hope yours do as well. (Throw some mini-chocolate chips in the mix and watch their eyes light up!)
Lyshe Windy
This is superb! Thanks for sharing! I love the texture! I think this will become my go-to muffin recipe from now on. I swap the sour cream with Greek yogurt because I have it in the fridge. I was surprised when the batter came out very thick but it worked amazingly. I agree that the muffin is a bit bland by itself but I thought that makes them very versatile to any topping you put on.
I tried to recreate different doughnut flavors, melted chocolate, birthday cake, cinnamon sugar and PBJ. They’re all delish!
Tricia Buice
I love your variations Lyshe. They all sound fantastic. Thanks for making them and for commenting.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Lyshe! I’m thrilled you enjoyed this recipe. And I love your variations. I’m going to have to try some of these. Bravo!
Dan Coudret
These are amazing! Followed your instructions and they came out of the oven perfect. Thank you!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Dan. I’m so happy you enjoyed these muffins. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Heather
Amazing! Just made these this afternoon and they are so delicious! Thank you for the recipe ♡ I will be making these again for sure!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Heather! So glad you enjoyed these muffins. We appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Carol
Omg, so good. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again. Very soft and the glaze is just enough to give it a little sweetness. This one’s been added to my recipe list. Thank you
Tricia Buice
Thanks Carol! Not too sweet and so yummy. Thanks again 🙂
Ali
Such a great idea, but the flavor was quite bland, and the texture was very dense and dry. Other than subbing Greek yogurt for the sour cream, I followed the recipe exactly and am an experienced baker, so I don’t think it was user error. 😉 As another commenter experienced, my batter was VERY thick, more like a ball of dough. I think the recipe calls for too much flour. 😬 After glazing and tasting one, I added some orange extract to the icing to try and add some flavor, and it helped a bit! I think the batter/dough could also use some additional flavor.
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but wanted to share the feedback in case it’s helpful! 🙂
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback Ali. I think the Greek yogurt is where you went wrong. Sour cream usually has more fat than Greek yogurt so this may have made the muffins dry. The batter is supposed to be very thick and scoopable. I’ve worked with variations of this dough for years and know it works well. Perhaps you added too much flour? The orange extract sounds good in the glaze. That’s a lovely idea! If you used 1 tablespoon of good vanilla in the muffins they should have had a subtle vanilla flavor, but I understand if that’s not your thing. Also, is it possible you over-baked the muffins causing them to be dry? Sorry you had trouble but thanks again for the feedback!
Rhonda
I hate to burst your bubble, but Dunkin cake donuts are deep fried, just like their raised donuts. I’m certain your recipe is way better than Dunkin’s mass produced, factory made donuts that are shipped to their stores from commissaries. They just never seem fresh. Looking forward to trying your recipe soon, but need to finish eating that Blackberry Breakfast Cake from your blog first! So many nice looking recipes of yours I’d like to try.
Tricia Buice
Haha – thanks Rhonda
Marihah
Is there a freeze and bake option for this batter?
Tricia Buice
Hi Marihah. I haven’t tried freezing the batter and then baking. However, these muffins are great frozen, then thawed.
Rosa
Soooo, the batter was a huge ball of dough?!?! I went step by step and it was a ball of dough?
Tricia Buice
Hi Rosa. Sounds like you added to much flour. The dough is thick but maybe not that much. Did you bake the muffins? How did they turn out?
Jennie
Beautiful domed, light , scrumptious delights. I always follow your instructions as closely as I can and the benefit is successful and delicious recipes for my family and friends. Thank you for sharing another winner!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Jennie! So glad you tried these muffins. We adore the simple, but delicious flavor. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for trying the recipe.
Jane Owen
Loved this recipe. Simple to make and tasted delicious. Only thing is I don’t know how to post my review on the actual site. It tells me to add the photo but it’s not showing up. I’m new at this so maybe I’m doing something wrong. Fabulous recipe though. I will make this again.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jane! Not sure where you are trying to load a photo – perhaps on Pinterest?
Judy Millner
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I just baked these this afternoon, and they are so good! I appreciate you.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Judy! I love all the vanilla flavor and that moist crumb. Such a treat 🙂
Christina
Can I omit the sour cream? Do I need to replace it with something else?
Tricia Buice
Hi Christina. You can substitute whole milk, ricotta cheese or whole fat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. However, you do need something to replace the sour cream. Enjoy!
Chris Scheuer
Tricia, these muffins look beyond delicious. I’m certain they would disappear in the blink of an eye around here. That icing!!!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Chris!
Liz
I made a mini version years ago—pre-blog, I think. But your glazed muffins look even better. I know my family will love them!
Tricia Buice
I like the idea of a mini muffin version of these. But they would be too easy to pop in my mouth – haha. Thanks Liz!
Pam
Woo hoo, I need one or three now!! They look delicious, Tricia! Bill just saw them and started drooling. Great recipe and I want to try it soon! Thanks! Take care
Tricia Buice
Such a treat Pam – hope you get the chance to make them soon!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
So pretty and you can never go wrong with “donut” anything, in my opinion 🙂 Loving that glaze, too!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jennifer – we’re on the same page 🙂