I made these muffins the week before Christmas when we had some eggnog in the house. They were delicious and the boys loved them. The things I like best about these muffins are their nutmeg flavor and the fact that they’re covered in powdered sugar just like a doughnut. These are perfect to serve on Christmas morning because you can make the batter the night before and throw them into the oven as soon as you get up in the morning. I do love recipes that you can make ahead of time.

Eggnog Doughnut Muffins
Recipe from The Kitchn

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole-fat eggnog

For the topping:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the sugar and beat until light, fluffy, and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth.

Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and use a stiff spatula for these next steps. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the bowl and mix until just barely combined. Mix in 1/3 of the eggnog until the batter smooths out again. Continue adding the flour mixture and the eggnog alternately, ending with the last quarter of the flour mixture. At this point, the batter will be fairly thick. Try not to over-mix, but make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Divide the batter between the muffin tins, filling each one almost to the top. Bake until the muffins have puffed up, are starting to brown around the edges, and a cake tester comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack.

When the muffins are cool enough to handle but still warm, melt the butter in a microwave-safe dish (or on the stovetop) and use a pastry brush to paint the tops of the muffins with butter (alternatively, you can dip the tops in the butter if you don’t have a brush; I find it less messy to use a brush). Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and dip the tops of each muffin in the sugar. When done, dip each muffin in the powdered sugar a second time.

Muffins are best when fresh from the oven, but are still good over the next day or two.

Yield: 12 muffins

One year ago: Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Muffins
Two years ago: Baked Ziti with Tomato, Mozzarella and Sausage
Three years ago: Rosemary Parmesan Coins
Four years ago: Mashed Yellow Turnips with Crispy Shallots
Five years ago: Big Dutch Baby