In 1938, The Salvation Army decided to honour those who served doughnuts to soldiers during the First World War.
National Doughnut Day then began on June 6th and continues today as your best bet for something free and scrumptious.
Contemporary spins on these confections include the doughnut hole, sugary spheres that a certain national coffee chain sells in paper boxes that fit nicely on a car seat.
Road trip season starts about now so why not cook up your own batch?
Cinnamon Sugar Breakfast Puffs
( adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
What you need:
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
a pinch of cloves
a pinch of ground ginger
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
for topping:
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
What you do:
- Heat the butter in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until browned with a fragrant, nutty smell. Pour into mixing bowl and allow to cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and lightly flour a 12 cup muffin tin.
- Add sugar and egg to cooled butter and beat in a mixer until creamed together.
- In another bowl, combine flour, spices, salt and zest.
- Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with milk, beating well after each addition
- Divide batter into muffin tin. Bake until golden brown, about 20/25 minutes.
- Put the melted butter in a shallow bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.
- One by one, spear each puff in the bottom with a fork and dunk it into the butter, rolling it around so it is completely covered, then roll in cinnamon sugar.
Transfer to serving platter, or your own road trip snack pack, and continue until you have rolled all the puffs.
These are best served warm with coffee on a deck, dock or somewhere on the 401, with the windows down, summer just ahead.
For more on those free doughnuts you might want to score today, see here.
For more baking ideas, see here. Better yet, subscribe to my weekly newsletter to receive a delicious recipe right to your inbox.
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