Pumpkin Spiced Mini Doughnut Muffin Hole Thingies

So it would seem as if every food blog you go to has these little balls of goodness. Even saw them on TV the other day being sold in a bakery somewhere. The popularity of them is both attracting and discouraging. I don’t really want to be like other blogs out there, but at the same time, man these things are addicting. So easy to make and easy to eat. I swear you’ll have like 2 or 3 balls in your mouth before you finish swallowing the first.

…Sorry, I’m laughing so hard at myself right now…

Anyway, what are these things? Muffins? Doughnut holes? Well, I think it depends. I did them a few ways and one way, I’d definitely call them doughnut holes, but in the other they’re closer to muffins. But for arguments sake, I’ll just refer to them as doughnut holes from now on.

No… Muffins.

Okay, doughnut holes..

Ugh, whatever.

Pumpkin Spiced Mini Doughnut Muffin Holes: (adapted from everywhere on the freaking blogosphere)

Batter:

              1 3/4 cup ~ Flour
       2 teaspoons ~ Baking Powder
     1/2 teaspoon ~ Salt
  1 1/4 teaspoon ~ Pumpkin Pie Spice
     3/4 teaspoon ~ Cinnamon
      1/2 teaspoon ~ Nutmeg, Freshly Grated
                 1/3 cup ~ Canola Oil
                 1/2 cup ~ Brown Sugar
                   1 each ~ Egg
 1 1/2 teaspoons ~ Vanilla Extract
                      1 cup ~ Pumpkin Puree, canned
                  1/2 cup ~ Milk

For Doughnut Holes:

                1/4 cup ~ Butter, unsalted, melted
       1/3 – 1/2 cup ~ Sugar
  1 1/2 teaspoons ~ Cinnamon
      3/4 teaspoon ~ Pumpkin Pie Spice
       1/8 teaspoon ~ Nutmeg, Freshly Grated

For Mini Muffins:

              4 ounces ~ Cream Cheese, room temperature
                         1/2 ~ egg, beaten
                     1 cup ~ Powdered Sugar
            1 teaspoon ~ Vanilla Extract

Notes:

• As you can see, I split the recipe. So basically, these are two different products. You don’t have to make both, it’s perfectly okay to make one and not the other without hurting my feelings too much. The sugared version is what tastes like doughnut holes and the cream cheese mixture makes it more of a muffin.
• Yes, muffin. You’ll be using your muffin pans again.
• The doughnut holes are freaking great, but thanks to the way the sugar is applied, they won’t keep well for more than a day or two. They’ll be fine for eating, but they’ll just be soggy and not as visually appealing, so it might be best if you make them the day of if they’re for a get together or something. You can make the muffins ahead of time and then apply the sugar when you’re going to have them.
• If you’re just making this for yourself then who cares what they look like or how soggy they are?! You’re still going to stuff your face with them, and don’t act like you’re not. I know what you do when no one is watching.
• I know half an egg sounds dumb, but you don’t need the whole thing.
• The cream cheese on the muffins is more tangy than sweet. It’s not there to overpower the muffin, it’s more of a compliment and another layer of flavor. Just so you know.

Let’s get some holes up in here:

• Turn on your oven to 325 and spray your mini muffin pan with some cooking spray.

• For the batter, take the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices and mix them together in one bowl. Take another bowl and add the oil, brown sugar, egg, extract, pumpkin puree and milk, and whisk that till it’s smooth. Once it’s smooth, add the dry mix to the wet mix and whisk till it’s combined and happy.

That’s it, the batter is done. If you’re only making the doughnut holes and you’re not making the muffins, skip the next step.

• For the muffins, take the room temperature cream cheese and…. seriously? You didn’t leave out the cream cheese again? I’m literally facepalming right now. I guess I can’t be too hard on you, as you can tell by my pic below, my cream cheese is a little runny and it’s probably because it’s been nuked. Take the room temperature or more than likely microwave softened cream cheese and add the egg, powdered sugar and vanilla, and mix till combined.Set aside.

Ok, break’s over, you can stop skipping steps now.

• For the main event, take the batter and spoon it into the muffin pan. I went up about 3/4 of the way and was alright. If you’re making muffins: top off batter with the cream cheese mixture. You don’t need a lot, just enough to cover the batter. Once done, put it in the oven for about 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. When they’re done, pop them out and set them to cool on a cooling rack.

At this point, the cream cheese topped muffins are done. So enjoy those. If you’re feeling really crazy, you can convert them into doughnut holes, but I personally like the tangy cheesy aspect to the spice in the muffin with no sweetness involved.

But if you’re not into tangy cheesy stuff and need something sweet, let’s get the doughnut hole party ready:

• Get two small bowls. In one bowl, add the butter and melt it completely. In the other bowl, add the sugar and spices and mix till well combined.

Now, I hope you’re ready to get Paula Deen crazy…

• Once the muffins are cooled, take a few and dunk them in the melted butter. Oooooooooooh yeah, ya’ll. When they’re nice and coated with butter, roll them around in the sugar. When they’re nice and coated in the sugar, try not to freaking eat them all.

And there you go. You’ve just made quite the addicting dessert, perfect for a brisk fall day. And in case you’re wondering, these go absolutely perfect with your pumpkin spiced latte.

Mmmm… Pumpkin spiced latte….