Cinnamon Sugar Baked Doughnuts

     Happy National Doughnut Day everyone! Now I'm not the biggest doughnut fan in the world because I don't care for most deep-fried foods. However, I love me some fluffy cake doughnuts. Baking them is of course a little healthier than frying them, and who wouldn't welcome an excuse to have cake for breakfast? With just a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top, these mini doughnuts are a perfect morning treat without too much guilt attached. You can make them in any size, depending on what type of pans you have. If you have mini or full-sized doughnut pans, great! If not, use a mini muffin pan to make them into doughnut holes. I don't have an actual doughnut pan, so instead, I used what I think is a pan intended to make mini bundt cakes, which worked just fine.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour

For topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and spray your doughnut pans. Here's what mine looks like:

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the soft butter with the 1/2 cup of sugar. Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla and continue to mix.

3. Add the baking powder and salt. Then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

4. Once everything is mixed well, spoon the batter into a piping bag or make your own by cutting off the corner of a ziplock bag. Then, carefully fill the pan. Only go 3/4 of the way full for each doughnut because they will rise.

5. Depending on the size of your doughnuts, bake them for 9-14 minutes. When they're done, they should spring back like a cake.

6. While the doughnuts are baking, melt the other 1/2 stick of butter in a shallow dish and mix the cinnamon and sugar for the topping in another bowl.

7. Take the doughnut pan out of the oven and let it sit for a minute or two. Then, flip it upside-down to remove them. You may have a couple casualties.

8. Let these cool for another 2-3 minutes. Then, while they're still warm, dip the top of each into the meted butter, then the cinnamon sugar.

Once again, I wish you a happy doughnut day! And come back tomorrow for a really fun chicken recipe!