A Super Tuesday Treat

Price and I had an interesting time finding our new polling place to cast our votes today. You basically have to walk down a back alley behind a school yard to find the building; and, in typical Massachusetts fashion, there were no helpful signs along the way. Just a bunch of old folks inside drinking cold, black Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Fun times, especially when you are taking a sick day like poor, pitiful me. That's right, I gotta nasty cold. And Price had jury duty today! We're such an exciting pair. He was very lucky to not be chosen and all 5 cases that were in court today settled, so no jurors were needed. He's set for the next 3 years. My turn comes this May, oh goodie.

So, to make myself feel slightly better tonight, I thought I'd share my delicious recipe find for Donut Muffins. I'm not taking full credit on this one, the recipe comes from The Boston Globe. Price has been known to take down his share of donuts, so these were an immediate "must-bake." They are wicked simple to make and my favorite part is their texture - very light and airy. I definitely recommend rolling the entire muffin in the sugar mixture at the end. I used to just brush the tops, but they are even more donut-like if you get that sugar all over.

Enjoy!

2	cups flour
1/2	cup sugar
1	tablespoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	egg
3/4	cup corn oil
3/4	cup buttermilk
1/4	cup sour cream

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin; set it aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt just to blend them.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, buttermilk, and sour cream. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, stir until the mixture is combined.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each indentation right up to the top.

5. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until they are firm and golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

COATING

4	tablespoons butter
1/2	cup sugar
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter.

2. In a large shallow bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Stir well.

3. While the muffins are still hot, turn them out of the tin. Brush each muffin with melted butter. Roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Adapted from the Market Basket

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.