Memorial Day weekend has come and gone with its usual mix of solemn reflection and gleeful celebration. The unofficial start to the summer season. Not really summer yet. Schools are still in session. Summer cottages are being aired out, but most won’t be open for the season full time for another couple of weeks. But if the crowds pouring over the bridges were any indication, there was a lot of pent up need to get things started.

And then there’s the food of summer. Lobster pots hauled out from their winter resting places. Grills fired up for the start of hot dog and hamburger season. And we added something new this year: baked doughnuts. Thanks to a great recipe ( Muffin Tin Doughnuts ) from America’s Test Kitchen, a new Memorial Day Weekend tradition has been born.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg ( I used cinnamon)
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick of butter, melted (they used unsalted; I used salted)
2 large eggs plus one large yolk
For the coating:
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon ( I used 1 tsp.)
stick of butter, melted ( I used a half stick)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400; butter a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, corn starch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs and extra yolk together.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients come together.
5. Divide the mixture into a 12 cup muffin tin. I used a standard sized ice cream scoop.
6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. They recommend turning the muffin tin half way through the process, and I did that. Doughnuts should be lightly browned, and a tester should come out clean.
7. Remove to a wire rack and let rest in the muffin tin for 5 minutes.
8. Remove the doughnuts from the pan. You’ll need to put the coating on one at a time.
9. Whisk the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Melt the butter in another container.
10. Brush the melted butter on a doughnut and roll it in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and put it on a wire rack to cool. Repeat 12 times.

These were met with rave reviews!