Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins

I saw a show on Food Network last night called, The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  The owner of Sprinkles said she had these muffins somewhere that were coated in cinnamon-sugar and it was the best thing she has ever eaten.  It even inspired her to make a cupcake version at her bakery.  Well, it sounded pretty darn good to me too, so I decided to give it a shot.  I used a basic muffin recipe and threw in a little cinnamon and buttermilk, and here is the very tasty result.  I always keep a jar of cinnamon-sugar in my pantry because I love cinnamon-sugar toast and my family loves to put this mixture on top of their French toast instead of syrup.  So I figured this would be a hit.  And it was!

The muffins are dipped in melted butter and then rolled into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, so you have that awesome salty (from the butter) and sweet combination. These muffins are very moist and tender to begin with, but with the addition of that crunchy little coating, they are taken to a whole other level.  Love!

Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cinnamon sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, whisk together, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla
Add the wet mixture to the dry and with a spoon, gently mix until it all the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix as this will make the muffins tough.
Divide the muffins among the muffin cups (I made 12 muffins with this)
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the larger muffins comes out clean.
Let it cool for 2-3 minutes and remove them to a wire rack to cool further.
When the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip them into the butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set on a plate.  Cover the entire muffin.  Repeat until all of your muffins are coated.