Every have something in your mind that you want but feel that you shouldn't have? I have been craving doughnuts something fierce these past few days, but really, do I need another deep fried doughnut on my hips. Sadly, no. So, I have been denying myself. Denial is not always a good thing. I have been snacking around my desire for a jelly doughnut, sigh.
As luck would have it, quite serendipitously (I just love that word, serendipitously), I found a recipe on Recipezaar for jelly doughnut cupcakes. Now, you'll note that the original recipe calls these a cupcake. I think they are more of a muffin because they tend to be a tad heavy (in my opinion) for a cupcake, but what's in a name.
Cupcakes...muffins...These are very good! No, they are not like deep-fried doughnuts, being a bit heavier but still cake-like, but they are good. Ole Sweetie-Pi immediately fell in love with these, and declared that the muffins would be terrific even without the jam. Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to say that because it was the sweetness of the jam that I wanted, but the muffin by itself is sweet and delicious.
These little ruby-eyed treats are a keeper in our house. The recipe makes only six muffins (cupcakes), perfect for the two of us.
Jelly-Filled Doughnut-Muffins
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest**
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Good quality red jelly (any flavor), slightly warmed**
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 6-8 cups of a cupcake/muffin pan.
In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar, and cream until light and fluffy
Add the vanilla, egg, zest, and milk; beat well
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the batter is light and fluffy.
Fill each cupcake cup about two-thirds full.
Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Using a small paring knife, cut a core-shaped divot from the center of the muffin, being careful not to go all the way to the bottom. Spoon slightly warmed jelly into the cavity. Sprinkle sifted confectioners' sugar over the tops.
**I didn't have any lemon zest, so I just added a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice; seemed to work just fine.
**The original recipe doesn't state to, but I warmed the raspberry jam I was using for in the microwave. The heat lightly melts the jam, making it much easier to spoon.
