Cinnamon Baked Donuts

I am not usually a fan of one trick ponys in the kitchen.  Take the cherry pitter, for instance.  All it does is pit cherries.  So, the story goes, I buy cherries, I remove the pits (painstaking) and THEN I remember, "doy, you have a cherry pitter!!!"  Annoying!  Well, for my birthday I asked for donut pans (another one trick pony) BUT this might be my favorite one trick pony EVER!!!!  Over the weekend I made these cinnamon baked donuts and oh my goodness it was hard to stop at two (yes, I said two.  I try to be real here.)  If you have money in your budget (or a birthday coming up) you should get these donut pans.  It will change your breakfast life (and your opinion of one trick ponys) forever!  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Baked Donuts (adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Foolproof" by Ina Garten)

For the donuts:

Cooking spray
2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 c. milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
2 t. vanilla extract

For the topping:

8 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

For the donuts:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray 2 donut pans well.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt (this can be done the night before.)  Add the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla and stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one about three quarters full (you will note in the picture that my donuts don't have holes all the way through.  That's because I filled my pans too full.)  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and remove the donuts from the pan onto a sheet tray.

For the topping:

Melt the 8 T. of butter in a skillet.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl (I used a pie plate.)  Dip one side of each donut in the cinnamon sugar and serve warm immediately with a cup o' joe!

Makes 12-16 donuts (226 calories each donut - if yield is 16) according to my calculator on loseit.com