Averie Cooks

Muffins:
-1 Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 12-count mini muffin pans with floured cooking spray; set aside.
-1 To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and hand mixer), combine egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed to cream ingredients until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-1 Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the buttermilk. Beat momentarily to incorporate.
-1 Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated; don’t overmix. Batter will be fairly thick.
-1 Using a spoon sprayed with cooking spray so the batter slides off easily, drop rounded tablespoons into prepared pans. Fill each cavity about 2/3 to 3/4-full. (I made 24 large-ish mini muffins and in order to keep the yield at an even 24 muffins, I recommend dividing batter equally among the 24 wells.)
-1 Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until muffins are domed with set centers, are springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. See Notes below regarding baking time.
-1 Allow muffins to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing. While the muffins cool, prepare the topping.
Topping:
-1 In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power; set aside.
-1 In a separate small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
-1 After the muffins have cooled, dip the top of each muffin briefly in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar, and repeat until all muffins have been coated. Optionally, the entire muffin could be buttered and coated similar to traditional cinnamon-sugar donut holes, and in doing so, you’ll need to melt more butter and use more cinnamon-sugar. Serve immediately.