Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I'm a girl that knows her doughnuts.  Trust me.  I've literally have been making them since birth.

No seriously.  Every year for Christmas, my family always made doughnuts and left those out for Santa instead of the traditional sugar cookies.  (Yes, I'm fully aware that it's not even Thanksgiving yet- no worries, this isn't a Christmas post).  The point is that I'm well versed in how labor-intensive making doughnuts can be.  I'm fully aware in how finicky the dough can be.  How much hassle it is to roll it out.  Then you have to deal with the deep fryer.  Making doughnuts is no easy task.

So what if I told you that they could be?  And, what if I told you that they didn't have to be fried? And what if I told you that you get to cover them in butter and cinnamon sugar? You game?

Awesome- because so are these doughnuts.  Dough that won't attack your hands.  You don't have to worry about ruining clothes because they got splattered in oil.  And they make all your co-workers your best friends. Cubical monkeys LOVE their doughnuts.

Adapted from this recipe

What You'll Need:

For the Doughnuts

• 3/4 cups Warm Milk, divided
• 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) Dry Active Yeast
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp Sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp Butter, melted
• 1 Egg
• 2 1/2 cups AP Flour
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Salt

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• 1/4 cup Butter, Melted
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon

What To Do:

1. Combine 1/4 cup of warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tbsp of Sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until frothy.  Add remaining milk and sugar plus the butter and mix with paddle attachment to incorporate.  Mix in egg.  Add flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.  Mix until combined then switch to dough hook.  
2. Knead dough until it becomes smooth.  Add more flour if dough is too wet until it is no longer sticky.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for roughly 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.
3. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and cut doughnuts until a doughnut cutter or 2 biscuit cutters. I got 12 doughnuts out of mine.  You can collect the scraps and roll it out again, but I think this makes the doughnuts too tough.  Place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and cover with a towel. Allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375F.  (You could fry these if you wanted to, but I baked them.  Recommend setting your fryer to 350 and cook for 3-4 minutes. You'll have to flip them half way through).  Bake for 9 minutes.  Then switch to your broiler and broil for about a minute to get the tops golden brown.
5. While the doughnuts bake, melt your butter in a shallow bowl and combine your sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Once the doughnut cool a little bit, dip in the butter and then the cinnamon sugar mix.  Best if devoured the same day.