Glazed Chocolate Potato Doughnut Muffins
In the season five Weekends with Yankee episode “Common Ground,” Amy heads to Sudbury, Massachusetts, to celebrate fall produce at Siena Farms with owner Chris Kurth and his wife, noted Boston chef Ana Sortun, who shows Amy how to prepare a fresh-from-the-garden meal. Back in the kitchen, Amy bakes up an inventive treat, Glazed Chocolate Potato Doughnut Muffins.
They’re modeled after chocolate potato doughnuts like the ones they serve at the Holy Donut in Portland, Maine. This Down East tradition makes good use of mashed spuds, folding them into the batter to make the doughnuts more tender and moist. Any leftover mashed potatoes will work well here, as long as they’re not drizzled in gravy.
To boost the “doughnuttiness” of these little cakes, you grease the wells of your muffin tin, then sprinkle in some sugar before adding the batter. It gives the exterior a bit of crunch without the mess and trouble of frying. Even better: You can serve these muffins for breakfast or dessert.
Watch Amy Traverso make Glazed Chocolate Potato Doughnut Muffins:
Yield:
12 muffinsFor the muffins:
Ingredients
6 tablespoons salted butter, softened, plus more for greasing muffin tin
Granulated sugar, for muffin tin
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup riced or mashed potatoes
2/3 cup buttermilk
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375° and set a rack to the middle position. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter, then sprinkle each well with granulated sugar. Tilt the muffin tin to fully coat with the sugar, then pour out any excess.
Using a standing or handheld mixer, beat the 6 tablespoons butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add one egg and beat for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the other egg, and beat again.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Add the potatoes and half the buttermilk. Stir to combine again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you do. Add the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk and mix just until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly among the wells of the muffin tin (a large cookie scoop helps here). Bake until the muffins are firm in the center and just beginning to pull away from the sides, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When the muffins have cooled, make the glaze.
For the glaze:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Multicolored candy sprinkles, for garnish
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the milk until smooth. Set the muffins on their wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet, then drizzle evenly with the glaze. Decorate with sprinkles, and let the glaze set before serving.