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If you haven’t realized it yet – I kind of have a thing for chai spices. From teas and lattes to cookies, it’s my flavor of choice during the cold winter months. There’s just something about that combination of rich, aromatic spices that warms me up and calms me down.
I’ve also been on a muffin kick lately – several of which have been epic disasters which is why they haven’t graced the pages of MBA. One recipe didn’t rise, another sunk and one seemed to implode – meaning none of them were even remotely photogenic. However, this weekend I thought I’d combine two of my favorite things into one incredibly delicious recipe – Chai Spiced Glazed Doughnut Muffins.
I used the base from my Glazed Doughnut Muffins, but this time I infused the batter with chai spices. The intoxicating aroma of the baking muffins immediately made me fall head over heels for this recipe. The beautifully domed tops were just begging to take a double dip in a sweet, spicy glaze.
Whether you’re craving a muffin, glazed doughnut or Starbuck’s Chai Tea Latte, I’m pretty sure I’ve got ya covered with these Chai Spiced Glazed Doughnut Muffins.
Chai Spiced Glazed Doughnut Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons butter; melted
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
For the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin, or line with 12 paper muffin cups.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine.
- Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, black pepper, salt and vanilla. Mix well to fully incorporate.
- Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
- Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), divide the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the wells nearly full.
- Bake the muffins in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Prepare the glaze.
For the Glaze
- In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, spices, vanilla and milk. Whisk until smooth.
- When muffins have cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice.
- Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just tried these today and I can’t stop eating them! I used a mini-muffin tin so I only baked them for around 10-11 minutes, and I didn’t have confectioners’ sugar so instead of the glaze I sprinkled a cinnamon/sugar mix liberally onto them before baking. So good – I will be making them often!
I’m so glad, Kyla!
Can I just say how much I loved this recipe, I cut the recipe in half and they came out amazing. The muffin top was beautifully buttery and crispy while the inside was extremely soft. The spices were amazing I put a tiny bit more cardamom cause I love it and hammered my whole all spice! Did you ever try putting ground cloves in the recipe?
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Olga! I’ll have to try changing up the spices a bit next time. Thanks so much for stopping back and leaving your feedback.
-Jamie
For the muffins, is the butter suppose to be melted or room temperature? It is also interesting that your recipe calls for both butter and oil, could you explain this. Thank you. Can’t wait to make these!
Hi, Olga! The butter adds an amazing flavor, the oil makes the muffins tender and moist. The butter should be at room temperature. I hope you enjoy them! Let me know how they turn out!
I would love to learn how to bake so that I could bake all sorts of cakes, pies, cookies, and other foods.
Melissa-
Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
This looks amazing! But what is cardamom and where can I get it? I looked online and it seems like there are different types of cardamom (ex green?)
Haley-
I just used ground cardamom from Penzy’s Spices. You can also find it at the grocery store. I hope this helps!
-Jamie
these sound amazing! Do you think I could bake these as donuts in a doughnut pan?
Hi Adriel,
I have not tried it, but I think it would probably work. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
-Jamie
Oh wow, this looks incredible! I love the perfect combination of flavors and textures – donuts, muffins, glaze, chai….Oh my goodness! Great recipe and thanks so much for a great tutorial!
Thanks for visiting Nicole.
-Jamie
I have a bag of chai spice, from thespicehouse.com do you think I could use it instead of all the different spices you have listed?? It smells just like chai?
Kristin-
I think that would work just fine! :)
-Jamie
Hi! Do you think I can substitute buttermilk for the milk? This looks like a wonderful recipe and can’t wait to try!
Hi Sally,
I think that’d be great and extra tangy!
– Jamie
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! As soon as I saw these, I printed it out and made them up. They are DELISH!! Hubby and I LOVE Chai. He is working from home today so he can attend Parent/Teacher Conferences with me, so I thought I’d make him a yummy breakfast. Wasn’t sure what to make until I saw this! Thank you for sharing!!
June-
I’m thrilled that you enjoyed these muffins on your day home! Thank you so much for stopping in to share and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie