Browned Butter French Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into 1 tbsp pieces
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, preferrably 1/4 cup unsalted and 1/4 cup salted, sliced into 1 tbsp pieces
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. Place 6 Tbsp unsalted butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Swirl the pan now and then as it cooks: the butter will melt, sputter, foam, turn golden in the bubbles, and finally show little browned specks in the middle of the foam. Once those specks have spread about 2 inches, take the pan off the heat right away and transfer the butter to a heat proof dish. Leave it to cool for 25 minutes, until it is lukewarm.
2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter 10 cups of a 12 cup muffin tin, dust them lightly with flour, and tap out the extra.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and nutmeg for 30 seconds, then set the bowl aside.
4. In another mixing bowl, whisk the 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar with the light brown sugar until the brown sugar is smooth and clump-free. Stir in the cooled browned butter with a spoon. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until everything is nicely combined, then stir in the milk.
5. Make a hollow in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into it. Fold the batter together only until combined; a few lumps are exactly what you want here. Divide the batter evenly among the 10 prepared cups in the muffin tin.
6. Bake until a toothpick poked into the centers comes out clean, about 15 – 17 minutes. Take the muffins out of the oven, turn them onto a cooling rack, and let them sit until they are just cool enough to handle.
7. While the muffins bake, brown the 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan. Take it off the heat, pour it into a heat proof bowl, and let it cool a bit.
8. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Whisk the browned butter, then dip and roll each muffin in it until fully coated. Move each muffin to the cinnamon sugar and roll again to cover evenly.
9. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.