'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Dirt Bomb Muffins Recipe

Sometimes the simple act of preparing food for somebody is the most loving gesture. Ever since Conrad made dirt bomb muffins for Isabella's (Belly's) birthday in Season 3, Episode 4 of the Amazon Prime Video hit series "The Summer I Turned Pretty," fans have been running to the kitchen to whip up a batch themselves. They're popular for a reason, and not just because they're on the show: They're simply delicious. These little treats are packed with everything you could want in a breakfast, dessert, or snack (and sometimes a meal, if we're being absolutely honest).

Dirt bombs may have turned viral after showing up in the show, but they're nothing new. They are doughnut muffins — like a lighter doughnut or a denser muffin — baked in a muffin tin. Conrad's creation includes warm spices and is finished with a dip in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. It's that brown, textured, "dirty" topping that gives these muffins their name. Dirt bombs have all the comforting nostalgia of a cinnamon sugar doughnut with none of the deep frying. That's a win-win all around.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a dirt bomb muffin recipe that couldn't be easier to make. You may already have everything you need if you want to get started right away. They're incredibly moist, rich, crunchy, sugary, and best enjoyed warm. 

You won't need any unusual baking ingredients to make these dirt bomb muffins, with the exception of ground cardamom, which not everyone may keep in stock. For the batter, you'll first need unsalted butter. It's important to remember to soften the butter ahead of time. You'll also need granulated sugar, whole milk, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cardamom. For the topping, have granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Set aside.

To start the batter, place the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar by beating on low first and then increasing the speed to medium, until fluffy.

Add the milk and eggs. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom until well combined.

Gradually and without overmixing, stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tin cups.

Place the tin in the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool.

To start the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place the melted butter in another small bowl.

Once the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip the top of a muffin in the butter and then roll the buttered section in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with the remaining muffins.

Serve while warm.

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As the name implies, doughnut muffins are a cross between a doughnut and a muffin. Like cronuts and brookies, they are one of the many delicious hybrid bakes you need to try. You can experience the pleasure of a homemade doughnut with none of the extra fat or mess of deep frying, since they are essentially baked doughnuts cooked in a muffin pan. These treats have the shape of muffins, but the result is somewhere in between the two popular baked goods — they are denser than regular fluffy muffins but a little lighter than an old-fashioned cake doughnut. They tend to have the kinds of fillings and toppings you would normally see on a doughnut rather than on a muffin. For example, you can coat a doughnut muffin with a simple glaze or spread icing and sprinkles on it. You can also insert fillings like jam or custard inside, like you can with doughnuts.

Not all doughnut muffins can be called dirt bombs, but this one can. A popular way to top doughnut muffins is with a cinnamon sugar topping. And to make the topping stick, you'll need to dip the tops of the muffin in melted butter first, of course. This textured brown topping makes the muffins look dirty, so to speak, which gives them the name dirt bombs. It's a bit of a strange name, but one we'll happily take as long as we can keep enjoying these delicious treats.

There are a few ways you could customize these dirt bombs to make them your own. The first way is to mix up double the amount of melted butter and cinnamon sugar and dip and cover the entire muffins with the topping, not just the tops. You could also mix up a doughnut glaze with powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla for an alternative topping that's still super sweet.

You can add additional ingredients to the batter, like dried fruit, fresh fruit pieces (toss them with flour first so they don't sink), or nuts. Replace the cup of milk in the batter with a cup of applesauce, mashed banana, mashed pear, or pumpkin puree to give the muffins a different flavor that will still work with the warm spices in the recipe.

You could change the size of the muffins by using a mini muffin tin for smaller dirt bombs or a 6-cup muffin tin for larger muffins. Last but not least, you could turn these dirt bombs into actual doughnuts (but baked instead of deep-fried). Just pour the batter into a doughnut pan instead of a muffin tin. Don't have a special pan? This easy hack turns your muffin tin into a doughnut pan: fold pieces of aluminum foil several times to make a strong, narrow rectangle and roll them into tubes. Place one in each muffin cup and spoon the batter around them.

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