SAVORY CORN AND PEPPER MUFFINS

I haven't been posting as often as I usually do. Work has been more stressful than usual and I've felt no desire to do much baking. Hopefully, that's about to change.

These corns muffins were a last minute side addition to the clam chowder I was already making. This recipe would usually make a dozen muffins, but I decided to cut the recipe in have since it was just me and Mr. Icequeen having dinner together. Plus the recipe calls for an entire stick of butter and after the last two recipes I felt like it would be best to cut back on my butter intake.

I've spruced up muffin mixes before with a bit of frozen corn here, and some chopped jalepenos there and I've been happy with the results. This recipe is slightly more time consuming than that, but still relatively quick and easy.

As you can see,the muffins did turn out to be colorful and tasted very good. The chili powder adds a nice, smoky element to the overall flavor.


Makes 12 muffins




1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg yolk

¼ cup corn kernels (add up to three tablespoons more if you’d like), fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they should be drained and patted dry)



1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-sized muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.



2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.



3. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolk together until well blended.



4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels.



5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.



6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully each muffin from its mold.