corniest corn muffins
I have to admit, no matter what you call this stuff — corn muffins, cornbread, pone, Johnnycakes — how you cook it — skillet fried, deep fried, on a griddle or in tiny muffin liners — or what a cinch they are to make — think “Jiffy” — the stuff kind of stresses me out, and it’s because there are a thousand different ways to make it and all of them are the “right” or “only” way to someone. When people tell you they like cornbread, they have something very specific in mind and it’s up to you to figure out what it is. I’m no different. Alongside barbeque or crumbled over my chili, anything less that that which is made in a bacon-greased cast iron pan with or without the jalapenos and cheddar just doesn’t seem authentic. But when it comes to breakfast muffins, I want the cakier, sweeter, oh I’ll say it, Northern version, but with just enough grit in them that I don’t feel like I’m eating dessert for my first meal of the day.
Dorie gets this. Truth be told, I’d probably two-thirds the sugar next time, but in every other way, this recipe is a keeper. Not too dessert-like, just the right crumb and a super-cinch to make, this is the most glowing success I’ve had getting corn muffins to meet my corn muffin expectations in a while. The fresh corn is an extra reminder that this is breakfast, not dessert. Toasted with a pat of salted butter even two days later, I find it impossible not to like.
What? You just want to talk about Cinco De Mayo? It seems that my trip to Mexico and the flavor-fiending that has followed couldn’t be better timed, as my favorite excuse for margaritas–besides it being a day that ends in a ‘y’–falls this year on a Saturday, making it all the more fabulous excuse for a big party. If you’re still looking for some inspiration, here are some ideas from the archives:
- Chicken Empanadas with Chorizo and Olives
- Chicken Tacos
- Tequila Lime Chicken
- Black Bean Confetti Salad
- Fish Tacos
- Deb’s Three-Bean Chili
- Corn Bread with Cheddar, Jalapeno and Green Onions
- Green Onion Slaw
- Salsa Fresca
- Blood Orange Margaritas
- The Tart Marg
- Margarita Cookies
- Key Lime Tartlets
Dorie Greenspan’s Corniest Corn Muffins
Baking from My Home to Yours
Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins or 48 miniature ones
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons corn oil (I used olive oil since it was handy)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like) – fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, if you’re using it. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk together until well blended. 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. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (12 minutes for minis), or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.
Yay! I’m the first comment and this looks so yummy. I am SO making this for a Cinco de Mayo party on Saturday!
I love Dorie too. I think I may be trying another of her recipes this weekend. My coworkers are stoked.
This is the second cornbread post I’ve seen today!! It must mean I HAVE to make cornbread this weekend! I think this recipe hits my ideal of cornbread on the dot – sweet, with the whole corn kernels. Yumm!
I so know what you mean about a corn muffin having “something” you’re looking for and it’s not easy to find. I had a craving a few weeks ago and I found a recipe I thought might be good, but they turned out dry and not very flavorful. I’m intrigued about the nutmeg in this recipe, do you taste it much? I love nutmeg so I might just be intrigued enough to try it! Plus they don’t seem dry, I guess the fresh corn must help with that. Great pictures by the way, you really have a way with that camera! ;)
Dorie is the best, but I agree, just little sweetness for the cornbread is enough. Thanks for the Cinco de Mayo ideas.
Mmm these look good. I’ve been using Mark Bittman’s cornbread recipe in How To Cook Everything. It’s okay, but is lacking in several regards. I’ve just been too lazy to find a new one. I’ll give this one a go next time I’m going to make cornbread with that fantastic chili of yours I love so much. I’ve liked everything I’ve made from Dorie, so I’m sure this one won’t fail to impress. Especially if it’s approved by The Kitchen!
You are on a roll! Though I would never, ever, ever admit it to my southern family, I have a weakness for northern-style corn muffins. What can I say, I like, a little sweetness, a little cake-iness in my day. I like that there’s not too much butter either, that cookbook’s a winner.
Those muffins would be perfect, dropped right into a bowl of my tortilla soup! Yum. i can’t wait until Saturday! And I can’t wait to try your empanada’s!
joce
and dude, don’t forget! Not only is Saturday Cinco de Mayo, but it’s MY favorite excuse to drink bourbon in the afternoon ever, The Kentucky Derby!
I wonder what the bastard child of a margarita & a mint julep would taste like? Maybe like a Caipirinhia? Thanks for the menu suggestions, but I think I’ll be have a liquid dinner on Saturday ;-)
This was the very first recipe I made from her new cookbook. It was so appealing, and I wasn’t disappointed. I wolfed down as many as possible with butter while they were still warm.
Like little bites of corn heaven!
Ohhh Jiffy mix! Those were the best muffins to make when I didn’t know that there were actual recipes in books. The apple cinnamon muffins were the best of the lot. Couple them with a can of coke (hey, when you’re 14, everything goes great with coke) and they’re the bees knees.
Just found your site and I think I am in LOVE… thanks for sharing such great recipies!!!! :) I love food.
haha love the backward photo shoot !
I am a total corn muffin addict! These are perfect with spicy chili, or for breakfast with some sweet butter.
I love corn muffins, bread or anything of the sort. I have found that by adding a small can of creamed corn to the mix, the moistness factor is amped up considerably, not to mention the overall corn-y ness of it.
I could eat every crumb of those golden beauties!
Mmmmmm!! Sound Delicious… ;)
I’ll never try corn muffin!
Do you wanna partecipate at the new round Up MM03???
http://www.untoccodizenzero.it/2007/05/mm03muffin-monday-spicysweet-savoury.html
Bye!
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for some time now and really need to make it! Everyone loves Dorie.
Thanks for the Cinco De Mayo inspiration!
wow..those really make me crave cornbread.. !!!
wow those look so good… i’m a long-time reader, just noticed you mentioned in Fitness magazine.
I’m a corn muffin/johnny cake/griddle cake/corn bread ‘ho. I’ve been making them from the time I was 8. It’s probably one of the first things my mom taught me to make besides grits. Yeah, I said it, grits! I’m glad that you’ve found one you like and posted about. Your pics are gorgeous and the muffins turned out the perfect yellow color. You should try them drizzled with honey, mmmmmmmm corn muffins with honey.
Oh, I love when they have real corn in them! I’m so trying these right away.
Pretty much all of my baking is really Dorie’s baking, she seems to affect everything I make, in the best possible way.
Can I bake this in a pan? and if I can, what size pan?
I really don’t care much for muffins……..
I love this muffin, i might marry it!!!! i say that whenever things that i really luv r like soooooooo goooodd.!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey i wrote again, i ate one of these at skool. and that was so the moment i fell in love with it!!! it tastes so good. after i save it , it tastes so much better, u know after a while.
I hate to sound like a doofus, but if you use fresh corn off the cob, do you cook it first? I’d loooove to make these today! Live in South Florida and got a few yummy ears of corn from the CSA this week.
I made these last night for our chili and cornbread dinner to eat while watching the Superbowl.
They are light and corny!! Will definitely make again and again.
I just made these! I’m not sure what I did wrong, but mine came out kind of strange. Ok, I think I do know what I did wrong, but I’m just not sure why it affected things so much. I subbed in a cup of Jiffy mix for the cornmeal, regular milk for the buttermilk, used olive oil, and decreased the sugar per your recommendation to 4 tablespoons…
End result? Mine were really large with sunken middles, stuck to the paper, and were too light to stick together internally. Also could use a little more sugar. :( What do you think was the straw that broke the camel’s back? the Jiffy? the skim milk? sigh.
Jiffy mix is not the same thing as cornmeal. It has leaveners and other ingredients in it. Too much leavening will cause sunken middles, odd textures.
I made these to accompany a wonderful gumbo recipe that my good friend’s mother gave me years ago. The gumbo is always a rave, but I think this is the first time I got more comments on the cornbread to go with it! Thanks so much…this is perfectly delicious yumminess!
I made these corn muffins last weekend and I want to thank you SO much for posting this recipe!!!
I´m a raw recruit with food-blogging and so I found your website but now…unfortunately. There is a lot to catch up with! :o)
With your corn muffins I had for breakfast on Sunday, I went on a time travel to the year 1996. My first and (sadly) last journey to New York City — 7:00 a.m. — breakfast at the small cafe that belongs to our hotel — eggs and bacon? no..I have a sweet tooth…give me something sweet! — and there it was…a bright, yellow, warm, soft and tender corn muffin accompanied by unsalted butter and raspberry jam — amazing…!
I loved it and I never forgot this taste, never!
Here in Germany you won´t get anything comparable. That´s why I startet collecting recipes from every american cookbook or website I could find. I also try to travel to Manhattan again but until today I couldn´t manage… None of the results satisfied my sweet memories. Until I found the Smitten Kitchen.
So again: THANK YOU!!! I will think of you with every crumb that will meet my tongue!! :o)
Cheers,
Sabine
Om nom nom nom … these corny little gems were a hit. I used 2/3 the sugar and they where perfect!
heya deb, hope you won’t mind answering this question, but how would you prepare fresh corn kernels? would you just strip em straight off the cob? and would you use sweet corn?
am really quite eager to make this. as soon as you answer, on goes the oven! (:
You can just strip it and put it in the batter. I prefer it that way, too.
These look amazing, how do you get/make buttermilk? Would regular 2% milk work?? cheers
I made these last night and they were the best I have ever had! It is sweet corn season here in Iowa so they were amazing with fresh corn kernels. I made them into 6 jumbo muffins and ate the second half with a drizzle of honey for dessert!
I made the muffins twice: first time as written, second time without kernels (as per my husband’s request). WOW, we loved them. I am now asked to make them every other Sunday. Your baking recipes are are always so reliable. I also made your peanut butter cookies, brought them to work and they were gone by the end of the day. Thanks Deb!
I found this recipe doing a google image search. I made these today without the nutmeg and they are wonderful. Not too sweet and not to bitter. Wonderful texture. This is going in my recipe bin.
I found this recipe doing a google image search. I made these today without the nutmeg and they are wonderful. Not too sweet and not to bitter. Wonderful texture. This is going in my recipe bin. And they taste yummy to my tummy! Even my beautiful wife love them!!
Mmm. I made these last night, but I made them in a big pan instead of individual muffins. They turned out great and to rave reviews. The nutmeg is a fantastic addition!