Mac N Cheese Cornbread Muffins

By ldelmas

Ingredients

• Cornbread:
• 9 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 4-1/2 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup small diced red pepper
• 1/4 cup small diced green pepper
• 1/8 cup minced onion
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Mac N Cheese:
• 1-1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Topping:
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the cornbread, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cream together the butter and the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add in the red and green peppers and the minced onion. Mix together the flour, cornmeal, garlic powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the cream cheese-butter mixture in 3 batches, and mix until well blended. Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it with your hands. Roll the dough into a 10" long log and slice it into 12 disks. Place 1 disk into each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan, and press the dough down to form cups. Bake the cups for 20 minutes.
To prepare the mac n cheese, place the cooked elbow macaroni in a medium-size bowl. Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for about a minute, and then add the milk, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture until simmering and thickened. Add in the cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix until fully coated. Scoop 3 Tbsp of mac n cheese into each cornbread muffin cup, forming a "muffin top."
To prepare the topping, combine the bread crumbs, melted butter, salt, pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl and mix together using a fork. Sprinkle each "muffin" with the topping and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crumbs have browned and the mac n cheese is bubbly.