Corn Muffins, Jalapeno Cheddar

By MarieR

Ingredients

• 1 large jalapeño
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Details

Servings 9
Adapted from thekitchn.com

Preparation

Step 1

The simple corn muffin is a beautiful thing. You can serve it as a make-ahead side dish for a summer BBQ and then reheat one of the leftover muffins for a quick breakfast.

For jalapeño prep, I recommend scraping out the seeds and then slivering the pepper into half-rounds instead of dicing it. That will make the peppers really stand out in the finished muffin.

Makes 9 large muffins or 12 small muffins

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a 12-cup muffin tin — but 9 cups for large muffins or all the cups for smaller muffins. Cut jalapeño in half and scrape out seeds. Then thinly slice the pepper into half-round slivers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Fold in cheese and the jalapeño, reserving a few slivers of pepper to garnish the tops.

Divide batter between 9 or 12 muffin tins. Fill any empty muffin tins half-full with water for even baking. Top the muffins with a sliver or two of jalapeño.

Bake the muffins until golden brown, 20 to 24 minutes. A tester should come out clean from one of the center muffins.
Let the muffins cool briefly before removing from the tin and serving.

To reheat leftover muffins, microwave for 20 seconds on high.