These muffins, which are moist, crusty and full of sweet corn flavor, are as much at home at the dinner table as they are at the breakfast or lunch table. I love them with a bowl of good chili or soup or even salad, but really they are great with just about everything (ok, maybe not Chinese food). For the best texture and flavor, make sure to use stone-ground yellow cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill medium grind). Feel free to leave out the jalapeno peppers, if you’re not a fan.
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 grams) stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (72 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large (100 grams) eggs
- ¾ cup (181 grams) whole milk
- ½ cup (121 grams) buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey or Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, melted and warm
- 12 thinly sliced jalapeno pepper rings, for garnish
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚ Grease the interior of a 12-muffin pan or line with paper cups.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk gently to combine well, breaking up any visible lumps of brown sugar.
- In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then whisk in the milk, buttermilk and honey (or syrup). Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in the chopped jalapeno peppers and the warm butter with a rubber spatula just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and place a jalapeno ring in the center of each muffin. Bake until the muffins are a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before unmolding. Serve warm with soft butter.
