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Cook the Book: Corniest Corn Muffins

Posted by Robyn Lee, July 19, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Muffins compose one of my most favorite categories of baked goods. They're cake-like and sweet, but not so indulgent that I would feel guilty about stuffing my face with a chocolate muffin or carrot muffin first thing in the morning. It's like cake...for breakfast! (Admittedly, I wouldn't feel guilty about eating dessert cake for breakfast either, but this practice is probably frowned upon by most people who don't want a sucrose-fueled morning.)

I also love muffins because they're ridiculously easy to bake, resulting in a high effort-to-deliciousness ratio. The next muffin I bake will be Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins from Baking: From My Home to Yours. They're cornier than your average corn muffin due to the inclusion of corn niblets. Lots of niblets. Mm, niblets.

Corniest Corn Muffins
- makes 12 muffins -

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

6 tablespoons 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

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you'd Iike)—fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they should be drained and patted dry)

Procedure

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees I'. 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.

2. 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.

3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, 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.

2 Comments | Tags: books, chocolate, Cook the Book, CTB: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan, muffins, recipes, Serious Recipes