Happy Sunday! A few months ago, I was back home visiting my parents and noticed a box of sweet corn muffins sitting on the kitchen table. Oh, that’s interesting, I thought, and next thing I knew there was only one left and incriminating crumbs were all over my face and fingers. (By the way, they were Publix brand — anyone else absolutely positively love Publix and think it’s the best supermarket in the world minus Foodland because of their poke but if they had poke they would be the best? Publix is the best thing about the South.)
Anyway, once we were back in Brooklyn, I started craving those muffins again and decided to make some of my own. I was a little picky with these — I wanted them to be just the right ratio of cornmeal to flour, not too mealy but not simply a cake with a hint of corn, either. I also like my cornbread on the sweeter side, much more like muffins, and moist. Lastly, I look for any excuse to make things both sweet and spicy, so I decided to add some diced jalapenos. They turned out wonderfully, sweet and soft with a lovely heat, and reminded me in the best way of my Southern roots. I had them fresh and then after a few days, fried in the skillet with a dab of strawberry jelly for breakfast. Even though I loved them, I’m already thinking of a more savory version next time, with chives or cheese (or both).
Jalapeno Sweet Corn Muffins
makes a half-batch of 6 (full recipe for 12 in parentheses, italicized).
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (for 12 muffins, use 1 1/4 cups)
6 tbsp (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) cornmeal (3/4 cup)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder (2 1/2 tsp)
1/8 tsp (a pinch) baking soda (1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp salt (1/2 tsp)
1/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk (1 1/4 cup) (can replace with buttermilk)
1 egg (2 eggs)
1-2 tbsp honey (2-3 tbsp)
3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil (6 tbsp; optional: 3 tbsp oil and 3 tbsp melted butter)
1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced (1 pepper)
other mix-ins to consider: 1/2 cup sweet corn kernels (1 cup for a full batch); 1/4 cup shredded cheese (1/2 cup for a full batch); 1 green onion or 1 tbsp chives, chopped fine (2 for a full batch).
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar).
3. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (milk, eggs, honey, and oil).
4. Add wet to dry ingredients and gently stir until just incorporated. Fold in diced jalapenos.
5. Place muffin paper liners in a 6-cup muffin or cupcake tin. Evenly divide batter into muffin liners.
6. Bake 15 minutes, until golden.
Some other delicious corn muffin and cornbread recipes to check out: Smitten Kitchen, Corniest Corn Muffins (these look so moist and delicious!), The Novice Chef, Jalapeno Sweet Corn Muffins (a version with a bit less cornmeal), A Couple Cooks, Sweet Corn Muffins, Constantly Cooking, Jalapeno and Chive Cornbread.
Thank you so much for reading! 🙂 I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday.
LFFL
I love those.
tworedbowls
They’re great aren’t they? 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
debbe
That’s such a good idea, why did I never think to fry my corn bread in bacon grease?! It looks delicious!
tworedbowls
Haha, that’s probably a good thing!!! Now that I know, I want to fry EVERYTHING in bacon grease. I tell myself that at least it’s turkey bacon…. Thank you so much for your kind comment 🙂
bakesinslippers
making these this weekend!
tworedbowls
Yay! Let me know how they turn out!
Nik@ABrownTable
These look fantastic, I can’t wait to try making these.
tworedbowls
Thank you so much! I hope they turn out well for you! And by the way, your blog is absolutely gorgeous — so glad you commented so that I could find it. Thanks for the lovely comment and looking forward to reading more of your blog.
Hanna
My boyfriend hates corn bread but I’m pretty sure with jalapeño & of course bacon on the side, he would love haha! MmM I love comfort food and this is def a must!
tworedbowls
Haha mine was not a fan of these either 😉 More for us! Hope you like them if you end up making them!
Paula Roy
Thanks so much for the link to my recipe/blog. I love your version too!
cindy
how much butter? didn’t see it in the ingredients.
tworedbowls
Oh gosh, thanks so much for pointing that out! There’s no butter, just oil! I think I originally considered using 3 tbsp of oil and 3 tbsp of melted butter for the full batch, then changed my mind and forgot to change it in the instructions. I just used all oil (3 tbsp for a half batch and 6 tbsp for a full batch) and found that that worked perfectly — especially since melting only 1.5 tbsp of butter for a half-batch would have been more trouble than it was worth! I’m so glad that you caught that, sorry that it took me so long to correct!
Paula Roy
Thanks for mentioning my blog (Constantlycooking.wordpress.com). I love your recipes and photography!
tworedbowls
Of course! Your cornbread recipe looks wonderful. Thank you so much for stopping by to say hello, I so appreciate it! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (hopefully with your tasty cornbread somewhere on the table!)
Paula Roy
I`m in Canada so Thanksgiving is a distant memory 🙂 but Christmas food preparations are in full swing. I am working on a whole lot of edible gifts as I love Handmade Holidays. Happy Thanksgiving weekend to you!
tworedbowls
Oh that’s right! I always feel Canadian holiday timing makes much more sense than ours 😉 Thanksgiving and Christmas are so squeezed together this year. Love edible gifts as well, I need to get on that too!! Thanks so much for commenting, Paula!
RK EM
Just made these topped with more cheese and double smoked bacon and in mini muffins. The recipe was perfect for 24 and they are downright delicious. 🙂 These may very well become a stand in when I make chill. I was afraid of too much heat from the jalapeño but it was just perfect.