Corn Muffins

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

Corn bread. Corn cakes. Polenta. Grits. I’ve made those. And yet, strangely enough, I’ve never made corn muffins from scratch.

This month’s challenge asked us to use cornmeal in a new way. Corn muffins certainly weren’t the most interesting or difficult recipe I could have chosen. But I wanted to try something that, if successful, I’d make again and again.

To boost my chances, I went with an Ina Garten recipe. The Barefoot Contessa rarely steers me wrong. And again, she had my back. The muffins were moist and tasty. Almost as easy to pull together as muffins from a mix. I will definitely make these again.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter and eggs.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fill the baking cups with the batter.

And bake until the muffins are golden, with a crisp top.

Yes, that’s it. Oh, and enjoy.

Corn Muffins

Recipe by Ina Garten

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup medium cornmeal

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2.    In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

3.    In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, and eggs. With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until they are just blended.

4.    Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top.

5.    Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops are crisp and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from the pan.

Makes 12 muffins