Real Corn Cornbread Muffins

Best with Honey Butter (recipe below)

Directions for The Muffin Method (below)

Real Corn Cornbread muffins, yes, with real corn, are a bit of a change from regular cornbread muffins. Regular cornbread muffins are usually made with cornmeal but these use corn niblits for added taste and texture.

This recipe makes 24 Real Corn Cornbread Muffins.

So if you don't have any cornmeal on hand but want a traditional cornbread muffin or just prefer fresh corn, you can still make cornbread muffins. This recipe is easy to make and the results are delicious.

We’ve made them with whole wheat flour, but all purpose flour can certainly be substituted.

Real Corn Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups corn kernels. You can use fresh, canned or frozen. Just defrost first.
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
A pinch or two of salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
½ cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Start by preheating the oven to 400 F.
2. Prepare 2 - 12 cup muffin pans by greasing them or putting in paper cups.
3. Next, chop up the corn until it looks something like this.

You might use something like a Pampered Chef food chopper on a cutting board to achieve this, or, a food processor. Chop it just enough but don’t create a puree…unless you want to hide the texture of the corn in the muffins. It’s actually quite delicious with little bits of corn in it, so I just chop it.

Set aside.

Now combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Then, add the beaten eggs, milk and vegetable oil.

Stir until just combined but still lumpy.

See The Muffin Method below.          

Then fold in the corn, until it’s evenly distributed. (There we are, showing a proper spoon and the corn in the middle!)

Now, you can pour the Cornbread Muffin with real corn batter evenly among 24 muffin tins. For even distribution, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup or an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tins. The paper muffin cups are optional. I like to use them for easy clean up and then we put the papers in the green recycling bin when we’re done.

Bake at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes. They’re done when you gently press your finger on the top and the muffin springs back.

Serve warm, with a little butter, if you want.

Honey butter is especially delicious with Real Corn Cornbread Muffins. So, if you want to use Honey Butter with your Real Corn Cornbread Muffins, see below for the recipe.

Sidenote: The Muffin Method

Even though this picture shows a wire whip, usually for muffins you would use the Muffin Method.  First, you would put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, mix them with a whisk or spoon until they are well blended. Then you would make a "well" in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the middle of the dry ingredients. Lastly, using a wooden spoon  or spatula, working from the sides of the bowl, just fold the dry ingredients gently into the wet ingredients until mixed.

The reason is that muffins that are mixed too much, or too hard, become tough, have holes or tunnels, and don't rise as much. In other words, the less the muffins are mixed, the lighter and more tender they become.

Step 1: Stir all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Step 2: Mix all wet ingredients.

Step 3: Make a "well" or depression in the middle of the dry ingredients by pressing the dry ingredients up the sides of the bowl.

Step 4: Pour all the mixed wet ingredients in to the "well".

Step 5: Stir mixture with a spoon or spatula by folding over dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just moistened. Batter should still be slightly lumpy.

DO NOT over mix.

Grease bottoms of muffin pans or use paper liners. (I find paper cups are hard to remove when the muffins are hot.)

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3  full. (I use the spoon to scoop out batter and the soft spatula to push the batter into the cup)

Bake as directed by your recipe.

To add berries:

Gently fold in berries to batter when it is just moistened and still lumpy.

How To Make Honey Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup/120 ml softened butter
1/4 cup/60 ml honey (room temperature or slightly warmed)

Directions:

1. Beat the butter well with the medium electric mixer in a deep bowl until soft and a little fluffy.
2. Blend in the honey.
3. Whip the butter and honey together for about 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently.
4. Add other ingredients to your taste. Most recipes only call for butter and honey, but other ingredients can be added. See options below.
5. Swirl it into a nice container with a tight fitting lid. To avoid a transfer of odors, it's preferable to use a clean glass container. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Options:

You can add 1 tsp. (5 ml) of ground cinnamon. You can also add 1 tsp. (5 ml) of vanilla extract. Some people even add 1/2 cup (120 ml) confectioners' sugar but to me the honey makes it sweet enough.

Maybe you'll have a favorite or come up with a new idea.

Enjoy!

(Of course, the question is...is this a grain, a vegetable or, with the Honey butter, is this a sweet?)

Real Corn Cornbread Muffins: Return to Homepage