Muffins

Folks in the Delta really love a potluck. Friendsgiving is next weekend in our little town, and I’m traveling an hour or so on Wednesday to get together with some teachers in another county… and on Saturday night, our friends Jess and Boyce (those of bourbon pecan ice cream fame) hosted a fun pumpkin-themed potluck party. They figure that canned pumpkin is sold seasonally, PLUS all the recipes for pumpkin are pretty delish, so why not just throw out all the stops and eat ALL of said recipes one fun, semi-chilly weekend in November? It doesn’t hurt they live on a huge beautiful farm in an old farmhouse with horses and lots of space for a bonfire. Last year I tried my hand at pumpkin gooey butter cake (huge, big time, epic fail), so this year I thought I’d go with something more in my wheelhouse AND something that would go with the signature main dish, spicy pumpkin chili: pumpkin corn muffins. If I may say so, they were a pretty solid addition to the fare of cheesecakes, dips, and pumpkin eggnog. What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

Makes 24

What you need:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup cornmeal 
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar 
2 tablespoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 can canned pumpkin puree 
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted 
2 eggs

What to do:

Sift or mix the dry ingredients together well (sugar, flour, cornmeal, spices, baking powder) and then stir the wet ingredients (pumpkin, milk, melted butter, and eggs) lightly using a spoon or fork… I made a huge (HUGE) mess because my bowl wasn’t very deep and I thought the pumpkin and milk would blend easily… turns out pumpkin is THICK. anyway, tread lightly.

Mix it all together, spoon into about 24 muffin tins, and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. They won’t be golden brown, but a toothpick will come out clean when they’re ready.

they were a big hit with the spicy pumpkin chili. Be warned, this makes for one filling meal as the pumpkin makes the muffins a little more dense than your typical cornbread.

what is more southern than cornbread, i ask you? ok, maybe grits, but you’ll notice that although mess of greens has only been around for a little while, the recipe page is overwhelmed with thingsmadefromcornmeal. oops.

not my photo, sorry folks. but you get the general idea.

i probably have at least 5 favorite cornbread recipes (and counting)…one is a crispy, semi-bitter hot water cornbread, one is a fluffy and crispy-brown egg-bread, and 3 are different kinds of corn muffins on the list, one of which i have NO idea how to recreate, but know that i can get from any meat-and-three soul food restaurant in the delta. in fact, i love cornbread so much, that recently, when someone (ahem!) mentioned that i had gotten a little soft around the middle they also suggested i stop eating so much of that very thing. ouch.

irrelevant, I say! since corn muffins go perfectly with chili, and we made chunky chili last night, HOW could we pass up the chance to do a little baking? exactly. we ended up making my aunt mame’s creamed corn muffins and they were the perfect bread to soak up the red, spicy liquid from the stew. perfect, i tell you.
the photos really don’t do the muffins justice, but i still want to share the recipe with you and as you to PROMISE you’ll try them. you’ll never, ever, ever go back to jiffy if you do. promise? ok. here goes!

Mame’s creamed corn muffins
Makes 12 muffins

A note: Now, this recipe MAY have come from someone else, but as far as i’m concerned, my aunt is the brilliant baker who made this perfect cornbread specimen. also, fyi, i’m typing this from the back of an envelope that i keep tucked into my favorite cookbook. my mom used the envelope to jot the recipe down when she called mame to get this, so it may not be exact, but it’s what i use and it works like a charm.

What you need:
1 Cup self rising cornmeal mix
1/2 Cup vegetable oil (specified “wesson” but veg will do)
1 cup sour cream (I’ve also tried greek yogurt and heavy cream, but sour cream is the best)
2 eggs
1 small can creamed corn or 1/2 large can

What to do:
ok, here’s the best part, folks. this is easy. you grease your muffin tins, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and dump all of these ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir.

once everything is all mixed up and blended, pour it into your muffin tins and bake it for about 18 minutes.

Once they’re all puffy and golden brown, take those babies out and devour them.

my aunt said that you can freeze them in a plastic bag and reheat them for later if you can’t eat all 12 muffins…but if you can’t eat all 12 muffins, shame on you. (ooooooohhhhh. maybe that’s why my middle is so soft. erg.)

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