Loaded

Here's my happy little corn zipper hanging out in the corn!

I love making cornbread and chili during the cooler months. The problem is, it doesn't get very cold here until late November. I still make this even when it's warm outside, but it's so much nicer to curl up on the couch with a mug of chili than it is to be sweating and eating chili. Don't you think?

I was surfing the web a few months ago and spotted this recipe. It looked really hearty and filling. And I thought it would be a nice accompaniment to my chili. I generally prefer to bake Jiffy cornbread muffins with a little added sugar for sweetness. I LOVE sweet cornbread and this brand is consistently good and it is so inexpensive (like 40 cents). I've tried different mixes and they don't usually compare to Jiffy. I have also made homemade cornbread and it's not as good either.

This cornbread had a nice texture to it. It was very similar to my favorite brand, but with all the added goodness of cheese, fresh sweet corn, bacon, and green chiles. These were not as spicy as I anticipated though. And I think they needed a little something extra- maybe more salt, more pepper, more garlic, a sharper cheese??? They were very good and did not over shadow the main course. I may make these again and tweak the ingredients. Ooh, sausage crumbles would be good in these!

Spicy Cornbread Muffins adapted from What We're Eating

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups corn meal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Add-ins:

• kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
• 1 small can chopped green chiles, drained
• 4 thick slices of bacon, cooked crispy then chopped
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray 2 12-cup muffin tins or line with muffin liners and set aside.

Add all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the milk, buttermilk oil and eggs. Whisk ingredients together, making sure the egg yolks are broken up and well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir til just combined. Place all of the add-ins into the batter. Stir batter until just combined. Do not overmix or you'll end up with tough muffins.

Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared muffin tins. Fill each muffin tin nearly to the top with batter. The muffins won’t rise too much while baking. Bake on the top rack in the oven for about 20 minutes or until just baked through. Insert a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins, if it comes out clean (without crumbs), they're done.

Allow muffins to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm with butter or at room temp.

NOTE: This cornbread can also be baked in a cast-iron skillet or glass baking dish. Make sure to adjust the cooking time to about 30-35 minutes and test with a toothpick if using one of these alternate baking methods. I made 12 muffins and one pan of cornbread. The muffins baked for 20 minutes and the glass dish of cornbread for 30 minutes.

These weren't as spicy as I expected, perhaps it's because I didn't use the Serrano chiles the recipe suggested. They were still good, but mild. For a spicier version, follow the original recipe. The only things I changed were: I didn't add cilantro (because I don't like it- ick!) and I added a small can of green chopped chiles instead of roasted Serrano chiles.

Use any leftovers in my favorite Cornbread Stuffing.