What's Baking: Jalapeño-Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

If you give a mouse a bowl of chili, it's going to want a cornbread muffin. And if you give it a plain cornbread muffin, it's going to want a jalapeño-cheddar cornbread muffin. I think that's how the story goes. Or, at least, it is if you change "a mouse" to "me," anyway.

Since we were unsure of exactly how many people were coming to our potluck this past Sunday, I decided to make two batches of cornbread muffins. Yesterday, I shared the recipe I used to make plain cornbread muffins (with maple butter), so today I am sharing my second batch: cornbread muffins flavored with jalapeño peppers and cheddar cheese. (Spicy and savory, yum.)

At the end of the day, my cornbread muffin supply was decimated, and of the leftover muffins, only a a couple of jalapeño-cheddar ones remained. I guess that means they were quite delicious!

Jalapeño-Cheddar Cornbread Muffins (printer-friendly version)

makes 12 muffins

1 cup medium-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup buttermilk (plus 2-3 additional tablespoons, if necessary)
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeño pepper (ribs and seeds removed)

1. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir in the frozen corn kernels, shredded cheese, and minced jalapeño pepper. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix! If the mixture is too dry, stir in additional buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. The batter will be thick.
3. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. The muffins will be light golden in color. Remove from the oven and cool the muffins on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.