REENI’S CORN PUDDING MUFFINS, ADAPTED

Reeni, from Cinnamon & Spice blog, recently posted her very own recipe for Green Tomato Corn Muffins. She declared them the best corn muffins ever. Well, I thought I had developed my own
very best corn muffin recipe, but I love Reeni’s blog. She has creative recipes and I consider her to be a great cook. So I had to try her recipe, with my own tweaks, of course.

Both hubby and I loved Reeni’s muffins. They are a different kind of corn muffin than my fave, so I don’t consider them to be in competition with each other. One is moist, tender and full of corn flavor, and the other is more like a corn pudding with zing. Both are a 10 in my book. Thanks, Reeni, for another great recipe.

Reeni’s Corn Pudding Muffins Adapted from cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.blogspot.com Rating: 10 out of 10 Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread, or butter or oil of choice 1-1/2 cups diced veggies (I used roasted hatch chile peppers + 2 jalapenos + 1 ear corn) 1/2 cup diced onions 2 Tbsp. cream, milk or half and half 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose, if preferred) 1 cup whole-grain cornmeal (or regular cornmeal, if preferred) 1 Tbsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt 3 Tbsp. SB or butter 2-1/2 Tbsp. honey 2 eggs (I used large) 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%) 1 cup lite sour cream (or yogurt) 1 cup Monterey Jack with Jalapeno cheese, coarsely grated If you choose to roast the chile peppers, as I did, you can put them in the oven under the broiler and turn them till the skins blacken all around, or place them directly on a hot charcoal grill and do the same . After the skins are well blackened, transfer chilies to a brown paper bag and close it up. Let sit for about 15 minutes, then you should be able to easily peel and chop the chilies. You can also put the chilies in a bowl with plastic wrap over it to cool if you don’t want to use a paper bag. Don’t roast the jalapenos, just the hatch chilies or whatever other larger, chile you might want to use. If you want, you can also roast the ear of corn before you scrape it. Roasting intensifies the flavors and is well worth the extra trouble. If you don’t have the time to roast the veggies, just sauté them with the onions. Heat oven to 400F. In a large heavy skillet, sauté onion in SB till transparent over medium heat. Stir in chile peppers, jalapenos and scraped corn, or other veggie of choice. (Reeni used green tomatoes, which she sautéed with the onions.) Add cream and continue to stir over medium heat till liquid is mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, microwave SB, covered, using high heat for about 30 seconds, or till almost melted. Stir in honey; cool slightly. Whisk in eggs, milk, and sour cream, beating well. Add dry ingredients and cheese all at once, mixing lightly with a big spoon or spatula just till barely combined. Do not over mix. Bake in greased muffin cups about 20 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns clean. Yield: about 12 muffins