Most people who grew up in America have had cornbread muffins at some stage in their life, whether it be at a restaurant or the Jiffy Corn Muffins that are sold as a dry mix in a box at every supermarket from sea to shining sea. I personally didn’t grow up with cornbread in muffin form as my relatives all made this classic staple in cast iron skillets, but honestly I love this idea. A compact little muffin that looks good and tastes great is perfect.
I love to make Cornbread Muffins on a Sunday or Monday to have for the week and keep them in a sealed container for grabbing as needed. They are the perfect thing to accompany soups, stews and lots of other dinners, but they also make a great snack or breakfast when you need something quick and portable. This recipe is so easy it practically makes itself. It’s all about simply dumping ingredients into a bowl, stirring them together and popping it into the oven. It doesn’t take too long and the results are perfect for anyone who loves a bit of cornbread!
I personally love my Cornbread Muffins split in half and slathered with some good salted butter, but you can absolutely eat them plain. Another way I like to eat them is crumbled in large chunks into a glass of milk, kind of like cereal – this is a common snack with leftover cornbread where I grew up in Kentucky and there’s something very comforting about it.
You will need a muffin tray to make this recipe, but they can easily be found just about anywhere at affordable prices. A muffin tray is always a good investment for a kitchen, especially if you enjoy baking or batch cooking. I use mine to make lots of things from mini pizzas to Yorkshire Puddings. This muffin tray is only £7 by Stacy Solomon for ASDA and it’s one of my favourite things in my kitchen! Click here to see more muffin tin recipes worth trying!
You’ll also need some non-stick cooking spray, which is another item you should always have in your kitchen. It’s so handy and makes easy work of greasing baking pans. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 120g plain white flour
- 90g polenta (cornmeal)
- 60g white caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 75ml vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 120ml milk
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° Fan / 400° F and prepare a muffin tray by either spraying the cups with non-stick cooking spray or lining them with paper cupcake cases.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and mix them together with a wire whisk.
- Pour in the oil, egg and milk and stir with the whisk to combine until you have a smoothy batter with little to no lumps.
- Split the batter evenly between 12 muffin tin cups. If you have a muffin tray with cups that are on the larger side, they won’t be full, so don’t worry about that. These muffins are smaller than some.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until risen, slightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for at least 10 minutes if you can wait that long before serving.
Tips
- If you’re not using muffin cases, running a butter knife along the edges of the muffins gently will help them to release if you’re struggling to remove them from the tin.
- If you want to fill the muffins out a little bit, try adding something to the mix like a tin of sweet corn, crumbled, cooked bacon, shredded cheese or even some chopped jalepeños.
What to serve Cornbread Muffins with…
- Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
- My Favourite Chilli
- Hearty Hot Cod Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chicken & Corn Chowder
- Buttermilk Buffalo Fried Chicken Tenders
- Chicken & Barley Soup
Click here to see more recipes for breads & quickbreads!
