Savory Cornbread Muffins With Jalapeños and Corn

Another quick recipe from Recipes for Health. These muffins have an appealingly coarse grain texture and a nice robust flavor from the corn and buttermilk.
Unfortunately, most of the actual flavor depends on the spice/taste of the jalapenos you put it in it, which is hard to judge at the store. So you might want to (carefully) taste your jalapeno before adding it -- if it is really mild, add more than the 2 Tbsp, but if it is insanely spicy, maybe a bit less.

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably organic stone-ground
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons minced jalapeños
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third. Oil or butter muffin tins.

2. Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the sage. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey. Whisk or stir the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the corn kernels, minced jalapeño and optional cheese.

3. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tins.

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield; does not include optional cheese): 161 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 362 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein

Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Muffins

I adapted this recipe slightly from Baking Bites. I doubled it when I made it, and it turned out great, yielding about 30 sizable muffins (the single batch recipe below will likely still give you a few more than a dozen though).
These have a really nice texture -- not too heavy and overly moist, but not too light and cakey/crumbly either. They'd probably also be good with a vanilla/cinnamon glaze drizzled on top too if you wanted to go the sweet route. As they are, they're nice for breakfast or dessert.

Pumpkin Muffins with Toffee and Pecans
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (+ ~1/8 cup for altitude)
2 tsp baking powder (I used 1 1/2 tsp for altitude)
1/2 tsp salt1 tsp ground cinnamon (also added 1/2 tsp of additional pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (I added just a touch (maybe 1/8 cup?) more)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped chocolate-covered toffee bars (such as Skor or Heath)
1 cup toasted, salted pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease and flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low or working by hand, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Fold in toffee bits and chopped pecans.
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each about to the top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Maple Apple Muffins

From RecipeGirl...

MAPLE- DRIZZLED APPLE MUFFINS

MUFFINS:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour {Kelly's note: I used 1 1/2 cups for altitude}
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder {Kelly's note: I used ~3tsp}
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup maple syrup
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 cups chopped, peeled apples (I used Granny Smith)
12 pecan halves (optional)

GLAZE:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners {KM: I got 16 muffins out of it, so may need another pan}.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (through cinnamon).

3. In a small bowl, mix milk, butter, syrup and egg; stir into dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Fold in apples.

4. Fill prepared muffin cups ¾-full (this is easiest to do when you use an ice cream scoop). Top each with a pecan half. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

5. For glaze, mix sugar and syrup; drizzle over cooled muffins.

Yield: 1 dozen {Kelly's note: I got 16 out of it...altitude?}

Medley Muffins

This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven, and having sampled a couple of muffins hot out of the oven already, I'm a big fan! They're definitely not for everyone...for example, my father would never try something that looked so brown (and wasn't chocolate) and had visible lumps of fruit and nuts. But if you're not afraid of a little health in your baked goods, these are really pretty good. They don't rise much, so next time I'd fill my muffin cups up the whole 2/3 of the way it recommends (weary of altitude effects, I only filled them halfway).

Ingredients:
1.5 cups wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup wheat germ or flax seed (optional)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 can pumpkin
1/3 cup milk (can use soy milk)
1/3 cup applesauce
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
1 cup oatmeal (quick or old-fashioined)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup almonds or walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 18-22 muffin tins with paper cups, or lightly grease.
In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking soda, and wheat germ (or flax). Set aside.
In mixing bowl, mix together the next eight ingredients (butter through egg) until combined. Then slowly add in the flour mixture until combined. Then stir in oatmeal, cranberries and almonds.
Pour the mixture into the baking cups, so that each is about 2/3 full. (I sprinkled coarse sugar and a few oats on top of each of mine for a prettier top.)
Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, and serve. These also freeze well.

Sugar Donut Muffins

This is a classic recipe that I was just reminded of thanks to Baking Bites. I've tweaked it some to be more like what my mom made at home. Can't go wrong with the basic recipe though!

Sugar Donut Muffins
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract/vanilla paste

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling (or cinnamon sugar)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. (I used a mini muffin tin)
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes (7-9 min for minis), until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.
When muffins are done, dunk tops of each into melted butter and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10 muffins or about 30 mini-muffins.