Corn Muffins: Mini!

I've been making a lot of mini muffins 'round here of late. It's nice to have something to give to the kids first thing in the morning and a mini muffin makes a perfect kid-sized snack. Sometimes the kids help make the muffins. We've done blueberry (not the best for mini-mizing - something about the big blueberries does ungood things to the texture), pecan, lemon poppyseed, banana nut (I process the nuts in the food processor for the fussy eater. The fussy eaters always have a thing about texture), and Cleanin' Out the Cupboard muffins (coconut, oatmeal, walnut - good, but half of 'em fell apart coming out of the tin).

The corn muffins have been the biggest hit. I adapted them from a Bobby Flay recipe that I found on the Food Network website. That recipe used blue corn and jalapenos (Fussy is not going to eat blue food or spicy food. nope. not happening). These things are almost a meal.

Best Mini Corn Muffins

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup mild cheddar, grated
3 ounces cream cheese (I just used some grated mozarella instead, but the ones I did w/ cream cheese were great, too)
1 cup All Purpose flour
1 cup corn meal (I used whole grain corn meal)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I used aluminum-free baking powder. Perhaps healthier, but it eliminates that odd bitter baking powder flavor you can get when using such a large amount)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs poppy seeds (optional)

preheat oven to 375.
Spray muffin tins w/ oil or butter them generously (that cheese makes the muffins clingy). Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add milk. Mix well. Add cheeses and mix well. Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add to batter a cupfull at a time and mix after each addition just until barely combined. Stir in poppyseeds if you're using 'em.

Fill mini muffin tins a little more than half full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick in the center comes out clean. Color is not an indication of doneness. Do not overbake.

These made about 30 mini muffins. You could also make it into a cornbread in a 9X9 pan or do full sized muffins.

Yum.