Jalapeno Corn Muffins

I got up this morning and completed another 3 miles with my running buddy.  I’m glad I did it, but we were both huffing and puffing.  It was hot, windy, and humid.  How does this happen before the sun even rises???  Anyway, at least I did it, and I’m done!  Moving on…

Last week, I know I said that there was a jalapeno corn muffin recipe coming soon.  It didn’t come very soon, but it came.  It came just the same.  (Sorry, I totally ripped off Dr. Seuss right there.  Thanks Mr. Grinch!)

I made these for a 4^th of July cookout we attended, but since I didn’t create the recipe, I wasn’t in a huge hurry to post it .  (Nothing is more American than corn these days.)  The muffins aren’t even healthy, and for once, I did not try to “healthify” them.  At least they were a hit at the cookout!

The recipe comes from Food Network’s website, so I’m not going to re-post it here.  I will just go through it with you to let you in on my baking secrets.  Okay, there’s no lie.  I have no baking secrets.  I just want to share the yum-ness.

 The Essence of Emeril’s Jalapeno Corn Muffins  (recipe yields 14, but I got 12 out of them)

First, you’ve gotta gather your goods.  Martha Stewart says it’s best to gather and pre-measure your ingredients before cooking.  I agree, but I don’t always do it.  Shame shame.

Gathering the Goods

Then, I defrosted my frozen corn.  Sorry Emeril, I like it frozen.  So easy, and so yellow.  I also fried up my onions in 1 TBS butter.  Again, sorry Emeril, 2 TBS just sounded excessive.  I also throw in a diced, fresh jalapeno after the onion cooked a bit.

Onions + Butter = Hot Love in a Pan

Now mix your dry stuff.  I added a little extra cheese, which was barely noticeable.  I also couldn’t taste the cayenne pepper, but maybe I have a cheap brand or something.  Then mix your wet stuff separately.  I used this sustainable honey came from my uncle’s property.  I guess it’s organic too, but who really puts chemicals on bees?  Steroid bees?  Antibiotic super-bees?  Odd.

Honey Bear Always Sees the Glass Half Full

You put your dry stuff in; don’t take your dry stuff out.  You put your wet stuff in, and then you mix it all about…

Honey Bear Approves of this Mixture

As you can see from the pic, I used both pickled and fresh jalapenos.  The recipe calls for red jalapenos, but I’ve never heard of such things… and I might have been too lazy to look for them.

 I spooned the goo into muffin tins and baked.  Mine took a while to bake, but my oven’s older than dirt.  I like to sarcastically call it, Old Reliable.

Here’s the finished product.  Yum!  Be sure to let them cool, and yes, it’s okay to use a roasting pan if you don’t own a cooling rack.  I’ve never been the kind of girl to sport a big rack.

Take a Chill Pill, Muffins

Notice that half are darker than the others.  I used whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour for the first batch, but I just used all-purpose flour for the second batch.  Kev and I actually preferred the muffins with whole wheat, which is very surprising since he’s a white pasta/bread/muffin kind of guy.

So Friggin Cute! (And Festive)

These were not terribly spicy, but they were good.  They had just enough kick to appeal to a crowd but not send anyone reaching for a beer glass of water.  I have to admit that I did not figure the nutrition stats on these.  I bet we don’t really want to know…

What do you think of spicy foods?  Jalapenos – yay or nay?