Savory muffins are a nice thing to make for dunking in your favorite soup or stew. Muffins are so much easier to make than a loaf of bread, although I am a huge fan of making sourdough bread from scratch, but I realize it takes time and patience. Corn based muffins are complimentary to most foods and preparing them with a gluten-free flour, along with cornmeal makes them 100% gluten-free.
Most gluten-free flours are a blend of rice flour, starches, and xanthan gum (used as a stabilizer), so gluten-free baked goods hold together after baking. I remember when gluten-free flours were first on the market and didn’t have any xanthan gum in the mix. It was tricky to know just how much was needed to create a good muffin, or cake that actually had good consistency and taste. Now, it’s much more simple and you can add cup-for-cup of a gluten-free flour, to replace an all-purpose flour in most recipes.
Cornmeal is something that has become a specialty item as well. In fact, I have bought some smoked cornmeal that I think is fantastic, but that’s for another recipe. However, there are several different grinds of cornmeal, starting with fine for muffin recipes like this one, then comes medium grind, and a larger cut, called coarse grind, which can be used to make polenta, or added to bread recipes where you really want to have some chew. I happen to love course grind cornmeal, but you better know your audience before you add it to just anything, because it’s a different experience in baked goods for sure.
The combination of both cornmeal and gluten-free flour make a muffin with a light texture and a good crumb. This muffin recipe stays moist from the cheese and buttermilk, but it’s not overly cheesy, it turns out tender and cakey. I also think these muffins would work for breakfast with some butter and jam on them. They’re savory yes, but much more soft and supple like a morning muffin.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups fine cornmeal
1 1/4 cups gluten-free flour with xanthum gum added
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups jack cheese, grated + 1/3 cup for sprinkling on top
(Makes 9 Muffins)
To Prepare:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Make well in the center and add eggs, oil, and buttermilk. Whisk until smooth. Add 1 1/4 cups cheese and stir to combine.
- Using an ice cream scoop, dollop into each cup and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and golden brown on top.
- Cool in pan for 8 minutes before removing. Enjoy!
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