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I am declaring Monday to be Muffin Day. For the next few weeks, Suzi and I will make muffins over the weekend and then, on Monday, share the results with you. Every Monday? Yes, for a while.

There are muffin recipes galore out there, of course, but we have the very best place to start: Carole Walter’s classic Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More. Written in 2007, this tome has 200 recipes that go to the heart of American baking. My review is here. My heart is always with this book and the indominable Carole.

This recipe is her simplest from the book. Now, you might think of muffins as almost throw-away junk food. Certainly the muffins you buy in the store or, worse, on the street are testaments to edible concrete.

Carole’s creations are sublime. Easily made, easier consumed. And, the great news is the recipe give you a dozen. You cannot eat a dozen on Sunday morning. Well, you should not and I never have. Three is my limit. But that means there are leftover for the weekday mornings. Reheated on Monday or Tuesday, these are just as marvelous. Some melting butter, that raspberry jam or perhaps some honey. No day can begin more happily.

Carole explains that the “Yankee” here comes from adding sugar to the batter, a distinctly Northern and not Southern style. The “gimmick” in this recipe is to put spoonful of browned butter in each cup of the muffin pan. The remaining brown butter, with its most distinctive nutty flavor, contributes to the sophistication of muffin nirvana.

Sweet Yankee Corn Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
  • 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal, spooned in and leveled
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

I am declaring Monday to be Muffin Day. For the next few weeks, Suzi and I will make muffins over the weekend and then, on Monday, share the results with you. Every Monday? Yes, for a while.

There are muffin recipes galore out there, of course, but we have the very best place to start: Carole Walter’s classic Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More. Written in 2007, this tome has 200 recipes that go to the heart of American baking. My review is here. My heart is always with this book and the indomitable Carole.

This recipe is her simplest from the book. Now, you might think of muffins as almost throw-away junk food. Certainly the muffins you buy in the store or, worse, on the street are testaments to edible concrete.

Carole’s creations are sublime. Easily made, easier consumed. And, the great news is the recipe give you a dozen. You cannot eat a dozen on Sunday morning. Well, you should not and I never have. Three is my limit. But that means there are leftover for the weekday mornings. Reheated on Monday or Tuesday, these are just as marvelous. Some melting butter, that raspberry jam or perhaps some honey. No day can begin more happily.

Carole explains that the “Yankee” here comes from adding sugar to the batter, a distinctly Northern and not Southern style. The “gimmick” in this recipe is to put a spoonful of browned butter in each cup of the muffin pan. The remaining brown butter, with its most distinctive nutty flavor, contributes to the sophistication of muffin nirvana.


Sweet Yankee Corn Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
  • 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal, spooned in and leveled
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400°F.

Place the butter in a heavy 1-quart saucepan and melt over low heat. Continue to simmer, skimming the foam from the top as it forms. The butter is ready when it is a rich golden brown and has a nutty fragrance. This will take 5 to 7 minutes or more, depending on the weight of the pan. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Pour the browned butter into a glass measuring cup and add the oil. Spoon a generous ½ teaspoon of the butter/oil mixture into each cup of a muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquids, along with the remaining butter/oil mixture. Using an oversize rubber spatula, incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquids by pushing them from the side of the bowl toward the center. Do not overmix. The batter will be loose and slightly lumpy.

Portion the batter into the muffin cups using a no. 16 ice cream scoop (¼-cup capacity). Fill the cups until almost full.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and the tops are springy to the touch. To ensure even baking, toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

You can store these muffins at room temperature for up to 3 days — fat chance that they will last that long. Or, you can freeze so some are there are Thursday morning!


Source: Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter [Potter, 2007]

Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for 1/50th second at ISO‑1000