10/22/2015 Corn Muffins Recipe - Cook's Illustrated

Corn Muffins
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2002

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

To get a corn muffin recipe that wouldn’t set off sugar

alarms, with a moist, tender crumb and a crunchy,
craggy, golden muffin top, we chose a whole-grain
cornmeal in a fine grind for wholesome and complex
corn flavor. We used a quick-bread method of mixing,
combining melted instead of creamed butter with
sugar, eggs, and flour, which gave the muffins good
height and a substantial crumb. Finally, we mixed in
sour cream, which contributed moisture and a tender
texture.

INGREDIENTS INSTRUCTIONS MAKES 12 MUFFINS

2 cups unbleached all- Whole-grain cornmeal has a fuller flavor than regular
purpose flour(10 ounces) cornmeal milled from degerminated corn. To determine
what kind of cornmeal a package contains, look closely
1 cup fine-ground, whole- at the label.
grain yellow cornmeal(4 ½
ounces)
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven
1 teaspoons baking powder to 400 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with
½ nonstick cooking spray.

1 teaspoon baking soda 2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking

soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine; set aside.
½ teaspoon table salt Whisk eggs in second medium bowl until well
combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add
2 large egg sugar to eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and
homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in
¾ cup granulated sugar(5 ¼ 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition.
ounces) Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk
to combine; whisk in remaining sour cream and milk
8 tablespoons unsalted until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry
butter(1 stick), melted ingredients; mix gently with rubber spatula until
batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do
¾ cup sour cream not over-mix. Using an ice cream scoop or large
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10/22/2015 Corn Muffins Recipe - Cook's Illustrated
½ cup milk spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups,
dropping it to form mound. Do not level or flatten
surface of mounds.

3. Bake until muffins are light golden brown and

skewer inserted into center of muffins comes out
clean, about 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from
front to back halfway through baking time. Cool
muffins in tin 5 minutes; invert muffins onto wire
rack, stand muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer,
and serve warm.

RECIPE TESTING

Corn Raga-Muffins

Despite the simplicity of corn muffins, a lot can go

wrong when making them. Here are some of the
worst muffins we encountered in our testing, from
left to right:

(D) This cupcake-like

muffin resembles
many store-bought
muffins and is made
with too much sugar
and leavener.

(B) This pale muffin

contains no butter
and relies on egg
white as the leavener.

(A) This flat muffin

contains too much
cornmeal and tastes
like cornbread.

(C) This hockey puck-

like muffin starts
with cornmeal mixed
with hot water.

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