Maple and Cinnamon Cornbread Muffins (yes, the muffin cases stuck a little. Can't hardly blame them - would you want to let go of these muffins?)
I either have a clever subconscious or a very confused one. I’m leaning towards the latter, but you’re more than welcome to contradict me.
Last night, at approximately 11pm, I stumbled upon an intense craving for cornbread. Seeing as I’ve eaten cornbread very rarely, this craving necessitated a good half hour of recipe hunting.
At the end of the half hour, I realised I’d been singing the same song to myself over and over and over.
Three little children, lyin’ in bed
Two were sick and the other ‘most dead
Sent for the doctor and the doctor said,
“Give those children some short’nin’ bread”.
Maple and Cinnamon Cornbread Muffins, straight from the oven (which I accidentally left on for two hours. Mmm, kitchen warmth...)
Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’,
Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’ bread.
Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’,
Mama’s little baby loves short’nin’ bread.
The next morning, as I stood in the kitchen measuring, stirring, folding, and licking the spoon (cook’s treat!), I found myself humming the song once more.
Why on earth is the Short’nin’ Bread song inextricable from cornbread in my mind? Corn is not shortening. Moreover, short’nin’ bread is typically fried in a skillet, whereas I was making cornbread muffins in the oven. Really… it made no sense.
Enter Wikipedia, which has allowed me to reclaim a modicum of sanity and dignity by stating that short’nin’ bread is made of cornmeal, amongst other things. (I’m steadfastly ignoring the sites that said short’nin’ bread is more like gingerbread.)
Third (photo)'s the charm.
Anyhow, long digression short, I made cornbread muffins today and while they weren’t perfect, they hit the spot. These muffins aren’t particularly sweet, which means they’re equally suited to accompanying a savoury soup or chilli as they are to being buttered and topped with more maple syrup, or jam, or perhaps a sprinkling of demerara sugar. My addition of cinnamon didn’t come through overly much, and the muffins were a bit denser than usual owing to the fact that we only had wholemeal flour in the house.
Despite these small disclaimers, the muffins certainly hit the cornbread-flavour on the head. I’m super pleased to have plenty stocked in my freezer for these cold winter days. Stupid winter.
Maple and Cinnamon Cornbread Muffins
Adapted from this recipe at Just Bento. Makes 12 muffins.
- 1 cup (140g) yellow cornmeal/polenta
- 1 cup (130g) plain flour (I used wholemeal, which makes for a slightly denser muffin)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60g) melted Nuttelex (or butter, or neutral oil)
- 1 1/3 cup soymilk mixed with 1 tb white vinegar (or buttermilk)
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). Grease, spray, or line a muffin tin.
2. Mix together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, melted Nuttelex, and soured soymilk.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula or metal spoon. Do not overmix.
5. Divide between muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes.
(Optional but recommended 6th step: Break muffin open whilst hot and slather in butter, or That Which Passes For Butter In Your House (i.e. Nuttelex), then dip muffin into a little saucer of maple syrup. Nom nom nom.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
The muffins look really pretty. I love the liner cups, it’s really cute. The recipe seems really easy and yummy. with maple syrup, I think those muffins must smell wonderful.
I’ve been looking for alternative muffin recipes and this one is a unique combination to me. I”m making muffins tomorrow with my little one so if I can find some maple syrup I reckon we’ll give these a whirl.
I made my standard banana muffin recipe with wholemeal flour recently and they turned out quite a bit denser and not as nice I thought so I think I’ll stick to the white version.
Why don’t you make things like that when we are home. They look scrumptious. Cornmeal and Maple Syrup – what a combo.
I’ve never thought to make cornbread muffins but after seeing your photos it sounds perfect!
sounds worth a craving for me and definitely worth some short’ning bread some – glad you remember it – E just doesn’t share my nostalgia for it.
by the way, I have found that when muffins are fresh they stick to the paper but once properly cooled they don’t – however you can probably tell by my experiments that I don’t usually wait for them to cool to taste them – they taste so much better warm
Those look tasty! I wouldn’t have thought to add maple syrup and cinnamon. I am very uncreative when it comes to cornbread.
Thanks for sharring importent information in this blog.
It was very nice.
My, but you certainly know how to tell a cooking tale! Maple-cinnamon anything is just delicious.
Hehe, I’m posting raw chili while you’re posting hot muffins…one of these days we need to end up in the same hemisphere, don’t you think? :]
PS—What exactly is Nuttelex?
Tes: Thank you! They were very easy to make, and did smell absolutely wonderful – maple syrup makes everything better, I think
Sarah: I’d definitely recommend sticking with plain white flour for the fluffier muffin here. Do let me know if you make these – although keep in mind that they aren’t at all “sweet muffins”, but can be rather lovely with butter and honey/maple syrup/jam
Whisperinggums: It’s not my fault you two decided to jet off to where the weather is a beautiful 32 degrees! It was awful here yesterday, so I needed some muffin-lovin’.
Simply Life: There’s something about muffins instead of a slab of bread that just apeals to me
Johanna: That’s the problem, isn’t it? What’s the point of making homemade muffins if you *don’t* eat at least several straight from the oven?
Hopefully they won’t stick as much today, but I half-think it’s the fault of the cases. They’re quite thin and paper-y…
Stacy: I’m sure any cornbread recipe you make would be just as tasty without maple syrup and cinnamon
But I must admit, they do contribute to the tastiness! (Though I’ll up the amount of cinnamon in future.)
World Cup: You’re welcome.
Amber: We must indeed become hemisphere-compatible, and I have completely faith that one day we will
Raw chilli? That sounds amazing! And Nuttelex is a dairy-free/vegan spread – a margarine but (I think) without evil hydrogenated oils and all that malarkey 
Cornbread and short’nin’ bread occupy the same space in my brain too. It is a murky space, free from any actual facts about either of them. It is however a space with a little song.
These look absolutely incredible!!!!Love the maple and cinnamon combo.
Ah, gotcha! Australia’s version of Earth Balance.
I love the word malarkey, hehe. It always strikes me as being a malenky bit Clockwork Orange-esque.
ONE teaspoon of salt!!! I’m surprised Whisperinggums didn’t mention that. I’m sure Mr G will at some time. They sound delish all the same but I think even I will cut down on the s… ! (One doesn’t like to repeat four letter words too often in the same blog though I wouldn’t normally avoid reiterating this particular ‘s’ word and I wouldn’t even iterate the other one.)
Mmm did someone say maple?
Hehe I get odd cravings too at odd hours. I’ve resigned myself to them 
They look fabulous!
They sound like delicious muffins…I want some! Hmmm, I do have a tendency to sing weird songs over and over again when I have certain things on my mind so I understand…although normally I can’t make my songs even remotely relate.
Conor: Hurrah, I no longer feel as crazy-pants! Celebrate by bringing me crazy-pants peanut butter from the states?
I jest, I jest…
Erica: Me too! Maple and cinnamon just go so well together (and even better with peanut butter!)
Amber: Earth Balance sounds much nicer than Nuttelex, I must admit. However, I’ll never back down about “aluminium” being a far better word than “aluminum”
GmaSydney: You make me laugh! I can’t even imagine you saying any naughty four-letter words. Salt in baked goods does work towards heightening the flavour, but you’ve made me rather embarrassed – I’ve just realised I forgot to add the salt!
Lorraine: Do you think that, if/when we ever get pregnant, we’ll *stop* craving crazy foods in the way that normal people start to crave them?
Vaala: With a bit of creative license, you can make most anything relate
I wish I could send you some of these muffins, or perhaps something with maple syrup and chocolate, to help you get through your busy stress-times!
Oohhhh these sound wonderful. You know I love my cornbread. And I like the addition of maple syrup. Will definitely be making these before long. By the way, butter is the only thing that passes for butter in my house, but out of curiosity, what does Nuttelex taste like?
Shortnin’ bread is a weirdly catchy ditty, I have a feeling it’ll accompany me for a while…
HungryandFrozen: Gosh, my family has only had things like Nuttelex and Becel in the house for so long that, to me, it just tastes like what I expect butter to taste like! But I would posit that it is less rich, and probably far less delicious, to someone who usually has butter. I’d use butter in yours, if you make this, and definitely normal white flour
Put on the skillet, slip on the lid, Mama’s gonna make a little short’nin’ bread… That’s not all she’s gonna do, Mama’s gonna make a little coffee too!
When I was much younger, I used to pour tons of maple syrup of cornbread muffins like they were pancakes, so this sounds utterly perfect! Mm, I can taste it now…
BitterSweet: My childhood involved pouring tons of maple syrup on pancakes like they were pancakes!
I think I’m going to go retrieve a muffin from the freezer and the maple syrup from the fridge right now…
The poetry and the muffins both are too good!!!!
Rishannkur: Thanks! I can’t take credit for the song though