Sweet Cornbread Mini-Muffins with a Chile Pepper Kick for #10DaysofTailgate

While jalapeno-topped little bites may look like ghoulish eyeballs, they have nothing to do with Halloween, not this month anyway. During football season these sweet, chile-packed, cornbread appetizers will score extra points for flavor at any tailgate gathering. Pile them in a basket and serve warm, alone or with some whipped honey butter or pepper jelly. Pair them with ribs or wings, or anything slathered with barbecue sauce. Smother them with chili for a heartier nibble. Go ahead, grab one and take a bite; you'll smile and grab another! 
  

The batter is sticky so use your fingers or a small, oiled cookie scoop.

Topped with a jalapeño ring or plain, cornbread mini muffins make tasty snacks and delicious accompaniments to chili and chowder.

The muffins easily size up into larger muffin tins or even jars, perfect to split and cover with Cajun Barbecued Shrimp (think Shrimp and Grits) or with Sausage Gravy or Chili, just hold back on the sugar. On the rare off-side chance that you have some muffins left over, build a savory breakfast strata. 

Another batch baked in canning jars was easy to transport and serve. 

Sweet Cornbread Muffins 
with a Chili Pepper Kick

Yields 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 stick (6 Tablespoons) butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup Poblano pepper, deseeded & diced

2/3 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup green onion, diced

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill coarse grind yellow cornmeal (I substituted a 2:1 mix of Bob's Red Mill medium grind cornmeal and Corn Grits aka Polenta)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 Jalapeno rings (Mezzetta’s Deli-Sliced Tamed Jalapeno Peppers)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an two 12-cup mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Wet ingredients: Use a large mixing bowl and stir together the melted butter and sugar. Whisk in the beaten eggs and milk. Add the Poblano chilies, cheese and onion and stir until well mixed.
3. Dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, blending thoroughly.
4. Add the flour mixture to the eggy batter and stir until smooth and well combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared mini-muffin pans, filling each cup about ¾ full. Top each muffin with a Jalapeno ring.
5. Bake on a center rack in the preheated 350 F oven until a toothpick or tester poked into the center of the cornbread comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cornbread rest a few minutes until they pop out of the pan easily. Serve warm, with a little honey on the side... or butter... or better yet, honey butter.   

Note: Bob's Red Mill is a sponsor of #10DaysofTailgate, but I purchased my own cornmeal. I love this company and have used many of their high-quality products in my home kitchen and boat galley for years.

Here's what the rest of the team brought to the table...

Starters

Sweet Cornbread Mini-Muffins with a Chile Pepper Kick by OnTheMove-In the Galley

Pretzel Bites with Hot & Spicy El Diablo Mango Mustard by Making Miracles

Mains
Homemade Honey Mustard Chipotle Chicken Bites by Love and Confections

Beer Cheese Brat Chowder by Cheese Curd In Paradise

Ducky Joes by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Ducky 13 Bean Soup by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

13 Bean Chili by Miss Laura’s Kitchen

Za’atar Spiced Cashews by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Chicken & Potato Stir Fry on the Grill by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

El Diablo Spicy Wood Smoked Pork Butt by CafeTerraBlog
Grilled Lemongrass Lamb by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sides
Grilled Clash of the Seasons Panzanella by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sweets

Boston Lager Cupcakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook

This is it, the very last day of #10DaysofTailgate. Have you checked out the awesome collection of 14 prizes that are available from our generous sponsors? Get with it! Click HERE to go to the sponsor info and enter the giveaway. Don't miss this final opportunity. 

Sweet Southwest Cornbread... with a little kick

Tonight’s quick bread was meant to be a sidedish, but it stole the spotlight from the bowl of red (chili) it accompanied. Moist and sweet, a bit cheesey with just a hint of chile tang, this crunchy, light-crumbed cornbread didn’t require any butter or honey to be a “just one more, please” bite of delight. Sound the bell, there’s a new winner topping the Best Cornbread Ever list!

I baked this batch in a preheated 9-inch cast iron skillet, just because I love an extra-crispy edge. A standard 8x8-inch baking pan, metal or glass, works equally well to produce a tasty cornbread. Muffin tins or a heavy popover pan are two other suitable choices. Pick your favorite, but certainly give this recipe a try. Your "I don't care for cornbread" family members and friends might become cornbread lovers after their first reluctant nibble. Honest, it's just that good.

Sweet Southwest Cornbread with a Kick

Based on the Soup & Bread Cookbook, Beatrice Ojakangas, 2013

Makes 9 generous squares in a cast iron skillet

1 stick (6 Tablespoons) butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup chile pepper (poblano or jalapeno), deseeded & diced

2/3 cup Jalapeno Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup green onion, diced

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup coarse-ground yellow cornmeal

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a cast iron skillet or lightly coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.

Wet ingredients: Use a large mixing bowl and stir together the melted butter and sugar. Whisk in the beaten eggs and milk. Add the chiles, cheese and onion and stir until mixed.

Dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, blending thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture to the eggy batter and stir until smooth and well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake on a center rack in the preheated oven until a toothpick or tester poked into the center of the cornbread comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cornbread rest a few minutes, until the edges pull away from the pan. Cut into 9 squares and serve warm.  

Note: a few leftover squares made a great base for sautéed sweet peppers and onions at breakfast.