Recipe: Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Muffins — Recipes from The Kitchn |Cooking With Amanda

The simple corn muffin is a beautiful thing. You can serve it as a make-ahead side dish for a summer BBQ and then reheat one of the leftover muffins for a quick breakfast.

But we can do better than just tossing some corn meal in a bowl. These muffins are laced deliciously with shredded sharp cheddar and slivered jalapeños. The flavor combo is a perfect match.

For jalapeño prep, I recommend scraping out the seeds and then slivering the pepper into half-rounds instead of dicing it. That will make the peppers really stand out in the finished muffin.

You might also think that a whole jalapeño is a lot for just a few small muffins, but the spice is mellowed by the roasting and also by the cheese, so don't fear the pepper.

Don't be afraid to really fill your muffin tin with the batter. These will puff nicely, but not to the extend of cupcakes. You don't need to worry about them overflowing.

I also like to top each muffin with a few slivered jalapeño slices for effect.

Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Muffins

Makes 9 large muffins or 12 small muffins

1 large jalapeño
1 cup corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a 12-cup muffin tin — but 9 cups for large muffins or all the cups for smaller muffins. Cut jalapeño in half and scrape out seeds. Then thinly slice the pepper into half-round slivers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Fold in cheese and the jalapeño, reserving a few slivers of pepper to garnish the tops.

Divide batter between 9 or 12 muffin tins. Fill any empty muffin tins half-full with water for even baking. Top the muffins with a sliver or two of jalapeño.

Bake the muffins until golden brown, 20 to 24 minutes. A tester should come out clean from one of the center muffins.

Let the muffins cool briefly before removing from the tin and serving.