Sweet Cornmeal Muffins

Sometimes you just want a simple cornmeal muffin without a mile-long ingredient list. This recipe keeps it to eight pantry staples: cornmeal, flour, sugar, oil, egg, milk, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. That’s the whole thing.

The key to tender cornmeal muffins is restraint. Stir the wet into the dry just until moistened. You should still see a few lumps. Overworking the batter activates the gluten in the flour and turns your muffins tough and bread-like instead of soft and crumbly.

These bake hot and fast, which gives them a nice golden top and a slightly crisp edge while keeping the inside tender. They come together in about 30 minutes start to finish, most of that being oven time.

Pro Tips

• Mix just until combined. A few small lumps are fine. Smooth batter means overdeveloped gluten and dense muffins.
• Fill the cups ¾ full for muffins that dome nicely without overflowing.
• Check at 15 minutes. Every oven runs differently, and these can go from golden to brown quickly at this temperature.

Variations

• Jalapeño cheddar: Add diced jalapeño and shredded cheddar for a savory version that pairs with chili or soup.
• Honey butter: Swap the sugar for a tablespoon of honey and serve warm with salted butter.
• Blueberry cornmeal: Fold in a handful of fresh blueberries before pouring into the muffin cups for a sweet-tart twist.