A savory baked good is a welcome change this week. The Tuesdays with Dorie gang is making corn muffins filled with all kinds of surprises like corn kernels, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro. It’s a fiesta in each muffin!
photo by David Peterman
The two requirements I have for cornbread or corn muffins is that the outside be crispy and the inside moist. More than any other food I have encountered, cornbread carries a high risk for getting stuck in the back of the throat; it can be so dry, course, and downright difficult to swallow. In addition to crispy, yet moist, a nice hint of sweet is even better. Based on my cornbread preferences alone, you can tell I didn’t grow up in the South. These muffins are crispy, moist, and have just a touch sweet. The pleasing texture surprised me because they were baked in a standard muffin tin rather than a pre-heated cast iron pan, which I have always believed to be a requirement for a nice crispy exterior.
The mix-ins really make them wonderfully moist and the corn kernels add a pleasing chewy texture element. David isn’t a fan of such additions to cornbread, so I never add whole corn or peppers when making cornbread, but with muffins it is easy to portion out a few before adding the additional goodies, making us both happy.
photo by David Peterman
Dorie calls for 1 ½ teaspoons of chile powder and I decided to use one of the gorgeous Pasilla Oaxaca chiles I had on hand. They are intensely smoky and fruity with a good kick of heat. In fact, next time a teaspoon will do just fine rather than the 1 ½ teaspoons I used in this batch. I just removed the seeds and snipped the pepper into small pieces with kitchen shears before grinding it in a spice grinder.
Pasilla Oaxaca chiles, sometimes called “little raisin chile”, are the dried chilaca chile grown around the Oaxaca region of Mexico. They aren’t quite as hot as chipotle chiles, but offer a much stronger smoked flavor. Pasilla Oaxacas are a great way to add a nice smoky note to vegetarian soups and bean dishes in the place of bacon or ham, by just letting a whole chile infuse in the soup. They are wonderful in any dish that could benefit from a nice smoky hint and a bit of heat. I have even made wonderful Pasilla Oaxaca chocolates by infusing the chile in cream and making a ganache. These are a fantastic chile to add to your pantry stash!
Thank you to Rebecca, of Ezra Pound Cake, for picking this week’s recipe from Dorie’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours
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Next time I’ll try some smoky chile. Well, technically the time after, since I already have the dry ingred.s done for the next time!
Nancy
Can’t believe I didn’t notice how you could use the muffins to suit individual tastes. What a great idea! The colors in yours are gorgeous.
I love how you used the smoky pasilla. I bet that added an amazing flavor!
Thanks for the lesson on the pasilla oaxaca chile. I see the wall of dried chiles at the grocery store and I don’t know which one to get–unless a recipe calls for a specific one.
Your photos, as always, are gorgeous and your muffins look delicious.
Carol, these look delicious. I will make these next time with turkey chili.
Do tell on the pasilla infused chocolates…that sounds fantastic!!!!
That first photo is magazine-worthy…great job Carol!
That chile sounds like a great addition. I loved the mix-ins for these.
they are gorgeous! those little speckles must be the pasilla–yum!!
Beautiful job!!!! Wonderful pictures!
What a neat use of those pasilla chiles! Probably gave a lot more flavor than my storebought “chili powder”
Your muffins look amazing!
Oooh, how exotic! I can’t believe you had those chilis just laying around. Your kitchen is way more interesting than mine, LOL.
Your muffins look fantstic. I love how colorful they are, nice texture too.
Super yummy! Love those chiles. Can I have one muffin now?!??!
I like my cornbread with nothing in it as well! That’s so nice of you that you made some to make both of you happy! They look absolutely gorgeous!
Those muffins look delicious!
Yummy!
Yes! we have the exact same requirements for cornbread, Carol!
But I do have to admit, my favorite part is truly the crispy, even crusty outside!
And to say that when I was I kid, it took everything for me to eat crusts from muffins, French bread, sandwiches, etc. Little did I know! LOL
But children being obviously more intelligent than their parents, my daughter caught on the crust matter, pretty quickly… therefore, I never got to eat hers like my mom got to eat mine! LOL
Beautiful and totaly mouthwatering… with the metling butter!
Those peppers sound wonderful. What great looking muffins!
Gorgeous photos. I keep meaning to ask you to let Mr. David guest post on your blog one of these days about his food photography tips. I’d love to read! Anywhoo… muffins. Awesome about using Pasilla Oaxaca chiles. I think my wussy of a husband would have nixed that idea though. haha
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
the muffins look beautiful, and thanks for the chile recommendation!