Savory Cheddar Cheese Muffins
Ah, November. The container ships are in backed up in the harbor, and with them, some of the holiday craziness normally upon us by now.
Am I a grinch to be grateful?
Not that I hate the holidays. I don’t. But the enforced cheer is wearying, especially when it starts in August.
Okay, I exaggerate. But barely.
The Bay Area as seen with a cell phone.
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As the holidays draw inexorably closer, I give you savory Cheddar Cheese muffins.
I realize the ingredient list reads long, but this recipe couldn’t be easier: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wets in another. Then dump the dry ingredients into the wets and mix everything until just blended. Spoon the batter into either a 12 or 24-well muffin tin. Bake, cool, and either eat the muffins immediately–they are, as the English say, very moreish–or freeze them until needed.
The muffins pictured include scallions and oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, which need to be roasted ahead of time. To do this, preheat your oven to 325F/160C. Halve 12 cherry tomatoes and place them on a foil-covered baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over them. Salt lightly. Bake 60-90 minutes. You want the tomatoes dried to chewiness but not burnt to a crisp.
If cherry tomato roasting isn’t in your culinary plans, it’s fine to omit them. But they are delicious, useful in all kinds of recipes, and keep well.
A word about tin preparation: baking sprays have their adherents. I am not one of them. (Six months later: I am now.) Either butter the wells of your muffin tin lavishly or use paper liners. I use paper liners manufactured by an earth-friendly company named “If You Care.” For the record, they’ve never heard of me.
Savory Cheddar Cheese Muffins may be served alongside a meal, with drinks, or as snacks. The muffins are especially nice with soups. These scenarios are not limited to holidays. After all, we eat every day.
Savory Cheddar Cheese Muffins
yield: 12 regular sized muffins or 24 mini-muffins
prep time: about one hour
Note: if you plan include to roasted cherry tomatoes in your muffins, make them ahead of time, as commercially prepared roasted tomatoes are costly and taste terrible. To do this, preheat your oven to 325F/160C. Halve 12 cherry tomatoes–or more, as extra tomatoes are useful in all kinds of recipes–and place them on a foil-covered baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over them. Salt lightly. Bake 60-90 minutes. You want the tomatoes dried to chewiness but not burnt to a crisp.
Please read notes, below, before baking.
1 1/2 cups /180 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 cup/60 grams rye flour
1 teaspoon powdered mustard (I use Coleman’s)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarb)
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick/8 tablespoons/60g unsalted butter, melted
4 green onions, trimmed and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons oven roasted cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped (see headnote, above)
1/8th -1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice; see notes, below
1 teaspoon Maggi or Worcestshire sauce
2 large eggs
1 cup/120 grams full fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup/60 grams Cheddar cheese, grated
You will need 2 large bowls and either a 12 or 24-well muffin to make this recipe.
Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Either line one 12 or 24 well muffin tin with muffin papers or grease each well liberally with butter. I have used baking sprays, and find I can taste the spray. If you prefer baking spray, use your judgement. I use muffin liners from an earth-friendly company rather stridently named “If You Care.” They are not sponsoring me.
In the first bowl, blend the all-purpose flour, the rye flour, the powdered mustard, the baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. I mix with a large spoon or fork. Set the bowl aside.
I melt the butter now, in a Pyrex microwave-safe cup, in ten-second bursts. Then I set butter aside to cool, so it won’t cook the eggs.
Turning to your second bowl, add the sliced green onions, the roasted cherry tomatoes, the hot sauce, the Maggi or Worcestshire sauce, the eggs, yogurt, cheese, and finally, the butter. Mix thoroughly.
Tip the dry ingredients into the wet bowl. Stir to just blend ingredients. Do not overmix, or muffins will be tough.
Spoon batter into the muffin tin. If you like, use a two-tablespoon measure to do so. I don’t bother, but it helps portion each muffin equally.
Bake muffins 20-25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool pan on a rack.
Savory Cheddar Cheese Muffins keep at room temperature, in an airtight bag or plastic lidded container for three days. After that, freeze muffins up to three months. Defrost in microwave.
Serve Cheddar Cheese Muffins alongside holiday meals or plain old everyday meals; they are especially good with soups. They are also good with pre-dinner drinks; bake smaller versions for this, if possible. They make good snacks for the hungry, or small lunches.
Notes:
This is a flexible recipe. Use all AP flour if you prefer, or part wheat flour. If the tomatoes are too much of a hassle, omit them. Chives may be used instead of green onions, or minced garlic, or nothing at all. Fresh thyme is delicious used judiciously. Use different cheeses.
I used a full teaspoon of McIlellhellny’s hot sauce, which adds depth without stinging heat. Dried chili flakes would be nice, as would dried oregano, cumin seed, and fennel.
Maggi Sauce and Worcestshire may be used interchangeably in this recipe.
If you don’t have yogurt, you can use buttermilk, creme fraiche, cream, or milk. You can also culture regular milk with lemon.
