Healthy Comfort Foods: Cornbread Muffins

These whole-grain cornmeal muffins, lightly sweetened with honey, are the perfect accompaniment to a hearty chili or plate of braised collard greens. Without butter, cheese, or eggs (and easily made vegan–see Recipe Tips), these muffins are a healthier take on a classic comfort food.

Yield: 12 to 14 muffins
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

1 1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal, finely ground (see Recipe Tips)
1 cup low-fat 1% buttermilk or low-fat plain yogurt (see Recipe Tips)
1 cup fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour (see Recipe Tips)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1 jalepeño, seeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Recipe Preparation  

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a standard muffin tin by lining it with muffin liners or greasing with canola oil.
2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, applesauce, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
3. Stir in the corn, jalapeño, and nutritional yeast. Spoon batter into the muffin tin, filling each muffin cup about three-quarters full.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Tips

• Stone-ground cornmeal, which is ground with some of the hull and germ intact, has more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than typical store-bought varieties and can be found at many supermarkets. Use finely ground (versus medium- or coarse-ground) in this recipe for a smoother texture.
• White whole-wheat flour is not bleached whole wheat flour. Instead, white whole wheat lacks both the gene for bran color and some slightly bitter compounds, so it has the same nutrients as regular whole-wheat flour but is lighter in color and has a more neutral flavor. But if you only have regular whole-wheat flour on hand, don’t go to major trouble to substitute white. The results are quite similar.
• To make this recipe vegan, place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup and add the milk of your choice (almond milk, soy milk, etc.) until the amount reaches 1 cup. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the milk begins to look curdled. Mix together and substitute for the buttermilk.