Tinkering with the Ordinary

Corn muffin purists would be aghast at my latest muffin concoction. I like to toy with my fares, often messing with the standard to shake things up. So to my corn muffins this morning, I added a combination of blackberries and strawberries, which to me, complimented (and even enhanced¬) the hearty flavor and earthy texture of the usual corn muffin. Jackie, my baking comrade du jour, was more helpful than a sous chef in a fine restaurant.

While I wondered aloud whether or not to conceal the blackberries I had placed atop each muffin with a touch more batter, Jackie advised that I try half with and half without the extra batter. Brilliant idea! And the result? Though prettier with the berry exposed on top, the berries were a bit al dente. The hidden berries resulted in a berry bursting jam like filling. And as always, having learned from the first batch, I needed to make the second batch even better with a tad more sugar, a cup of strawberries and with a good folding of the berries into the batter. At the end of our baking date, we divvied up five dozen muffins, popping some into our mouths, sharing others with friends and savoring the rest for the remainder of the week. Life should always be as simple as tinkering with something ordinary. And it should always be filled with good friends by your side.

Berry Good Corn Muffins
Makes 30 mini muffins

1 ¾ cups flour
1 ¼ cups corn meal
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries cut into small pieces
1 cup blackberries, halved
1/4 cup Demarara sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with baking spray.

Sift the flour, sugar and salt together. Whisk with the corn meal and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the berries. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan and sprinkle with demara sugar. Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until the muffin is firm to the touch. Remove muffins and cool. Repeat with remaining batter.