Rosemary & Goat Cheese Corn Muffins

Is anybody else's behind getting kicked by the time change? Because mine majorly is. I mean, I like the extra hour of daylight, blah blah blah...but I don't like not being able to fall asleep and then waking up even earlier than usual. Even my run game is off. To be fair, I know I run better in the morning than at, say, 4 PM. But something was just wonky.

This. This is what I felt like after my run. Just...unset. Kind of wiggly. 

I'd rather feel like this. Together. Sweet. Buttery? Ugh, let's just shake it out and make fancied up corn muffins.

Let's be real. It's just like making cornbread except it's in muffin form. You'll need: flour, cornmeal, buttermilk, an egg, goat cheese, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Chop the rosemary until you don't have any super big pieces left.

Add the rosemary, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the flour and cornmeal.

Mix with a fork until everything is evenly distributed.

Crack the egg into your buttermilk and give it a vigorous whisk. I definitely used the same fork I stirred the dry ingredients with. I must mention the buttermilk I used. If you're in South Carolina, try to find milk from Hickory Hill Farm. It's seriously the best buttermilk I've ever used.

Wet goes into dry and mixing brings it all together.

Crumble in some goat cheese and gently fold it in.

Scoop the corn muffin batter into a greased muffin tin. It's a pretty thick batter, so scooping is easy.

Bake until the tops are golden and set. I mean, I don't think I've every made a cuter muffin. 

So you know how I don't believe in sweet cornbread? Well in the spirit of contradiction, I recommend finding some good preserves and smearing them over warm, buttered corn muffins. Such a good breakfast.

A drizzle of honey ain't bad either, y'all. 

Rosemary & Goat Cheese Corn Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

1 c cornmeal

1 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Heaping tablespoon chopped rosemary

1 c buttermilk

1 egg

1/3 c goat cheese, crumbled

• Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin
• In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and rosemary.
• Measure the buttermilk and crack the egg into the cup. Whisk together until combined.
• Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the goat cheese. 
• Portion the batter into the muffin cups. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
• When muffins are cool enough to handle, take them out of the tin and let cool. Serve warm with butter (and honey or preserves if you like it on the sweet side).

Figgy Jam Muffins

Are you watching the Olympics? I like watching gymnastics even though I was never even close to being a gymnast...ever. I did take dance and gymnastics when I was little, and the balance beam terrified me. So even though I wasn't cut out for it, I think it's insane what the human body can do. Our women's vaulting looked ridiculous last night! And the men on the high bar? I just can't fathom what that feels like. But muffins, muffins I can fathom.

Because it's Monday and Mondays are hard, I'm showing you an easy fig jam muffin. You can buy the fig jam or make your own. These muffins aren't too sweet, so you won't get a major sugar high and then crash and burn halfway through your morning. Perfect for work mornings.

Blood Orange & Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Do you know what the bottom of a box of cornflakes tastes like?  Salt.  Therefore, when you get to the bottom of a box of cornflakes, you should make muffins.  Similarly, when you don't have enough milk for a bowl of cereal but you do have an excess of buttermilk (Why?), you should make muffins.  You might miss Zumba (oops!).  The dog might act crazy (Admit it, he's always been kind of an oddball).  But muffins made with zingy winter citrus fruits will make your weekend.

The base of the muffin is the same but with two different glazes, Meyer lemon and blood orange.  I'm in love with the pretty pink color the juice from the blood orange makes.  Of course, you could do all in lemon or orange, and you can totes use regular oranges or lemons if you feel so inclined.  I just happen to love blood oranges.  Now that I've found them I don't want to let them go.  I think these would be absolutely lovely for a Valentine's breakfast for your sweetie (Who I presume you also don't want to let go)!

Spiced Blueberry Muffins

It was an average Wednesday.  I was at gathering supplies for the weekend at The Pig, when a craving for blueberry muffins hit me like a ton of bricks.  Wham-o.  I hightailed it back to the produce section and got a pint of blueberries that looked purty.  I don't always ask for inspiration.  Sometimes it just comes over me.  In the aisles of Piggly Wiggly.  So be it.

I scoured cookbooks and recipes online for a muffin recipe that a) I had all the ingredients for---a ridiculous amount of recipes use sour cream, which I'm sure makes for a moist muffin but wasn't in my fridge and b) excited me just a bit.  I stumbled upon a cinnamon blueberry muffin recipe that seemed a little different. Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices.  I just think it warms you right up, even if it is 90º outside and you don't need actual warming.  It's a soul thing.  Cinnamon warms my soul.  It's a happy ingredient.  Then I remembered a recipe for blueberry buckle or cobbler or what-have-you that used coriander.  I haven't had much experience with coriander, but I do know it can be used in savory and sweet dishes.  I thought it was worth a shot in my muffins.