Web Exclusive… Jalapeño Corn Muffins By Elissa Royal, March-April 2004

(Makes nine muffins)

It was the most intriguing food I'd ever eaten—sweet, salty, spicy, moist, chewy...and surprisingly filling. I had to know the recipe! A normal person would just ask the baker. I, on the other hand, was determined to figure it out by reverse engineering, analyzing the tastes and textures. How hard could it be?

It took only six tries to find the right combination of tastes, but another dozen experiments to get the right texture. Canned corn niblets or frozen? Chopped jalapeños from a can or sliced ones from a jar?

My early results were either hockey pucks or dumplings—flavorful, but definitely not muffins. Then I learned a painful lesson: If you handle hot peppers, wash your hands well before wiping your eyes.

Eventually, I got everything right.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup sugar, or to taste (see note)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup fat-free yogurt
• 1 cup well-drained canned corn
• 1/2 cup pickled jalapeños, drained, seeded, and minced, or to taste (see note)
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients—the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir to mix thoroughly.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, corn, jalapeños, and butter. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, using as few strokes as possible to combine.

Spray a 9-cup muffin tin or 4 mini-loaf pans (6 x 3 x 2 inches) with nonstick cooking spray, and fill halfway with batter. (If you don't have a 9-cup tin, fill unused cups of another tin or tins with water before baking.)

Bake until a toothpick inserted into muffins emerges with clinging moist crumbs, and muffins are lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Note: These muffins are definitely on the sweet and hot side. Feel free to adjust their sugar and jalapeño content. One tablespoon of sugar provides a slight sweetness. For milder muffins, use 1 to 3 tablespoons minced, seeded pickled jalapeños.