Corn Muffins with Raspberry Preserves

Corn muffins are tricky, because they're hard to get just right.  Too often have I come across what looks like a delicious corn muffin but only ends up being a dry and heavy brick that is impossible to swallow no matter how much you try to wash it down.  Seriously.  Why would anyone want to eat a dry corn muffin?

Because on the off-chance that you actually find a corn muffin that isn't dry…you know you're in for a really good muffin.  Seriously.  Corn muffins are pretty darn good.

And when a corn muffin has raspberry preserves piped into its center…then that is just special.  A moist corn muffin with a hint of extra sweetness and flavor from the raspberry preserves is totally my kinda way to start off the morning.  

I think you might like these muffins.  Easy to make, and with ingredients that you most likely will have sitting in your kitchen anyway.  What's not to love?  Make them for breakfast this weekend plz.  You'll enjoy them.

Corn Muffins with Raspberry Preserves

slightly adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 scant cup sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• raspberry preserves (optional)

Directions

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners (I used a regular cupcake tin and got about 24 muffins at the end)

In the bowl of a standard electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs.  With the mixer on low, gradually pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing only until they are just blended and no streaks of flour remain.  Evenly distribute the batter among the paper liners, filling each one to the top.

Bake the muffins in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are crisp and a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Remove from the oven, and allow the muffins to cool slightly while still inside the tin before removing from the tin.  Enjoy while they are still warm, or proceed to fill with raspberry preserves when completely cooled.

Once the muffins have completely cooled, create an "X" in the center of each muffin top with a small knife.  Gently push a piping bag (or ziploc bag with the corner cut off) that has been filled with raspberry preserves into the "X" and pipe about 2 teaspoons of preserves into the muffins, or just until the preserves reach the top of the muffin.