Freshly baked corn muffins and pimento cheese are hallmarks of the South. But instead of slathering our muffins with the creamy-sharp spread, we decided to stuff them with it. The cheesy center is a welcome surprise.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 12 muffins |
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded sharp yellow Cheddar (about 8 ounces), at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped drained pimentos
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for dusting
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray, for coating the muffin tin
- 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook’s Note)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten together
Instructions
- Stir together the Cheddar, cream cheese, pimentos, onion, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a mixing bowl until combined and creamy. Divide the cheese mixture into 12 heaping tablespoons and shape into balls. Chill the balls until firm and cold, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, butter and beaten egg and yolk in another medium bowl. Fold the egg mixture into the cornmeal mixture using a rubber spatula, mixing until a slightly lumpy batter just comes together.
- Fill each prepared muffin tin cup about halfway full with some of the batter. Put a chilled cheese ball in each muffin cup, pushing down slightly so the batter swells up around the cheese. Top evenly with the remaining batter (each cheese ball will be completely covered) and dust lightly with cayenne. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 346 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 65 mg |
| Sodium | 292 mg |
Reviews
Haven’t made these yet but they truly look AWESOME. I’m sure they’re great with any poultry. Looking forward to these and I’m giving 5 stars in advance as I love the ingredients
Wow — spectacular! Four stars as written, five with my edits. I found that they needed a full 8 minutes more in the oven. After 15 minutes, they temped at 135 degrees — not nearly done enough. After another 8 minutes, they were done at just over 200 degrees.
I made them twice. The first run was for a potluck at noon the following day. I did the filling in the food processor, and wouldn’t recommend it — it blended the cheddar and cream cheese too much for my liking. I do like cheese to pull a little when it’s hot. They reheated well, though, and had great flavor.
Thanksgiving day (today) was the second run. Since it was just for my family, and we like a little heat with our peppers, I added a couple of fresh, home-grown Thai chiles, and 2 fresh home-grown pimientos to the 3T jarred pimientos. Dinner is a couple of hours away, and we’ve already had seconds!