An Anniversary Celebration with Yellow Cranberry and Blue Cherry Corn Muffins

I'm often in disbelief at how quickly time flies. Would you believe this week marks the second anniversary of this blog? Never in a million years would I have predicted that I'd be writing a second anniversary post. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for stopping by to visit. Thank you for your friendship and for your support.

In honor of you and the blog I wanted to bake something delicious and quintessentially New England. This is one of those recipes that's great for any skill level in baking and I know you'll love the results. Perfect for fall too - yellow cranberry and blue cherry corn muffins.

Because I believe in using the freshest ingredients possible, I headed down to Kenyon's Grist Mill in West Kingston, Rhode Island. Kenyon's has been grinding cornmeal on this site since 1696. The owners source their corn from as many local farms as possible and will not use, or source grain with any additives, pesticides or preservatives. That works for me.

I was amazed at the wonderful selections of stone ground cornmeal available and immediately began imagining a Thanksgiving polenta and fresh corn muffins. I chose the yellow and blue corn meal...so beautiful in color, texture and aroma.

While I was in the area I also stopped by to visit Peter Pots Pottery and was I glad I did. The shop itself is an incredibly rustic 18th century structure surrounded by trees and cascading waterfalls. The store itself houses a mixture of antiques and handmade pottery. The owner told me he's been handcrafting pottery for 65 years. Now that's an artisan. I bought the bowl pictured above and a few more items to give as gifts this holiday season. The items are beautifully crafted and I fell in love with the spruce green color.

Once I got home I settled in to make the corn muffins and thought I'd also try a blue corn muffin with cherry jam too. Talk about sensational. You simply have to try them.

Yellow Cranberry and Blue Cherry Corn Muffins

207 g flour (1 1/2 c)

105 g sugar (1/2 c)

55 g cornmeal (1/2 c)

15 g baking powder (1 tbs)

3 g salt (1/2 tsp)

115 g butter, unsalted (8 tbs)

1 egg

60 ml milk (3/4 c)

Options: see below

Mix the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. It's okay if the batter is a bit lumpy.

Bake at 350 (177 degrees Celsius) for about 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. You may need to bake the recipe a bit longer if your muffin cups are large.

Options

For cranberry muffins: Use yellow cornmeal and add approximately 100 g (1-1 1/2 c) clean fresh cranberries to the batter.

For blue cherry corn muffins: Use blue cornmeal. Once the muffins have cooled cut a small circle out of the top of the muffin and fill with cherry jam.

Note: Cup measures are approximations and are provided for convenience.

Bon Appetit!