Cherry Jam-Filled Corn Muffins

There was a time on our morning runs when David and I had a little ritual. We would each name “The Five Things We Were Thankful For.” When David was writing his book, he had to give up running for a time, and so went our little ritual. Now that his book is out, we’ve started running together again.

This morning we revived our moment of gratitude. Besides the obvious–great family and good health–here were a few more on my list.

• I moved Mom from Panama City, Florida to Montgomery, Alabama the week before Thanksgiving. It was hard to leave the place where she and my late father had lived for over fifty years, but I’m grateful she’s among our family, and that these days I’m actually hearing a little pep in her voice.
• That even though the sidewalks were slippery this morning, the roads were clear enough for us to run outside among the seagulls, deer, and the cars with parents and kids carefully headed for school.
• And speaking of cars… that when we arrived at the dealership to drop our car in for service and the line was twelve deep (plus the four iced over ones that had to be scraped before the line could even move) that I was untypically calm.
• For the delicate, delightful Tempura-Fried Scallops I enjoyed at Sail’s Restaurant last night, and that after  I had cooked dinner on Saturday night and lunch on Sunday, someone else actually cooked for me.

About today’s recipe—Cherry Jam-Filled Corn Muffins—I developed the corn muffin part of this recipe several years ago for Perfect Recipes for Having People Over. When Maggy, Sharon, and I were brainstorming about our December recipes, they suggested I develop a corn muffin chockfull of something savory or sweet. The three of us have always been fans of filled muffins—ones that look ordinary until you take that first bite and find the surprise. This one actually has goodies in two places—dried cherries folded into the batter as well as the jam hidden in the center. Clearly you can make this with whatever jam and dried fruit you have on hand.

Enjoy… and be grateful.

Cherry Jam-Filled Corn Muffins

 

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by: Three Many Cooks

Serves: Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 can (14.75 ounce) creamed corn
• 2 cups yellow cornmeal, divided
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter or ½ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped if large
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup cherry jam or preserves

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set a 12-cup muffin tin (each cup with ½ cup capacity) in oven to heat while making batter.
2. Heat creamed corn in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup of the cornmeal; continue to cook to make a very thick pasty mush. Whisk in buttermilk, then eggs and finally butter or coconut oil.
3. Mix remaining 1 cup of cornmeal with cherries, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry; stir until just combined.
4. Remove muffin tin from oven, spray lightly with vegetable cooking spray; divide half the batter evenly among the cups. Using the spoon tip to create the opening in the batter, burrow a generous teaspoon of jam in each muffin cup; top with remaining batter. Bake until muffins are golden brown, especially on sides and bottom, about 15 minutes. Turn muffins onto a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

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