Tex Mex Cornbread Muffins

Sometimes I like to change the bread option up for dinner.  Y’all know I love spicy foods, so I decided to make my cornbread into spicy muffins tonight to go along with dinner.

You can use as little or as much as you like of spices or leave out the peppers for just a cheesy corn muffin version.  Let me know what y’all think about these if you get a chance to make them.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups corn meal
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1-1 1/2 cups buttermilk (you’ll need to adjust for temp./humidity/elevation)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup corn nibblets
• 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 tablespoons bacon fat

Preheat oven to 375°F

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (reserve a few pinches of cheese for tops of muffins)
2. Pour into prepared muffin tins.  I used my cast iron muffin tins as you can see….I think next time I’ll preheat it in oven with bacon fat to crisp up the outsides of the muffins a bit more like I do my cornbread.
3. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tops and if you like you can put a pickled jalapeno on top of each as I did, but this is totally optional.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes.  Watch closely as everyone’s oven bakes a bit differently.
5. Remove from muffin tins immediately so they don’t get soggy