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Corn Muffins in the Husk
You can't have Thanksgiving without corn. Corn is of course
one of the gifts that the Native Americans gave to the European
colonists. On Thanksgiving we thank God for all the bounty we
have on our table and in our lives. But we should also thank
the Native Peoples who showed the settlers how to cultivate the
plants on this continent.
You can read about the gift of corn in the book, "Indian
Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World."
Makes 12 muffins
You'll need
- 1 ¼ cups of flour
- ¾ cup of corn meal
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup of canola oil
- 1 egg
- Cooking spray
- 1 bag of cornhusks –find them in Mexican groceries
or in the specialty food aisle
- A little help from an older sibling or cousin
Equipment:
- A 9 by 13 by 2 inch baking pan
- A large bowl
- A muffin pan with 12 cups
- A large spoon
- A spatula
- Kitchen shears or scissors
- Large bowl or bread basket
- Napkin or clean dish towel
- Lay the cornhusks in the pan and cover with water. Soak the
corn husks in water for at least 1 hour before starting the
batter. They need to be flexible enough to push down into the
muffin pan.
- When the cornhusks have softened, heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder
in the bowl. Give it a quick stir.
- Add the milk, oil and egg and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Spray the muffin pan cups with cooking spray.
- Here's where you'll need the extra hand. Take two corn husks
and make a cross with them. Push them down into one of the
muffin pan's cups.
- Ask your helper to spoon the batter onto the husks. You can
gently push the husks down into the cup at the same time. Have
your helper fill the cup about three-quarters full. Don't worry
if the batter oozes out of the husks a little. It will cook
just as well and the corn bread will be easy enough to pull
away from the husks.
- Once you have all the cups filled, clip the cornhusks that
are sticking up. Leave about 2 ½ inches sticking up
as a decoration.
- Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the
center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Have the bowl or basket lined with a napkin or a clean dishtowel
waiting. Grab one edge of the cornhusk on each corn muffin
and lift it out of the pan and put it right into the basket.
- Serve with butter or margarine. Oh so good!
You can add ½ cup of drained corn kernels and/or ¼ cup
of diced roasted red pepper to make the muffins extra festive!
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