Zesty Corn Muffins

This recipe doesn’t contain as much sugar as most things I cover here, but it is a sweet cornbread. They’re “zesty” because of the addition of orange or lemon zest (or both!). I love using citrus in recipes as the weather gets warmer.

I eat these for breakfast with a smear of butter. Well, actually, I eat them anytime with a smear of butter.. or without the butter. Really, I’m not picky. These are just good.

Zesty Corn Muffins

Oven Temp.: 400°
Approx. Bake Time: 9-12 minutes
Yields: about 18 mini-muffins

Ingredients
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. orange or lemon zest
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. beaten egg
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. orange blossom honey (optional)

Instructions
- Using your hands or a whisk, combine sugar and zest well. Whisk in flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine egg, yogurt, oil, melted butter, and honey. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined — it will be lumpy, and that’s OK.
- Distribute batter into a greased mini-muffin tin. Bake in a preheated oven until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

The girl bakes! Caramelized Pear Gingerbread

I watch a lot of Food Network, but it’s not often that I actually make one of the recipes. But when my mom and I saw this Caramelized Pear Gingerbread on Emeril Live, we had to try it! Here’s the link to the recipe.

I actually hadn’t had gingerbread before. Gingerbread cookies, sure, but not actual gingerbread. It was really good! However, if I make this again, I’ll omit the pears. They were good and made for a nice presentation, but I didn’t find the texture terribly appealing the next day. I think it would be better to make plain gingerbread, then if you want, cook up some pears, apples, or even bananas to spoon over it.