Sunday, December 30, 2012

Corn Bread Muffins (taste like Jiffy)

Corn bread muffins. It's difficult to eat a great soup or stew without corn bread muffins especially when it is chilly outside! I really like Jiffy brand corn bread muffin mix but since I have went gluten free...well, I just haven't found a gluten free muffin mix or a recipe that I think is tasty so I was on a search for a copy cat recipe like Jiffy brand & planned on converting it to gluten free. Our dear friends Judi & Armando stopped over the other evening and brought a huge pot of scrumptious homemade beef stew with them. Mmmmmm! That gave me an excuse to try out my gluten free conversion for the copy cat Jiffy muffin mix recipe I found. They turned out pretty darn close to the Jiffy muffin mix so I was pleased. The rest of the gang must have liked them too because we scarfed down the entire first batch! :)

I had to share this recipe because corn bread muffin mixes can be used for lots of things besides just corn bread muffins. They can be used in casseroles (like spoonbread) and also as a topper for crustless homemade pot pies & tamale pies, for making homemade corn dogs, spoon on top of sloppy joes or chili and bake for a casserole or dry out crumbs for croutons or stuffing to name a few uses. Well, I just LOVE corn bread and a good recipe is hard to find! I have always preferred a slightly sweet corn bread muffin over biscuits if given the choice. I think I could literally make a meal of corn bread & butter! (Leftover corn bread muffins sure taste great with a drizzle of honey & a cup of coffee the next morning!) Usually, I prefer homemade anything over packaged foods but I will admit that I really used to enjoy the taste & convenience of Jiffy corn muffin mix. I missed it...a lot! Now, I have my own version of this delicious corn bread which can be made gluten free! (Of course if you don't have a gluten allergy, you can just use regular flour!)

I used to make a really good baked chicken that had corn bread stuffing spread on top and it was baked. My family really liked it. I plan on making a batch of these corn bread muffins and drying them out  and turning it into homemade stuffing to make the chicken corn bread casserole recipe gluten free. I will post it sometime in the near future.

Corn Bread Muffin Recipe (Copy cat for Jiffy brand)
1.5 cups of the mix = 1 small box of Jiffy corn bread muffin mix.
(Recipe below is equivalent to 1 small box of Jiffy corn bread/muffin mix)
  • 2/3 cup flour (I used my gluten free flour blend, see recipe below but if you don't have a gluten allergy then you can just use regular flour!)
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (I prefer using 1/4 cup corn flour + 1/4 cup polenta but cornmeal works fine too)
  • 1/8 cup sugar (you can add a little less if you don't care for sweet muffins or add a smidge more sugar if you prefer them slightly sweeter. You can also substitute raw sugar or stevia. If using Stevia you will need to check box for how much to substitute. I am not sure if it is equal amounts).
  • 1 tbs. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
Mix ingredients together with a fork or spoon. If you are not using it right away, you can store it in a ziploc bag, glass jar or rubbermaid container. I like to double or triple the recipe so I have it on hand when I need it. 1.5 cups of the mix = 1 small box of Jiffy corn bread muffin mix.

To prepare muffins, combine 1.5 cups of the mix with 1 egg, 2tbs. oil or melted butter and 1/3 cup milk by hand and let stand for about 5 minutes before putting into either greased muffin cups or paper lined muffin cups. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 13-18 minutes or until lightly golden on top and muffin springs back when gently touched or toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Gluten Free Flour Blend Recipe:
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
  • 1 cup white rice flour 
  • 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour or soy flour
  • 1 cup potato starch (not flour)
  • 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk, make sure it is very fine in texture
  • 1 cup corn starch or tapioca starch (I used corn starch for this batch)
  • 3 tbs. xanthan gum
Combine all ingredients together well. I store mine in a glass container and use it in place of regular flour in most of my recipes. *Glutinous rice flour does not contain gluten, it is made from sticky rice. 

Yummy, moist & fluffy corn bread muffins





My gluten free corn bread muffin mix I keep on hand


Enjoy some homemade comfort food on a chilly evening!
Tanja
Gluten Free Casually





5 comments:

  1. I use this recipe for my gluten free corn bread stuffing. I just bake them and break into chunks and let them dry out overnight. I also use it as a topping on my pot pies frequently. Why have a biscuit topping when you can have a corn bread topping? And I use this recipe for my spoon bread (corn casserole) recipe. The recipe is so versatile!

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  2. I also like to stick hot dog pieces into the muffins for my grand-daughter. It tastes like "corn dogs" and easy to eat (and less fat because you don't fry them!)

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  3. A while back I found this recipe when I was in need of some gluten free cornbread. Honestly I picked it because I had all the ingredients on hand and other recipes I kept finding would require me to make a trip to the store. I made them and not only did I like them, my kids loved them and even my mom (who swears gluten free is nasty( liked them. So, when I needed cornbread again for dinner tonight, I went looking for this recipe. I decided that I needed to comment this time and let you know that I loved this recipe and thanks for posting it!

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  4. Kela: Thank you so much for your comment! I am so glad your family liked the recipe. I try really hard to convert my regular recipes into tasty gluten free recipes that taste "normal" and are affordable. I experimented quite a few times to get this recipe to taste "normal". I use this not only for corn bread muffins but as a top crust for pot pies, spoon bread (corn casserole) and for corn bread stuffing. Thanks again for your comments! :D

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  5. I also use this corn bread muffin recipe (double the recipe) and bake in a 9x13 pan for about 25-35 minutes. Cut into large squares. Then I will split the large square in half (like you would a hamburger bun) and use it as a bun for my chicken sandwiches, pulled beef or pork sandwiches, etc. I also use the corn muffins in place of biscuits most of the time. Nothing tastes better than sausage gravy on a corn muffin. Yummy! Be creative. I use this super easy, very affordable recipe for a lot when I need a biscuit or roll.

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