Cornbread Muffin Tops & THE BLIND SIDE

This recipe combines a couple of my favorite things: cornbread and muffin tops. Muffin tops are always my preferred part of the muffin, so when I was thinking up how to make cornbread better (it’s tough), these came to mind. Instead of your usual cornbread or cornbread muffins this Thanksgiving, bring Cornbread Muffin Tops and change the game.

I finally put my pie crust cutters to good use and used them to punch out these adorable acorn shapes. Cookie cutters would work, too, but these pie crust cutters gave them the imprint on top, which just brings them to a new level.

The recipe is fairly straightforward, and all you have to do is pour the batter into a sheet tray. I have become quite fond of sheet trays (evidenced here); they just make baking so simple (and easy clean-up, too!).

This recipe is inspired by the motivating and feel-good movie The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron. The Blind Side shares the story of Michael Oher, a homeless boy with a tough childhood who, with the love and support of Tuohy family, becomes an All-American football player and first round NFL draft pick.

In the movie, there is a Thanksgiving scene where the Tuohy family sits down for a proper meal instead of eating their food in front of the television watching the football game. It’s a great moment, and nice to see the family (Michael included) sitting down to spend time together for the holiday. On the table in that scene is a basket of cornbread muffins, so I couldn’t resist creating my own version of those muffins.

Cornbread Muffin Tops inspired by THE BLIND SIDE

Serves: 100+ acorn-shaped cornbread muffin tops | Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons baking powder

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 cup medium ground cornmeal

• 1 ½ cups whole milk

• 1 cup melted and cooled unsalted butter

• 2 eggs

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cornmeal.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, butter, and eggs.

3. Mix the dry ingredients on the lowest speed, and slowly add in the wet ingredients until everything is thoroughly combined.

4. Pour the batter into a sheet tray and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

5. Bake the cornbread for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cornbread to cool, and then using a cookie cutter or pie crust cutters, punch out shapes in the cornbread. Enjoy!

© A Dash of Cinema