We all have Ina Garten to thank for this idea. I was recently watching her cooking show, and she told a story about when she owned a market in the Hamptons and always had muffin batter in the fridge, ready to whip up fresh batches for customers. It got me thinking how nice it would be to make cornbread batter ahead of time and bake fresh muffins for breakfast on Thanksgiving or for overnight guests during the holidays.
I worked from the Erin McKenna’s Bakery cornbread recipe that I’ve been using for years, folded in fresh raspberries and topped with a little sugar for crunchy tops. The batter stays fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days, and I included separate instructions for baking from the fridge (the batter is colder and needs more time to bake through).
I bet you could sub in fresh or dried cranberries, or even go savory with bacon and chives. Get creative!
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Equipment
- Small bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Mini muffin tin
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup oat milk
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup gluten-free flour, such as Bob's Red Mill
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup corn flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp fine salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, liquefied (you can microwave it in a glass container if you have solid coconut oil; measure after it's liquefied), plus more for greasing muffin tin
- ⅓ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup fresh raspberries, cleaned and roughly chopped
- sugar for sprinkling the tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grease muffin tins with coconut oil.
- Make the vegan "buttermilk:" Place the oat milk and the apple cider vinegar into a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, cornmeal, corn flower, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.
- Add liquefied coconut oil, agave nectar, applesauce and vanilla and stir until incorporated.
- Add vegan "buttermilk," and stir gently until a grainy, sticky dough forms.
- Fold in raspberries until they're evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Scoop batter into muffin tin, sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar, then place in the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the tin 180-degrees and bake for another 5 minutes or until the tops are springy and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
*Note: Batter can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- When you're ready to make the muffins, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, remove the batter from the refrigerator and scoop into greased mini muffin tins. Because the dough will be cold, cook for 15 minutes, then rotate and cook for another 5-10 or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
