Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins - #MuffinMonday

One of two things happens to me each month. I either bake really early for Muffin Monday, think I have all the time in the world and then suddenly it's hours before the post is due and I have not written it yet. Or I think I have all the time in the world and suddenly it's Sunday and my muffin needs to be tested ASAP. Either way, the end of the month comes too quickly. 

This month I baked early and now I'm up late writing. I have work this week. 4 days of teaching face to face and I don't know if my anxiety is ready for this. Jamaica's numbers are relatively low and all our recent cases have been from tourists and returning residents. But that does not make me feel safe. Most of our cases are asymptomatic so one can never tell if the person next to you is ill. Oh, and there's the tiny matter of a huge backlog in testing. Tiny matter. 

Anyhoo, muffins.  This is another batch made for family that I did not taste. I tried psyching myself up - "Just a tiny taste! Cornmeal will not kill you!" But I couldn't get over the mental hurdle. 

My reviewers said this is best eaten with something. You might end up with extra spicy bite and having something else on your plate can soothe that a bit. I'll have to make myself some scotch bonnet muffins without the cornmeal soon because I felt left out. 

As always, scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made for you today..

Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins

Yield 12

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 scotch bonnet, minced

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk White Cornmeal Mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin wrappers.

Whisk egg, oil and milk. Stir in the scotch bonnet and the cornbread mix until smooth. 

Divide among muffin wells. Bake 10- 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

I used the entire pepper - seeds and all. You could leave the seeds out or use half the pepper but I think this is a go spicy or go home kinda muffin. Plus, the pepper does mellow a bit during baking.

• Banana Mocha Chip Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cranberry Orange Pistachio (Vegan) Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Creamed Corn Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Lemonade Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Simple Summery Squash Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Soft Blueberry Muffins from Making Miracles
• Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Potato Mango Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Chocolate Scones - #BreadBakers

I am back in the land of the living! No I wasn't sick. I mentioned in my last post that I didn't have internet. It took a few weeks and signing up for new service but I have internet again. But the struggle is not over because they have sent a bill that makes no sense. How is it higher, dear Internet Service Provider? How?! I am also in a fight with my electricity company. Good times.

Anyway, I have chocolate scones to soothe me for now. This month the Bread Bakers are making scones or biscuits. I originally tried an angel biscuits recipe but it had too much liquid for my humid environment. I decided to switch to a sweet recipe but I will try the angel biscuits again soon. I've successfully made a sourdough version but have not found the perfect commercial yeast recipe yet. This chocolate scones recipe is a bit wet too but King Arthur's process of freezing the scones beforehand really helped with that.

Scroll down to see what the other bakers did. Thanks for hosting Sue!

Chocolate Scones

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients 

 2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons of cold butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions 

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
Whisk eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until moistened. If it seems really wet, fret not.
Sprinkle a parchment sheet lined baking sheet with flour. Scoop out half the dough onto the floured parchment and shape into a 5" circle. Do the same with the other half. They should be about 3/4" thick.
Cut each circle into 4 or 6 wedges. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. If the mixture seems too wet, freezer first and then cut into wedges.

Heat oven to 425 F.

Pull the wedges at least 1/2 inch apart.

Bake 18 minutes. They shouldn't look wet.

Serve warm.
1 tablespoon

• Angel Biscuits from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Buttery Jeera Biscuits from Sneha's Recipe
• Cheddar Herb Scones from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar and Chive Blossom Scones from Palatable Pastime
• Cheese and Herbs Scones from Ambrosia
• Chocolate Scones from Passion Kneaded
• Freeze and Bake Yeasted Mini Ginger Scones from A Messy Kitchen
• Laminated Biscuits from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herbed Angel Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Sourdough Orange Biscuits from Zesty South Indian
• Sourdough Sandwich Biscuits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits from Making Miracles

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Berry Oatmeal Muffins #MuffinMonday

To

As I type this, I'm at my cousin's house, mooching off her WiFi while attending my friend's virtual baby sprinkle. Two weeks ago, my internet went down. I didn't pay much attention to it that night as it had been crappy all day. But the next morning when it was still down, I called my ISP. My house phone was also down so I figured this was some kinda wiring issue. It took them a few days to get out to me. I was right but I really could not have guessed the circumstances. Apparently, someone STOLE the cables on my street. Sure enough, when I looked out to the pole, I could see the ends of cables dangling. I don't know how they did it and I don't really know why. Word in the street is that they sell the copper inside. I called my ISP for an update and was told I need to call back on Monday. I have spoken to several persons who have mentioned that it takes ages for them to fix the cables in these circumstances. One friend has been waiting for 2 years. I don't have 2 years so when I do speak to them, I'm going to have to discuss alternatives. Yesterday I noticed the competitor's van in the area. They previously didn't offer service around here so I was just stuck with a sucky provider. But I need to look into whether they have finally expanded. Let me add that to my "Things to Do while I'm on WiFi List". It's long.

For the first time ever, I made my muffins weeks in advance. Good thing too because I would not have had broadband to spend hours researching recipes and obsessing over what to do. I adapted these from Sally Baking Addiction. They are really soft and moist and delicious. Even my 18-month-old nephew who isn't so keen on eating, enjoyed a few bites.

All the other muffins for this Muffin Monday are below!

Berry Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries


Directions

Pour the milk over the oats and set aside for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease a muffin tin or add liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl whisk oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Gently combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture. Next, fold in the oats and milk and the berries.

Divide among muffin wells.

Bake for 5 mins and then reduce oven to 350 F.

Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool and enjoy..

• Berry Oatmeal Muffin from Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins from Making Miracles
• Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Jalapeño Corn Bread Muffins with Cheddar Butter from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Red, White & Blue Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sour Cream Lemon Muffins with a Rosemary Glaze from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sourdough Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.