Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins and A Winner!

 Chili and cornbread or corn muffins are one of those classic combination of flavors that compliment each other perfectly, just like milk and cookies.  I saw these beautiful blue and yellow corn muffins posted at food blog, My Year on the Grill. I love blue corn tortilla chips so the idea of adding blue cornmeal to corn muffins sounded great to me!  I also loved how they looked baked together so I have to admit that the 'cute factor' played a big role in trying these also.

Luckily, I was able to find blue corn meal at my local grocery store (I used Bob's Red Mill brand).  The yellow corn and blue corn batters are mixed separately and a scoop of each batter are simultaneously poured into each muffin cup. This requires a little dexterity but wasn't too difficult.  I just grabbed a heaping tablespoon of batter in each hand and plopped it in, adding more if necessary. You could probably use two 1/4 cup measuring cups also.

I then tapped the pan gently on the kitchen counter to even out the level of the batters.

Although these are very good, I found them a drier than other cornbread I've made.  Next time, I think I'll find a way to add additional moisture to the recipe such as adding some plain yogurt or using creamed corn instead of corn kernels.  These would be fun to serve for a football party along with your favorite chili!

Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins Adapted from Mesa Grill's Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins found Here
You can find A Year on The Grill's version Here
Printable Recipe

Note: My recipe differs slightly from the original in that I also sauteed the red pepper, chilies and corn before adding to the batter.

6 Tbs unsalted butter
½ cup finely diced red onion
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-1/3 cups whole milk (I might try Greek yogurt next time)
4 large eggs
2 Tbs honey
½ cup finely diced red bell pepper
2 jalapeno chiles, finely diced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup blue cornmeal
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
4 tsp kosher salt

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Divide the mixture evenly between 2 large bowls. Return the pan to the heat and add the red pepper, jalapeno and corn. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add half to each of the bowls containing the onion mixture.

In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, honey and cilantro. Pour the mixture into a measuring cup and add half of the mixture to each of the large bowls containing the onion and pepper mixture.

Put the blue cornmeal and yellow cornmeal in 2 separate bowls. To each bowl, add ⅔ cups flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 2 teaspoons salt. Mix each cornmeal mixture into a bowl with the liquid mixture.

Pour an equal amount of each batter side by side into each muffin cup and bake for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a cooking rack. The batters can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated.

My Notes: These are best eaten soon after baking as they are best when warm.

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