Sweet Corn Muffins with Honey Butter

I love anything cornbread, I have to admit. I especially love when I can taste actual pieces of corn in the bread. These muffins use creamed corn in place of milk, which adds real corn to the deal. I love the crispy outsides (thanks to the cornmeal crusting) and the soft, tender insides. Honey butter? Yeah, I could put that on everything. You can serve these warm or at room temp, which makes them perfect for toting to a picnic. They go great with anything: BBQ, pork chops, chili, etc. I've got a pot of great northern beans, collard greens and ham hocks on today. These muffins will be just what that dish needs. 

Ingredients (makes 12):

For the corn muffins:

Cooking spray

6 teaspoons cornmeal, divided

2 (8.5 ounce) packages corn muffin mix (like Jiffy®)

1 (14.75 ounce) can sweet creamed corn

2 eggs

For the honey butter:

1 stick softened salted butter (or unsalted with just a small pinch of salt)

1 Tablespoon honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray and put ½ teaspoon of cornmeal in each cup. Give the pan a shimmy-shake over the sink to coat the bottom and sides of each cup with the cornmeal. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, creamed corn and eggs. Stir together until you have a slightly lumpy batter (about 20 good strokes will do). Let the batter sit for five minutes before you fill each muffin cup 2/3 of the way full.

Bake the muffins for 20-24 minutes, turning the pan halfway through (mine took 23 minutes for the tops to get a beautiful golden color).

While the muffins are baking, make the honey butter by beating the butter and honey together with an electric mixer. Chill until ready to use.

Let the muffins cool slightly and remove from the muffin cups by running a butter knife around the edges. Serve with honey butter.