Who doesn't love muffins for breakfast or brunch? These Strawberry Thumbprint Corn Muffins, with their soft juicy heart filled with strawberry jam, are also perfect as a dessert at the end of a meal.
It seems lately I've been baking a lot of muffins. We really like them, there's one reason, but other than being extremely good and cute, they are also versatile: perfect for breakfast, afternoon snack, pic nic, late evening snack. Yes. Good for every occasion.
Another trip to the public library provided me with the recipe for these Strawberry Thumbprint Corn Muffins: "The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook". It was love at first sight, on the bus on my way back home, turning casually the pages, I saw them and mentally "pinned" them. (Now that I think about it, it might have not been just a mental "pin", I might have mumbled something, because I remember the lady sitting next to me on the bus turning to look at me as if I said something 😉 ). The morning after I was baking them.
I fell in love with their prettiness as well as their ingredients. I already loved the color and texture of the Blueberry Saskatoon Lime Cornmeal Muffins, so when I saw that cornmeal was one of the ingredients, I was sold. Don't you love that beautiful yellow batter? I do, and the coarsness of the "polenta" flour is a winner for me. Moreover, I had buttermilk and sour cream in the fridge and my father's fantastic Strawberry Jam. Did I need another reason? 😉
Making this Strawberry Thumbprint Corn Muffins is easier than you think.
The batter is super smooth. The muffins come out with a nice hump and they are moist and rich. This time I followed the recipe at the letter, but next time I bake them, and there will be occasions, I am going to add some sort of flavor: vanilla, or lemon or orange zest, just to add another level. The tanginess of the buttermilk and sour cream is evident, the mild flavor of the cornmeal is present, but the star of the show is the juicy heart: the strawberry jam that melts in your mouth at every bite. Love these muffins!
I am already thinking at the infinite variations for that thumbprint...different types of jam, but also, a custard, a chocolate, a cream cheese filling. My mouth is watering right now. I think I gained some weight with all this baking. If it wasn't for my jazzercise and yoga classes I would probably end up with a lot more weight 🙂 . But I love sweets (if they're not too sweet, though, I think I told you that, and just to give you an example of sweets/desserts that I really cannot bite into without feeling nauseated: Nanaimo bars, Pecan Pies, Brownies, some Cheesecakes, Layered Cakes with tons of sweet fillings and frosting or icing. I know what you're thinking...I'm weird 😉 ).
Hope you enjoy these simple lovely muffins with a soft heart.
The song that leads this post is Ed Sheeran's "Thinking out loud" and is dedicated to my awesome husband, Loreto. We went to see Ed Sheeran in concert last june and it was simply sublime!
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Strawberry Thumbprint Corn Muffins
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup coarse yellow cornmeal
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup strawberry jam or preserve
- icing sugar for the topping
Instructions
- Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or place muffin cups. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and cornmeal until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the buttermilk and oil. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the sour cream and mix to combine.
- Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake, rotating the pan about two third of the way through, until the muffins are golden brown and a wood skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Transfer the muffin pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Using your thumb (or the back of a teaspoon) press down in the middle of each muffin, creating an indentation deep enough to hold 1 tablespoon of jam.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar, then spoon (or pipe) 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam into each indentation.
- Let cool for another 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Serve warm for best flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
Just a few more days and we'll be in Italy. We cooked up a storm these past few weeks, savory and sweet, so as not to let you without new recipes. Hope you love them!
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
sophie says
Do you think this would work with 1 cup kefir instead of both the 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup sour cream?
Thanks!
I would definitely substitute the sour cream and buttermilk with 1 cup of kefir. Thanks for the comment, it might be helpful to know for other people, too! And let me know if you try them!
Alexis says
I like this post, enjoyed this one thanks for putting
up.