Corn Muffins with Orange Marmalade or Honey

 

Next to Winnie-the- Pooh, Paddington Bear holds a soft spot in my heart. One is never too old to have kinship with these bears. With that being said, I could not let the day go by without acknowledging Paddington Bear's creator, Michael Bond whose birthday is today. 
Thomas Michael Bond, was born January 13, 1926. He was an English author, most celebrated for his Paddington Bear Series. Bond was awarded for his literary contributions, a CBE medal (national order of chivarly) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2015. He lived not far from Paddington Station, a place that inspired his Paddington stories. Bond died in 2017. 

Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on October 13, 1958 and has been featured in more than twenty books written by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and other artists. The friendly bear from deepest, darkest Peru with his old hat, battered suitcase (complete with a secret compartment, enabling it to hold more items than it would at first appear), duffle coat and love of marmalade has become a classic character in children's literature. Paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

I thought Paddington would approve of Ina Garten's corn muffin recipe served with a bit of orange marmalade. Muffins were just the perfect side for a comforting bowl of homemade chili. 

Corn Muffins

Cook's Notes: Recipe adapted from Ina Garten/Food Network and makes 18 muffins.

DID YOU KNOW

Cornmeal also varies by the grind—fine, medium, and coarse—although product labels don't always make this distinction. Medium- and fine-grain meals are most often used in baking because the finer the grind of the meal, the lighter the texture of the confection. The tradeoff is a less apparent corn flavor.

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Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup medium cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 extra-large eggs
• Honey
• Orange marmalade 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. 
• With an electric mixer mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. 
• In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, and eggs. With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until they are just blended. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are crisp and a toothpick comes out clean. 
• Remove  muffins to a cooling rack. 

Two serving ideas 

• Place a sheet of wax paper underneath rack. With a long skewer poke random holes in each muffin. Drizzle honey over the top.
• Skip the honey and serve warm muffins with a dish of Paddington approved orange marmalade. YUM!YUM!