Savoury Cheese Muffins
Recipe video above. They taste like cheesy garlic bread - in muffin form! If you want lovely high domes as pictured, this makes 11 muffins. It's irritating, I know, but such is life. See notes for Add In options!
Servings: 11 muffins
Calories: 281cal
Ingredients
Butter and Cheese:
- 3 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed using a garlic press or grated finely
- 2 cups (200g) shredded cheddar cheese (Note 1)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour /all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carb soda (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 egg (large, about 60g / 2 oz)
- 1 cup milk (full or low fat)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (or plain yoghurt)
- 1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil (or any plain flavoured oils)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley , optional (Note 3)
- 1 garlic clove , crusted using garlic press or finely grated using microplane
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Melt butter with garlic, brush 11 holes generously (reserve bit for tops). Whisk Dry and Wet ingredients in separate bowls. Pour Dry into Wet, mix just 8 times. Add cheese, mix as little as you can. Fill 11 holes of muffin tin. Bake 25 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), brush tops with remaining butter.
FULL RECIPE:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced)
- Garlic butter - Place butter and garlic in a microwave proof bowl and melt in 2 x 30 second bursts. Mix.
- Great muffin tin - Brush a 11 holes of a standard muffin tin generously with the butter, being sure to slather with some garlic. Use most - just reserve a bit for brushing the tops later)
- Make batter - Whisk Dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Mix 8 times - some flour will remain not mixed in, that's ok.
- Add cheese, then mix as few times as possible just to incorporate remaining bits of flour - no more than 7 big stirs (secret to soft muffs). The batter can be lumpy, that's fine.
- Fill muffin tine - Divide between 11 holes in muffin in (I use an ice cream scooper). Batter should be thick and fill muffin tin to top (if in ball shape due to scooper, leave as is). See video.
- Bake for 25 - 27 minutes or until the muffins are domed, golden and crusty. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Butter brush and cool - Brush remaining butter on the surface (re-melt again if needed). Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove onto cooling rack. Cool for at least 5 minutes before getting stuck into them!
Notes
1. Cheese - I typically use grated Cheddar or Tasty Cheese (common in Australia). Any flavoured cheese will be terrific here, as long as it melts. Avoid Mozzarella - it doesn't have enough flavour.
Sometimes I insist on freshly grated (especially when melting into creamy sauces like Mac & Cheese) but for this, store bought shredded is fine!
2. Baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) gives these muffins a kick start with the rise so you get a lovely dome BUT if you don't have it, then you can use an extra 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder instead. OR use self raising flour instead of plain flour and no baking powder and no baking soda.
3. Parsley - Mostly for visual, I like the little green specks. :) Can sub with fresh chives, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 1/2 tsp of stronger dried herbs (thyme, oregano, mixed herbs, basil), or skip. Still lovely flavour without!
4. Add In options: Up to 1 1/2 cups of stir ins of choice, add with cheese. Sun dried tomatoes, chopped or large chunks of feta, chopped olives, ham, cooked bacon, grated zucchini (salt, leave for 20 minutes then squeeze out excess water), grated carrot, chopped spinach, bell peppers/capscium (cooked). Cooked mushroom slices, cooked chorizo, even chopped chicken. Let your imagination run wild! Makes 12 high dome muffins, or 13 - 14 sensible muffins.
5. Measures in different countries - Cup sizes differ slightly between the US (1 cup = 236ml) and the rest of the world (250 ml). While the difference is not enough to make a difference in most recipes, for some baking recipes it can mean the difference between success and failure.
As always for baking recipes, I have made these muffins using Australian cups as well as US cups. I actually made these while I was in LA at a friend's house and they came out just as they do when I made them at home!
Storage - These stay fresh for 4 days in an airtight container, in a cool pantry, for 5 days in the fridge. Best served warm. These can also be frozen for 2 - 3 months.
Nutrition per muffin, going all out as per the recipe. Skip the butter and it reduces to 248 calories each.
Nutrition
Calories: 281cal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 386IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 1mg