Saturday, January 3, 2009

Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins


These muffins are super insanely yummy. They're very soft and moist and often I find the things I make with whole wheat flour to be drier than when I make them with all purpose but these were just perfect. Usually I make sweet muffins, I think just because that's what I'm used to but after making these I've opened up a whole new world for myself of delicious savoury muffins. My boyfriend is definitely happy about this as he would prefer most of my baked goods to be savoury instead of sweet, and actually I made this muffin with him in mind (and yes he did love them!).


There were several variations suggested in The Sweet Melissa Baking Book and I chose the caramelized onion, cheddar and sage option as you can see. I look forward to trying the other variations - goat cheese, olive and thyme; pear, blue cheese (well I'll use something else for this) and walnut; sun-dried tomatoes, feta and oregano. These are great for an anytime snack but you can also eat them with lunch or dinner. Or maybe just eat a few for lunch or dinner mmm.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Whole Wheat Cheddar Scones
Banana Crunch Muffins
Orange Berry Muffins
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins


Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins
Adapted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

My modifications were to use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, 1% milk instead of whole milk (and next time I'll try using all milk instead of half heavy cream half milk), chile powder instead of cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tbsp dried sage instead of 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage. Next time I might add more cheese. Now I wish I could remember how much raw onion it took to get 1 cup of caramelized onions! I think it might have been 2 small onions or 1 large onion. But extra caramelized onions are never a bad thing!

Makes 12

3 cups (350 grams) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chile powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp dried sage
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup 1% milk, at room temperature
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped caramelized onions

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with muffin papers (or butter and flour the cups or spray them with nonstick vegetable cooking spray).

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, chile powder, sugar and sage.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and eggs. Whisk in the heavy cream and milk until combined.

3. Add the cheese and caramelized onions to the flour mixture and gently toss with your fingers to coat. Make a well in the center. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and using a rubber spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into the center of the well until just combined.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup until full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center come sout clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, I have that cup/mug! Neat! Btw, those muffins look super-yummy! :)

Maria said...

I love savory muffins! Nice job on these!

Unknown said...

Oh how I want this cookbook...it looks just great! These muffins look pretty good, too. Your pictures are fantastic!

Bunny said...

Wow so many great flavors in one little muffin, they sound great!

Beth (jamandcream) said...

I love savoury muffins - great for a quick breakie!!

test it comm said...

These savoury muffins sound great!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, those look so yummy. I love anything with carmelized onions!

Anonymous said...

They sound fabulous! I've been wanting to try savory muffins for a while now. . . a great sub for breads, and so much easier.

VeganCowGirl said...

Savory muffins! Great recipe!!! Thanks for sharing.

kickpleat said...

i've never tried savory muffins either. these look great!

CookiePie said...

Oh yum - I love savory muffins and these look and sound fantastic! I live down the street from Sweet Melissa - hr stuff is a-maz-ing! :)

Gigi said...

The muffin looks delicious! I have the book and now I am tempted to make these gorgeous muffins!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I never make savory muffins. Yours look so tasty and moist.

Anonymous said...

I must say these do look insanely yummy! I think my hubbie would like these, he too prefers savory to sweet.

Cakespy said...

I must try these!!! I have looked at the recipe in the book but you've sealed the deal. Bet they'd be great with soup.

Joanna said...

wow these look just heavenly!! they remind me of the cheddar biscuits at red lobster. i would honestly wrap them in a napkin and take them home with me.

Anonymous said...

These look delicious! Wish You a Happy New Year.

Gretchen Noelle said...

This sounds super tasty with those caramelized onions tucked in there. Yum!

Kim U said...

These look delicious!

Anonymous said...

omg these look amazing!!
ive never tried carmelized onion and cheddar together, but your pictures look delicious!

Deborah said...

I love savory muffins and these sound wonderful!!

mimi said...

i don't fancy sweet melissa bakery but i do love the idea of these muffins! they look great and the flavor combo sounds delicious!

Katie said...

I have had this recipe bookmarked for a while, and I finally made these muffins this evening. They were quite tasty! I halved the recipe because I have a muffin pan that yields 6 muffins.

I made a few changes - regular flour instead of whole wheat, fresh sage instead of dried, all low-fat milk instead of mix of cream and milk.

These looked great and there was a really nice mix of flavors. Thanks for the recipe.

eatme_delicious said...

Katie: Mmm I bet fresh sage was delicious in them! I want to try them next time with all low fat milk too. Glad you liked them!