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.